Cat has scape in Ear, is this a concern? (image attached)

Hi,

My cat has a scratch in her ear. I am wondering if this is a concern or if a vet is needed? (I am not sure what a vet can do).

Right now, I dont think I'm suppose to be too concerned, but I'd thought I check with the Cat experts here.

I attached the image:


Thanks,
Bryan

Doesn't look like an emergency. But does need to be watched. Are your cats ears dirty inside, specks of dark dirt?? This could be ear mites and lead to scratching. But you would see your cat scratching her ears. So keep an eye on her if she is scratching at herself. Do you have other cats and if so do they play aggressively? If it was my cat, I would use a little bit of hydrogen pyroxide and dab it on the sore to clean it and then put a thin layer of triple antibiotic ointment on that. I can't tell if that is a superficial wound or a bit deeper. If it is deep, I would clean it as above and get her to the vet on Monday.

Hi Feralvr, thanks for the reply!

No, her ears are very clean, although I've seen her scratch her ear I believe. I'll keep an eye on that. We don't have any other cats, and she is an indoor cat.

I'll consider doing the H30 and ointment, that looks like it makes sense to do.

The scratch is on the surface and is not deep.

Yeah, I would just give that a try for a few days and see if it starts to heal and scab over. If it spreads and she keeps at it (seems itchy), she may then need a trip to the vet, for a possible skin scraping just to check for anything like mites. It should be a real easy fix

One of my cats once had a bit of scabbing to this same area. For him, we could never figure out why. Was checked out by the Vet, was prescribed some Panolog ointment to be applied twice a day. If I found him to be scratching it (with back leg), which would of course make it worse, I'd have to use an e-collar.

Don't use hydrogen peroxide. It's not really good for cleaning wounds. It actually can disrupt the healing process. Learned this years ago (I'm a human RN) when working in the hospital.

If you can slip your cat's back claws, do it, so that at least if he scratches this area he won't do tons of damage. I remember I initially just used some PLAIN Polysporin (or neosporin) to it when I first found it on my cat (and hadn't yet been to the Vet).

Does your cat go outside at all?

Do you see your cat shaking his head at all? (can signify something in the ear canal/ear infection). Ear infection can cause cat to scratch at ears. Vet check would be your best bet....so Vet can properly examine inside the affected ear (or both, actually).

My Callie used to get those from scratching her ears due to airborne allergies. Like clockwork every spring and fall, she'd get them. I put Neosporin ointment on them with a q-tip and started giving her an antihistamine daily during the change of the seasons. Took care of the scratching.

I always use hydrogen peroxide to prevent infection, only twice on the wound with a cotton swab or cotton square. Then apply a topical if it makes you feel better about it. If the wound gets puffy, firm, hot, leaking what looks to be pus, better have a veterinarian check for infection. A cat might get fever with such a wound and require antibiotics.

These type of wounds happen to my bad tomcats all the time and one female with a skin condition. It is not always a problem and they can often go with little or no treatment whatsoever. If the wound doesn't heal quickly, then there's a problem.

Hope this helps.