Crusty/scabby cat ear?

Frankie17

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Hi - has anyone seen this before on a cat? It's just on his one ear and has developed over the last 5 days or so. He has a vet appointment in a few days but in the meantime I'm trying to do some research. I should note that his ears are usually pink but there is still some redness around the wound.
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He is just over a year old, up to date on vaccines and neutered. He is a strictly indoor only cat. The ear doesn't seem to bother him (not itchy, he allows us to touch it). I don't see any indications of mites in his ears. I haven't made any recent changes to his diet (he's been eating Instinct food for as long as I can recall). He's eating/drinking/playing/toileting like normal. I am just kind of puzzled as to what the cause of this could be!
 

FeebysOwner

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Hi. I am by no means anywhere near an expert on ear issues, but that almost looks like a fungal/bacterial issue to me - although that is usually accompanied by itching/scratching I would think. If you have other cats/animals, it could have started from an injury to his ear while playing, maybe even a bite/nip? The redness likely could mean it is infected.

He is also fair skinned, which could indicate the beginnings of cancer, however I would think he is awfully young for that.

It is good that you will be taking him to a vet very soon! If need be they can take a skin scraping and look closer at the cells under a microscope.

Hopefully other members will come along soon and have some ideas about what it could be.
 

She's a witch

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White cats’ ears are prone to sunburn, it could be that if he was exposed to sun, eg. through the window screen, without glass?
 
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Frankie17

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Hi. I am by no means anywhere near an expert on ear issues, but that almost looks like a fungal/bacterial issue to me - although that is usually accompanied by itching/scratching I would think. If you have other cats/animals, it could have started from an injury to his ear while playing, maybe even a bite/nip? The redness likely could mean it is infected.

He is also fair skinned, which could indicate the beginnings of cancer, however I would think he is awfully young for that.

It is good that you will be taking him to a vet very soon! If need be they can take a skin scraping and look closer at the cells under a microscope.

Hopefully other members will come along soon and have some ideas about what it could be.
No other pets in this household! I don't see an indication that he had an injury to the ear. It's very strange that it doesn't seem to be bothering him. Unless he's hiding it very well as cats tend to do.
 
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Frankie17

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White cats’ ears are prone to sunburn, it could be that if he was exposed to sun, eg. through the window screen, without glass?
He does sit in the window a lot (never without the glass though) so that could be a possibility.
 
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Frankie17

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Update: He had his vet appointment today. We are trying a round of antibiotics to see if they help him out. We are hoping that it is some sort of bacterial infection that will clear up within a few weeks. We have a soap to clean it with as well. Fingers crossed! If these don't work then we will look into other options of what it could be.
 
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