My (very old) cat is liking his front paws until the fur is wet - is this a sign of anything?

[Katymac]

It just seems very odd - he has done it now for about 2 weeks or so

Do I need to take him to the vets? Or is it a phase he is going through & will he grow out of it?

liking?????LICKING I mean

Well he probably likes them too

I would go to the vet.
My poor dog ( who is a youngster) has an infection in his mouth which is messing with his saliva and constantly licking his paw is one of his symptoms.

But he quite likes hs paw so it could just be affectionate

Could be a sign of dental problems or could be a sign of something causing him pain in his paws? I would definately advise a vet visit to make sure all is ok.

That would make sense, the vet said he had tooth problems but he was too old to do much about it - he 'should' have an op but the anaesthetic would probably be too much for him

Have you checked his claws to make sure they haven't grown full circle into his pads - ehen they get older they get less relaible at claw care. Might be bothering him.

I know - I trim them every few weeks - he is due I'll sit down with him tonight & check but they were OK whichever day I checked last week

Could be arthritis in his paws ? As they get older, joint pain I think is common. I used to give my old boy a treat made out of green lipped mussel extract - smelt horribly fishy but he loved it and it really helped

Yes it could be his joints too

The vet said as long as he was eating, pooing weeing & sleeping he wouldn't mess around with him too much

Katymac, you can get cod liver oil for pets at pet shops, put a teaspoon of it on his food, might help his joints (will improve his fur and make it shiny, too!) My old cat had evening primrose oil on the vet's instruction, I just pierced the capsule and dripped it on his food, it made lots of difference.

Is he otherwise in good health? Has he had any blood tests to check his kidneys etc? If his heart is strong and his blood test results are good then his teeth really should be dealt with - they are a source of ongoing infection to him and clearly causing him some issues. We wouldn't leave our teeth like that and it makes me a big when people are told animals are too old to have an anaesthetic. Sure there are risks, but if all else checks out well the longer term benefits to the animal are very real. Personally I would seek a second opinion from another surgery about these teeth - I have seen too many cats left in a terrible state when owners have been told their pet is "too old" and seen them come through the other side and be so much healthier and happier. Please think it through. I would just say make sure you get a dental friendly practice too if you look for a second opinion - it is probably one of the top jobs the majority of vets hate doing and therefore many are not as capable of doing the job efficiently compared to a dental friendly practice. You could just ring about and ask really - if they have gone as carrying out root canal treatment in the right circumstances (not for your cat obviously!) and/or owning a dedicated dental x-ray machine then they are more likely to be pro-active in their care.

Oh gosh no - they have done a fair bit of dental work on him - but the last time there was a problem with his heart. He has arthritus (which I guess the problem with his paws is now), chronic rhinitus (drippy noise), a heart arrhythmia, short sighted - and neither of the Vets he has been looked after by thought he would live to 8......he is 15 in December

He saw a locum who mentioned about the teeth (tooth? not sure DH went) when he had his injections - but when I rang back the receptionist checked with the main vet as there was a note on the screen about the last time. They had a big long chat & decided as long as he was eating (dry food) & not unhappy (so going out to play) they would rather leave it as it was a bit dodgy last time

Aw poor thing - so long as you have good reasons not to do his teeth then fair enough. If you have any doubts then you still have the option of a second opinion if you choose anyway. Sounds like he has done pretty well overall for the problems.