Balding spots on ears

[vmf]

Hi All, its been a while since I posted but I've been lurking around I have noticed small balding spots on one of my cats ears, I thought he just scratched that and it will go away but instead the spot got a bit bigger, wish smaller spots showing and now another ear got a spot as well. The skin doesn't seem to be irritated and the he is not showing any signs of discomfrot.

Here is a pic :

cyrus.JPG

• vmf
• Dec 25, 2014

IMG_0196.JPG

• vmf
• Dec 25, 2014

What do you think could be? other cats are fine and dont have any spots anywhere.

Thank You, Vit

 

[stewball]

Take him to the vet.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

It is interesting that he isn't showing any signs of discomfort.  You never see him scratching, huh?  How about one of your other cats...could THEY be the culprit...you know, by roughhousing or something like that?

Food allergies can cause itching around their ears, but you would definitely notice him scratching, so don't think that's it.   Gosh, it could be pretty much anything, from mange to hypothyroidism to frostbite to sun damage (yes, cats can get sunburned, although it's normally more apt to happen to white cats than black cats

)  And, of course, treatment depends entirely on the cause.  So Stewball is correct, he may need to be seen by a Vet to get it treated.  I would say it could probably wait until tomorrow, however

, or even next week, especially since he apparently doesn't even know it's there.

 

[matts mom]

I'd be checking his claws for rough patches, and watch him when he does itch. Midnight has patches like that, and he's an enthusiastic itcher. 

Also, check for fleas, or any other source of skin irritation. Omega oils (fish oils) will help with dry skin, which helps with itchy spots. Does he have dandruff?

If the minor stuff I mentioned doesn't help, consider a vet call...good luck

 

[vmf]

Thank you for your posts. The weird thing, he is an indoor cat, living with another cat that does not have any signs of this, how can he possible contract mange? . He does scratch a lot, sometimes wounding himself around the neck area. I will take him to the vet but i think it might be related to the vitamine related or a food allergy.

 

[LTS3]

The bald ear spots look similar to this cat's: https://abyaday.wordpress.com/2014/04/27/aby-a-day-april-27-ears-the-thing/

Are your cat's spots completely bald or do they have hair? A trip to the vet is a good idea to determine what is causing the bald spots.

 

[vmf]

just double checked, they are bold, he had the discolorations before, but they had hair, now there are 2 bold spots, one on each ear and smaller ones developing

 

[stephenq]

Hi @vmf

One always has to suspect ringworm when one sees spreading bald spots, a fairly benign but inconvenient fungal infection like athletes foot.  It often presents on the ears, has bald spots, and spreads.  Often you will see slightly raised bumps, slightly pink.  It is contagious (sometimes) to humans, so i expect a vet would want to do a skin scrape culture to test for it.  Often vets will begin treatment before the culture comes back as it can take 10 days for a positive result.

My real questions are, how long have you had the other cat?  Has your cat with the ears ever gone outside?  RW is usually transmitted from cat to cat.  And it's possible a cat could be a carrier even while no longer showing symptoms.

 

[catwoman707]

Your cat looks too healthy for mange, so I wouldn't be concerned about that. Mange is not common in cats, unless they are severely malnourished or neglected, or fiv/felv positive. (compromised immune system)

If he has come in contact with a new place or a new cat within the last couple months then it may be a very mild case of ringworm, but easily remedied. In kittens it is slow, drawn out and often much more dramatic since their systems are so immature, unlike an adult with a fully developed immune system and often times if they did contract ringworm, might get a small spot or a few, and even will be able to clear it up on their own.

2/3 of ringworm will glow under a wood's lamp/blacklight, just has to be very dark in the room. There are many strains, some mild, some extreme, but not all will glow.

Otherwise, as you said he does scratch, so I would treat for fleas despite being indoor, as the fleas manage to burglarized your home regardless.

If he still scratches I would get him on a limited ingredient diet of a different protein, grain free for a while to see if the scratching stops.

 

[vmf]

Thank You all for the replies,My cats are  brother and sister, so they have been living together their whole life. He did not have contact with any new cats or outside. He is terrified of outside and we live on 6th floor.

Their mom had ringworm  and it looked drastically different than what i see on his ears. I wish I had a blacklight to test his ears. I will try to take him to the vet as soon as possible. Skin on the balding spots looks normal so I am confused as to why it is happening.

 

[stephenq]

 
Thank You all for the replies,My cats are  brother and sister, so they have been living together their whole life. He did not have contact with any new cats or outside. He is terrified of outside and we live on 6th floor.

Their mom had ringworm  and it looked drastically different than what i see on his ears. I wish I had a blacklight to test his ears. I will try to take him to the vet as soon as possible. Skin on the balding spots looks normal so I am confused as to why it is happening.

How long ago did they have contact with the mom? Long ago?  Skin issues are hard to diagnose, even for vets sometimes as they often tend to look alike.  

 

[catwoman707]

In my opinion I would simply keep an eye on the cat, watch that you don't see anymore new spots popping up and/or the skin at the bald spot doesn't look scaly or scabby/flaky.

If the skin is clear and the fur begins to grow back I would say likely caused by scratching or other harmless activity

As for the blacklight, you can actually buy a blacklight bulb, place it in a small lamp you can hold, no shade of course, and in a very dark/black room hold the light up to his ear spots to see if it glows a neon green/yellow color.

This said, be very aware.

Unlike a blacklight (fluorescent type) the blacklight bulb WILL get hot! Be extremely careful when using it near your cat!!

The second you turn it on, take it right to the cat's ears and look, before it has time to get too hot. 

Basically for peace of mind.

 

[misterwhiskers]

Yes, keep an eye on it. I had a cat who developed similiar patches on her ears. I thought nothing of it. She then developed severe hot spots on her neck. All I kniw --this was 20 years ago--was the vet gave us a cream, but I bet it was ringworm.

 

[stephenq]

@vmf

I'm going to give you a slightly different POV from my friend and TCS colleague @catwoman707  who I respect very much and agree with almost all the time.  And as she said, there are differing strains of ringworm, and that may depend where in the country you are, and bare in mind also I've been with 3-4 vets in the same room  who had different opinions.  The point is this, multiple opinions can all have validity, even if they aren't in agreement, what you have to do is filter them, use your own sense of what is appropriate bearing in mind that no one knows your cat as well as you do, and then in consultation with your vet go with a plan.  And if that doesn't work go to plan B.

So two thoughts: in my part of the USA, north east, my vet tells me that she is lucky if 1 in 10 Ringworm cases show up under black light.  Secondly, if these bald spots are spreading then something is going on whether its behavioral (scratching) or medical or a combo of the two, but if they are actively spreading I would see a vet.  Yes you can wait, its certainly not an emergency, but getting it looked at sooner might be helpful.

 

[catwoman707]

 
@vmf

I'm going to give you a slightly different POV from my friend and TCS colleague @catwoman707  who I respect very much and agree with almost all the time.  And as she said, there are differing strains of ringworm, and that may depend where in the country you are, and bare in mind also I've been with 3-4 vets in the same room  who had different opinions.  The point is this, multiple opinions can all have validity, even if they aren't in agreement, what you have to do is filter them, use your own sense of what is appropriate bearing in mind that no one knows your cat as well as you do, and then in consultation with your vet go with a plan.  And if that doesn't work go to plan B.

So two thoughts: in my part of the USA, north east, my vet tells me that she is lucky if 1 in 10 Ringworm cases show up under black light.  Secondly, if these bald spots are spreading then something is going on whether its behavioral (scratching) or medical or a combo of the two, but if they are actively spreading I would see a vet.  Yes you can wait, its certainly not an emergency, but getting it looked at sooner might be helpful.

Well said @StephenQ  ! I appreciate that

Actually we are saying basically the same things here.

Except for the approx. percentage of ringworm that glows.

StephenQ, I know how vets will vary, for sure! 

But regardless of glow/no glow ) if there are no new spots occurring, and the current spots look clear and begin to grow new fur, then I wouldn't worry about it much, it was likely from scratching/activities.

But if there are new spots appearing them yes, of course, it should be diagnosed.

As far as how often does ringworm glow, the majority of cat ringworm strains are microsporum canis (m. canis) and will glow.

http://www.2ndchance.info/ringworm.htm

Diagnosis

Some cases of ringworm are so classical that diagnosis is quite easy and does not require growing the fungus in the laboratory. I have found that about eighty percent of the cases I treat glow under an ultraviolet light source (wood’s lamp).

http://www.vcahospitals.com/main/pet-health-information/article/animal-health/ringworm-in-cats/335

How is a ringworm infection diagnosed?

The majority of cases of feline ringworm caused by M. canis  will glow with a yellow-green fluorescence when the skin and coat are examined in a dark room under a special ultraviolet lamp called a Wood's lamp. However, not all cases show clear fluorescence and some other dermatophytes like Trychophyton mentagrophytes  do not fluoresce.

 

[stephenq]

Great post and I agree!

 

[joey mahoney]

My cat has the same exact symptoms and I am searching for the cause on the internet now - small patch(es) missing from the base of the back of the ears. Only I am certain it is caused by scratching because I see him doing it, and have also witnessed him scratch it a little too hard, and broke the skin a little leaving a small scab.  I notice that he has tiny little bumps at the base of the ear on the back. Could it be ear mites?  Wow, I am surprised nobody knows the cause, including vets. I would imagine that it is a common problem.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

 
My cat has the same exact symptoms and I am searching for the cause on the internet now - small patch(es) missing from the base of the back of the ears. Only I am certain it is caused by scratching because I see him doing it, and have also witnessed him scratch it a little too hard, and broke the skin a little leaving a small scab.  I notice that he has tiny little bumps at the base of the ear on the back. Could it be ear mites?  Wow, I am surprised nobody knows the cause, including vets. I would imagine that it is a common problem.

Tiny little bumps where he is scratching sounds like some sort of rash to me...not ear mites  Ear mites are normally in the ear canal and you can usually see them as something like coffee grounds.  But that's not really the mites.  If you want to see what's really going on (if they have mites), check out this thread.  But be warned, it's icky

  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/294041/ear-mites

Have you taken your little one to your Vet?  You mentioned you're surprised Vet's don't know the cause, but not sure if you are generalizing for all the people on this thread, or speaking about your own issue here.  In your case, I would take him to the Vet to try to analyze what is causing the skin rash if that's what it is.  They may need to do a skin scraping to determine how to proceed.

 

[fabio]

I just took my cat to the vet because as I suspected he is suffering from mosquito bites on his ears, nose, eyes and even paw pads and knew we could only minimize his exposure outdoors to treat that. But then these bald spots appeared on his ears last week and seemed to get visibly worse by the day. I knew he had been having a problem with mosquitos and so we limited his time outside and kept the mosquitos out of the enclosed porch. It turns out that he and many other cats have an allergy to mosquitos (yet his half brother is not bothered by it). Apparently he wasn't suffering terribly considering there was no pus but there was blood and clear weeping fluids and when the scabs are wet or dry - it looks terrible and we feel sorry for him.

Anyway - even though you don't notice him scratching at his ears he is managing to rub them/itch them until they bleed. The vet can give you some topical steroids to treat the itchy areas and that will help his suffering as well. If the situation is quite bad they may advocate injections. However this is a more serious decision apparently as the side effects can be detrimental especially if the cat is overweight. 

Best thing I reckon - limit outdoor exposure to middle of day - when less mosquitos around and get those topical steroid drops.

 

[darkhorse321]

I have not read the answers but my male cat is showing signs of this currently. From what I have gathered, older cats (seniors) like humans, can, over time, lose patches of hair--usually on the face and ears. My first kitty developed this as well. Always have a vet look at it, but I don't think it is something to worry about.

Hugs to you!!!