Cat keeps licking her toes

[FelixTaz]

I have a 12 year old female cat, and she is de-clawed. She has recently started licking her front feet a lot. Her two center toes on each front foot have nearly no hair on them. I am familiar with "feline mowing," but I do not think this is the case. I have checked her feet to make sure there is no litter or other items caught in her pads, and her toes are not swollen/red/bloody. What may be causing this. We did recently put our dog to sleep whom she had grown up around, and her licking seemed to start a little after that time. Could that type of change in environment cause her to lick?