Cats Paw

Question
I have a one year old indoor male who has been acting weird since we moved into a new apartment. First he kept urinating on the counters and in the clean clothes so we changed the litter. It solved the urniating problems but now the bottom of his feet around the pads looks like its rotting! I dont know if its the litter. We've used it before so I doubt it but Ive never seen this before and Ive had cats all my life. Its hard and hot and crusty. I dont understand what could have happened and I dont have the money to go to a vet. Are there any at home things I can do to help him until I can save up enough money to go? Im really worried.

Answer
I am sorry to hear you are experiencing so many problems. Unfortunately, I really cannot diagnose what it wrong. There are many potential skin problems that could be coming into play beyond the possibility of any irritants he may have encountered. Here is a website that discusses many skin ailment  possibilities:
http://moggycat13.tripod.com/id84.html

And here is a discussion of several possible ailments of the paw pads in particular:
http://local.google.com/answers/threadview?id=538982

Also I would have to wonder of he may have gotten into something you aren't aware of - perhaps walked on a newly cleaned floor that was cleaned with something that could have caused a serious reaction such as if the floor was cleaned with a product containing bleach for example. But even if you suspect this could have happened, with all the possibilities for skin ailments as mentioned above plus other fungal and bacterial infections that could occur, there is simply no substitute for a vet's advice. I cannot encourage you to attempt a home remedy if we can't say for certain what has happened. I understand your predicament; please try and contact the local aspca as they often offer low cost vet care. Only a vet can properly diagnose correctly what is going on and properly treat it. hit or miss home remedies would be a mistake.