What should I do if my cat's paws are swollen?

Your cat's swollen paws may be due to external injury infection, skin diseases, or bites from bees and other insects. As a pet owner, you should first check if there are wounds, foreign objects, or bite marks on your cat's paws. If so, it's recommended to consult a veterinarian and choose an appropriate method for treatment, as well as apply medication. If there are no wounds, it's advised to take your cat to the pet hospital for inspection as soon as possible to diagnose and treat the condition promptly.

External injury infection

Cat wounds caused by fighting, punctures from sharp objects, or nail breaks may lead to infection if not properly treated. This can cause the paws to swell abnormally. As a pet owner, you should carefully examine your cat's paws for wounds or foreign objects. If found, remove the foreign object, clean and disinfect the wound, and apply antibiotics and wound-healing medications.

Skin diseases

If your cat has foot infections such as ringworm, it may lick its feet due to itchiness. Over time, this can lead to inflammation and swelling of the feet. As the fungus on the paws can easily spread to other parts of the body, it's necessary to put a collar on your cat to prevent it from scratching itself. Then, take your cat to the pet hospital for inspection and treatment.

Bee or insect bites

After a cat's paws are bitten by bees or other insects, the local area may become hemorrhagic and swollen. Therefore, you should pay attention to whether there are bite marks on your cat's paws, especially whether there are bee stingers on the skin. If you find a bee stinger, use tweezers to remove it and disinfect the wound with iodine. If you cannot remove the stinger or your cat shows symptoms such as skin swelling, rashes, dizziness, fever, accelerated breathing, etc., it's recommended to take your cat to the pet hospital for treatment. This includes anti-allergy therapy and toxin removal from the affected area.