[pics] Strange scabs on my cats ears, any ideas?

Before I begin, this is Lexie, she's about 6 years old and lives with her sister from the same litter. She lives with my roommate and I in our large apartment. We moved here in January of this year. They lived with my family and I up until I moved out, they seemed to handle the move no problem.


About 2 months ago I noticed a scab on her ears, it covered a thumbnail sized area on her left ear and maybe half of that size on her other ear. I didnt think it was from an injury or anything judging by the way it looked. In my uneducated opinion I think it looks more like an infection or rash of some sort. I guess it's possible that this is from excessive grooming, but I don't think that would cause a scab or anything - especially at the tip of the ears.

Since this happened just a few months after I moved them to a new home for their first time I figured they might have been stressed out. I decided to wait a week or so instead of taking her to the vet right away in fear of causing more stress. The scabs went away in that time.

Now, some time later its starting to come back. Again, fearing added stress from a veterinary visit I turn to you - the cat experts. What's going on with my cat and what can I do to help?



cliffs:
-6 year old female cat lives with sister from same litter

-recently moved to smaller home with me after living with my family for all of her life.

-noticed scabs on ears from rash, infection, injury, or maybe even grooming 4 months after moving

-they went away after a short period of time but are now coming back

- whats going on

Lexie is a beautiful kitty!

I'll move this to Health & Nutrition where our experts can help with the question about her ears.

thanks wasnt sure where to put it

Does she go outside at all?!? We have an akita (dog), and during certain seasons biting flies just eat up her ears if we don't take precautions. Maybe she has fly bites?

nope, sorry I left that out

indoor cats

no one has any ideas?

Houston, you need to be patient. Weekends aren't a busy time on this forum. I would take your kitty to the vet on Monday. It might be ringworm, but really the only way to tell is let an expert look at it. If it is ringworm it is highly contagious to both humans and pets.

Can you describe the scab, is it scab like or is it flaking skin?

Did anything change in the short time it disappeared? Could something else be stressing your cat at the moment to make it come back if it is stress related?

Do you do any work with other animals where you could be bringing fleas or mites into the house with you?

Other than that I recommend at least calling your vet and asking as they will know your cat better than us

I'm not an expert, but one of my cats had little bumps all over his ears last year.They went away on their own. I think it was from too much sun. Does your cat spend a lot of time outdoors? Is it hot and sunny where you relocated to?

Honestly, I'm with Hissy. A vet can tell you quickly if this is or isn't ringworm, which is exactly what it reminds me of.

I would have said "sun damage" but since it's an indoor cat, I am likely to think it is ringworm or exczema. (do cats get that?) At least some type of dry skin/allergic reaction if not ringworm.

What's going on with my cat and what can I do to help?

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Take your cat to the vet! Added stress is better than not knowing what the heck is going on with your cat.

I was going to say it looks like ringworm to me too. Thing is, ringworm IS contagious, so off the the vet you should go.

hmm, time to take a trip then I guess.

My other cat gets a really watery eye sometimes, possibly related?

just an update - im taking her to the vet tomorrow

the scab has grown quite a bit in just a couple of days, she's losing some hair in the area. Also, the scab is starting to develop on her other ear now as well.

When we adopted out kittens Vanna and Sampson they both had ringworm. It actually looked exactly like what your picture shows. I'm glad you're taking her to the vet. They will tell you how best to treat it.

Since my cat is white and thus more vulnerable to skin cancer, I was warned by the vet to keep an eye out for scabbing or lesions that would appear first on the tips of the ears. Since your cat is black and has more melanin, it's much more unlikely to be that, but the vet could rule it out.

Please let us know the outcome and good luck at the vets.

Are they clening each others ears.