back from TED's

TED says Oscar's paw is probably going through another phase of
trying to work out fiberglass. She said it can take years for that
kind of thing to fully work its way out. So, in the meantime, we just

Monique Y. Mudama...

There's no visible irritant. If there's anything there, it's deep under
the skin. The emergency vet a month ago was able to get some of it out,
but I asked this time, and there's no way to get it all out, even if
they had her in surgery.

This is different from a wood splinter or anything like that, where
there's a fairly large (yes, compared to fiberglass shards, large)
irritant. With some injuries, even in people, the particles are too
small and widely scattered to find and remove. My vet told me of a
person she knew who developed a lump in his leg that eventually
expelled a glass shard from an accident fifteen years before, when
he'd fallen through a pane of glass.

I've also used the sterilized needle technique for splinters, and my
dad even said something about using a slice of bacon to draw a nasty
splinter out of his foot as a kid.

Regardless, this is a cat, not me. Even if I could identify the exact
location of the irritant, how would I go about lancing a cat's toe pad
or tying any sort of poultice to it? Imagine trying to do this with
KFC ...

need to put a collar on her when she starts nibbling at it. If it
does start looking worse and doesn't improve with the collar, then we
need to see TED or at least call her.

She said if possible, we should try soaking Oscar's paw in warm water,
possibly with a pinch of salt. If Oscar will tolerate that for up to
5 minutes, try doing it several times a day. That may help remove
some of the crusty stuff, and possibly the irritant along with it.

polonca12000...

Lots of purrs and best wishes for the soaking to work really well,
Polonca and Soncek

No new meds or anything to deal with, at least for now. Another
option would be to wrap the paw in a warm wet washcloth, but I think
we'll have better luck with a soak. I would have the soaking water
ready so that she doesn't have to worry about running water or getting
soaked (other than her paw). And somehow I need to dry it off
afterwards.

Anyone have experience soaking their kitty's paw like this? Any
suggestions?

Winnie...

Yes, I had to soak Rusty's paws when he got ringworm on his paws. He
didn't like it much.
I put the solution in a small container in the tub, and put his paw in
it. A book I read had
detailed description on how to soak paws. You get into the tub with the
cat. Lean on one
side of him so he had to put weight on his opposite paw down inside the
container. The book is
The new natural cat : a complete guide for finicky owners by Anitra
Frazier.

Have a towel ready for both you and Oscar to whom Rusty is sending

Monique Y. Mudama...

Thank you, Winnie. I'll try the leaning trick.

Winnie...

You are welcome. Hope you have better luck with the leaning trick. I
didn' get into the tub
with Rusty. I just grabbed his paw and held it. Of course he struggled
to free his paw from
his mean Meowmie's grip.

Monique Y. Mudama...

We shall see. Oscar has gotten much more resigned about having her
paw handled. At the vet's, I was even able to hold her belly-up on my
belly while the vet handled her paw. Oscar wasn't thrilled, but
suffered it to be done. Major change since this first started!

sympathetic purrs.
Winnie