Paws are how a cat investigates the ground, and anything on them has a short journey ahead: cats groom methodically after being outdoors, and a substance left on a paw is a substance soon licked and swallowed. That single fact decides what belongs in the wiping cloth. For the everyday case, muddy prints after a garden patrol or litter tracked across the kitchen, the answer is deliberately unexciting, because the goal is clean paws with nothing harmful added in the process.
Ordinary Dirt: Plain Lukewarm Water and a Soft Cloth
Take a soft cloth or pad, dampen it with plain lukewarm water, and wipe each paw in turn, including between the toes, where grit and damp litter pack down and irritate the skin if left. Work gently and support the paw rather than gripping it, letting her withdraw and resettle if she needs a pause; four paws done calmly beats four paws done in a wrestling hold she will resist next time. Rinse or change the cloth as it soils, so you are lifting dirt away rather than redistributing it. Then dry each paw properly with a second clean cloth, again including between the toes: a wet paw left to air-dry will be licked immediately, will chill on cold floors, and can carry remaining grime deeper into the fur as she grooms.
Keep a dedicated paw cloth by the door she uses, washed regularly, so the routine takes a minute and happens every time rather than only when the prints on the floor remind you. In wet seasons the cloth earns its place daily, because damp grit held between the toes macerates the skin there and can leave the small folds sore; a cat who begins licking or nibbling at one paw between outings is often telling you the wiping, or the drying that follows it, was skipped.
What Not to Reach For
Resist upgrading the cloth with soap, disinfectant, or scented wipes for routine dirt. Products made for human hands or household surfaces are formulated on the assumption that they will be rinsed away or never eaten, and neither assumption holds for a cat's paw. Fragrances and cleaning agents can irritate skin and stomach alike once licked, and a cat who associates paw wiping with stinging or strong smells becomes a cat who bolts at the sight of the cloth. Warm water lifts ordinary dirt perfectly well; the exceptions are not dirtier dirt but different substances entirely, and they are handled differently below.
Unknown or Chemical Substances: Phone Before You Release Her
If she has walked through something you cannot identify, or anything that could be chemical, such as paint, oil, antifreeze residue, garden chemicals, or cleaning spills, the order of operations changes. Keep her in one room, prevent her licking her paws if you can do so calmly, and phone the vet before wiping her down and letting her go about her day. The vet may want you to wash the paws thoroughly with water, may ask what the substance was and when she walked through it, or may want her brought in; antifreeze in particular is a genuine emergency even in small amounts licked from a paw. Photograph the substance or its container if it is safe to do so, because identification shapes the advice. Do not let the desire to clean her quickly skip the call: wiping spreads some substances and gives a false sense that the problem is solved.
A note of what she walked through, and what the vet advised, is worth keeping where the household can see it. In KinsLe, that note belongs alongside her routine care inside Care Teams, dated and visible to everyone who lets her out.