Cat paw sores

Hello, my indoor only cat is getting sores on his paws. It’s known he has allergies but it’s not consistent. It started with persistent scratching that lead to open sores that I’d treat on my own and it wouldn’t happen again. I’d say it was a yearly occurrence or less. He got sores on his paws once before and I suspected it was the new food I gave him so I stopped it and it went away and didn’t come back (roughly 2 years ago). Now the sores are back and I took him to the vet and they gave him antibiotics and told me to keep cleaning it with Vetericyn wound spray and cone him which I did. His paw healed (back paw) then his front paw got the same thing. I healed by cleaning it and soaking it in Epsom salt, and I saw him excessively licking and nibbling at his other front paw and now it has a sore on it! Idk what to do at this point! I changed his diet to grain free/gluten free when he was a kitten because of suspected allergies and all his symptoms went away (besides infrequent flare ups) and now he eats Stella & Chewy freeze dried raw & kibble too. I also would like to note we live as non toxic as can be, and don’t use toxic chemicals to clean. Our stuff is plant based and I only clean the bathroom toilet and bathtub with peppermint essential oil in my cleaner without them around. I just can’t figure out what’s going on. At first we thought he stepped on my electric stove burner but now it’s happened to 3 paws in rotation soon after 1 heals is suspecious.

Hello - I'm afraid that I can't see the sores very well on my phone screen but my understanding is that one at a time, the pads have swollen and become pink, and licking appears to exacerbate it.  Indeed, there can be a chicken and egg situation strikes up; the foot itches so they lick it, and the licking causes the foot to be sore / to itch, so they lick it more.   This can indeed be caused by allergies - and cats can be allergic to natural substances just as they can to non-natural substances (people, also, are commonly allergic to natural things like peanuts and wheat).   Sometimes however, pain can start it off, such as a mild scrape to the skin surface or arthritis, or even pancreatitis (cats frequently don't lick where the pain actually is).  Long nails might have an effect.  Other predisposing factor can be systemic (round the body) disease eg kidney disease.  In winter in particular, freezing ground can damage the pads - in case you are overseas. We would reccommend chatting to your vet again as a starting point.

They may, for example, try to rule out causes of pain or check the blood for clues.