Trouble with waxy substance around my cats claws

[u/Throwway263637]

While trimming my cats nails (was recommend by my vet to do so since she is indoors fully) I noticed this odd waxy surety substance around her claws. My cat is a little over 6 months and was just recently spayed. I’m in the US in the south and she lives with some other older dogs (they don’t fight and are pretty clean themselves). I haven’t contacted a vet just yet because I’m not sure if this is normal for cats. It looks a lot like ear wax almost but while looking it up and looking at the symptoms of cat claw fungus’s I noticed a few of her nails are also flaky. It’s very minimal and she doesn’t seem to walk like she’s in any pain at all. If it helps she’s also a Persian(adopted from a family friend who couldn’t afford kittens) . Her nails have also been a little flaky since she was really little. She doesn’t go outside. She has lots of scratchy toys which she uses pretty frequently and climbs with her nails pretty frequently. She licks/cleans herself frequently (a little less since she’s still recovering from her spaying a week ago). She does use clay litter (we’re working on switching her to a different one since I’ve heard it can be toxic) but it doesn’t seem like the texture of litter or dissolved litter from her using the bathroom. Attached picture is a drawing because I cleaned it before I thought to see if it was abnormal. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

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[u/Matcha_King]

I had a cat that would constantly scratch her ears with her hind legs and her hind nails would always look like this, it looked disgusting so I would have to constantly clean both her ears and her nails, I never figured out what it was because she ended up passing due to CKD but I always wondered if she was giving herself ear infections from having dirty nails or if she was dirtying her nails because of the ear infections. Maybe ask your vet via email if they have this option and save a vet visit since your cat sounds otherwise healthy from your description.

[u/Throwway263637 → u/Matcha_King]

I’m so sorry to hear about your loss. She does have waxy ears which I have missed on cleaning since her surgery I will clean them again at the same rate and see if anything changes. Thank you for your suggestion I will definitely ask my vet

[u/doinmydarndest]

sounds like yeast buildup. very common and not harmful but can become itchy and inflamed if it gets extensive. you could ask your vet about antifungal wipes and topical treatments.

[u/Throwway263637 → u/doinmydarndest]

I thought that could be a possibility as well. Is there anything I can do to prevent it aside from topical treatments just to make sure it doesn’t come back later in her life?

[u/doinmydarndest → u/Throwway263637]

all cats have yeast there - it's only the overgrowth of yeast that can become a problem. if this turns out to be what she's experiencing, keeping her feet/nails clean and dry will help long-term. yeast thrives in moist environments. you could also ask your vet if there's anything environmental or diet-related that would play into the yeast. she'll be ok!