could you post a picture?

Has the vet actually seen her? If they're bothering her enough that her paws are raw then she should be taken to a vet that will do something.
Poor thing must be miserable.

They may be dermal horns and are cured ONLY with surgical removal.

"...(useless expenditure)..."
No comment.

Does she still bite at her paws when the 'quills' are not there?? If not then you can simple trim them for her and she will stop. If she does still gnaw at herself trimmed or not then they must be irritating her below the skin and a vet could talk to you about permenant removal.

She only seems to have these little quills in the summer. She is doing a good job of pulling them out on her own and they seem to be under control for awhile. (There are probably hundreds of them and the vet doesn't care to deal with it -- or perhaps he realizes I couldn't pay for the amount of time it would take.) Today, at least, her paws look like they are healing.

She is a happy healthy cat otherwise and this is just something she will have to live with.

Carmen, what exactly was the purpose of your OP? You initially stated you wanted to know how to make the cat more comfortable, but that's not in actuality the case, is it? You are unwilling to take the cat to the vet, the vet would be "useless expenditure", you say it is just something she will have to live with. So, you DON"T want to help her, do you? Why did you start this thread? So that other readers of this forum can worry and fret about the raw paws of your cat?

How callous you are.

Take the cat, and her raw painful paws, to the vet, for g-d's sakes.

Maybe her daddy was a porcupine!
I wonder if this is even a true story?? I have never heard of such a thing.

The porcupine daddy is a thought! Actually, I thought maybe others had experienced this even though I had never heard of it. It evidently isn't life-threatening and doesn't make the kitty very uncomfortable. She seems willing to live with it, and I will too. Thanks all.