My cat meows when I touch his paw. Is he in pain or just sensitive?

Nino's paw could be swollen due to trauma, like getting stepped on, an insect bite, an infection or an issue with his paw bones. If it continues to appear swollen he should be examined by a veterinarian as he may need antibiotics or other medications. Do not give him any human medication as it can be very toxic to kittens.

If the paw is visibly swollen, then there is something wrong, even if he doesn't seem painful. I would be worried about infection. Keep Nyx inside and keep a close eye on him for the next few days. Make sure he is continuing to walk normal, have a normal activity level, eating and drinking well, etc. If anything changes, he should see the vet.

It's difficult to tell from the pictures, but I suspect that you are talking about the pad just above the dew claw (the claw that is similar to our thumb) on the inside of the foot. There should be a paw pad in that location, so that is not abnormal and they can be colored black or pink. An injury to that digit does not often cause limping because cats do not put weight on that digit when they walk. So, that may not be the cause of Trouble's limping. Unfortunately, I don't think we will be able to tell unless you have a veterinarian perform an examination on him. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Since he goes outside, he could also have an abscess/infection in his paw or he may have an injury. He should definitely be examined by a vet to determine the exact cause. He may need an antibiotic or an anti-inflammatory to treat. Your vet can also take an x-ray, if needed, to help diagnose. There isn't much you can do at home until we know the exact cause of the swelling. Hope he feels better soon.

Unfortunately without seeing Tuca in person, I can't say if it's broken or not. There could be a fracture in the bone, and a small fracture could allow her to walk and climb but have pain when touched. You will need to take her into the vet to get an x-ray done of her paw, that is the only way to tell if it's broken or not. I recommend taking her into the vet in the morning. I hope this helps!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This may be due to an infection of the nail beds. However, this can be seen with a number of conditions even cancer being one of the possibilities. I recommend that you have her evaluated by a veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. They would be able to check more specifically what may be wrong so that therapy can be recommended accordingly. Best of luck!

I am sorry to hear your cat is having lameness. Cats are masters at hiding pain and illness so they don't typically scream out unless there is substantial pain there. But limping and a pet not willing to place a foot down is an indicator of a certain level of pain there or else they would put entire weight on the limb and paw. This most likely is not a fracture because that pain would be very evident with her not allowing you to touch it and there would be a substantial amount of swelling there. So that leaves a muscle sprain or ligament partial/complete tear. The key is to localize where on the leg the pain is coming from, look for obvious swelling, and then treat the pet with anti-inflammatory medication if sprain is suspected or do an x-ray if the knee or joint is suspected as the source of the pain to rule out a ligament rupture. Unfortunately there are no safe over the counter pain meds available for cats but your vet has safe products to prescribe for your cat for conservative treatment at the very least to see if this will improve her condition.