Scabbing that doesn't go away?

[SnazzyJazzy]

Hi!
This is my first time being on a site like this but I've been concerned for a while now.
So, we recently (around the beginning of December 2022) adopted a cat from the shelter. She was picked up as a stray (very likely abandoned by someone) and spayed. The tips of both of her ears were amputated, apparently due to sunburn.
The stitches fell off a while ago now. Around 3 weeks after she arrived at home with us-near the beginning of January this year. There was an area on her ear that still had scab though-
I brushed it off at first, but it's been another month and a half, a full month since the scab on that area fell off-but it just rescabbed?
Not only that, the scab seems to be growing, too. I'm really worried at this point-my mother said it's nothing, she won't take her to a vet. But it can't be normal that the scab is still there??? It doesn't seem like it's falling off anytime soon, either. Is this a normal thing? Should I be worried? Should I try and convince my mother to bring her to a vet again?
I might just be overthinking this, but I'm not that experienced in cat health, either. And I can't really find articles about this kind of stuff.

 

[silent meowlook]

Hi. Thank you so much for adopting your cat!! She needs to see a veterinarian as soon as possible. This doesn't sound like something that will heal on its own and you don't want it to get worse. If your mother doesn't want her to see the vet, is it because of finances? If so, the place where she had the surgery should recheck her for free. I can't speak for someone else, but every place I have worked at has always rechecked a surgery area at no charge. Make sure you take your kitty in a carrier. I am sure they gave you one when she was adopted. If it was me, I would call the place where you got her and describe what is going on. Ask if they can take a look at the ears for you. If they say no, ask if you can speak to the veterinarian.

I truly think this is important to get looked at soon. Talk to the vet. Find out when they can see your cat and confirm that there is no charge and talk to your mother about it. Hopefully she will take the kitty in.

Please keep us updated as to what happens.

I don't think you are overthinking this. Wounds should heal. If they don't then they need to be checked.
What color is your cat?
Can you post a picture of her? Not for advice, just because I am sure everyone wants to see how cute she is.

 

[di and bob]

Yes, go to the vet that did the surgery and have her rechecked, it could be she needs more surgery. It could also be perfectly normal, cats take a long time to heal, an abscess takes many months. please keep us informed!

 

[SnazzyJazzy]

Thank you guys for your replies, I really appreciate your help!!

Yes, my mom doesn't want to take her because of financial reasons right now. I've offered to take her as well or at least call a vet about advice, but she said she doesn't have the time for that.
Thankfully she knows someone that works at that shelter (also the lady that nudged mom towards chipsy), so I'll tell her to ask that friend where the surgery was made to talk to that vet. We weren't told anything about that kind of stuff, sadly.

And we have a carrier, it's the one my dad had. We don't get one where I'm from-or maybe that's just something you don't get from the shelter she was at.

I live in Germany, so I'm not 100% sure if it'll go as you described, but I'll definitely call the vet that performed the surgery asap! I'll also make sure to update this if anything happens regarding this matter.
Thank you both so so much for your replies!

And, here's one of my favorite pictures of her. Her name is chipsy :>
She's around 6 ♡

 

[silent meowlook]

She is adorable. What a beautiful cat.
I don't want to scare you, but there are some things associated with white cats and the sun. Please do try your best to see the vet that performed the surgery for a follow up. I am in the US, and it is standard that vets will check their surgical patients if there is a problem with the surgery and not healing is a problem that needs to be addressed, I don't know about Germany. In the meantime, please make sure to keep your cat out of the sun.

 

[SnazzyJazzy]

She is adorable. What a beautiful cat.
I don't want to scare you, but there are some things associated with white cats and the sun. Please do try your best to see the vet that performed the surgery for a follow up. I am in the US, and it is standard that vets will check their surgical patients if there is a problem with the surgery and not healing is a problem that needs to be addressed, I don't know about Germany. In the meantime, please make sure to keep your cat out of the sun.

Thank you! She's lovely personality wise as well.
I figured that that could've done some harm, we did go to a vet once because she had digestive problems (mild, she gets special kibble now) and they saw nothing wrong, though they probably only examined her stomach or whatever.
She's a full house cat, she only goes outside for a few minutes with my mom, and that mostly in the evenings, so there's no direct sun exposure unless through windows.
(she's a full house cat since we live near a road and train tracks, and there's a few other cats outside, we don't want her to get hurt)

My mom is reaching out to her friend right now, though. I really do hope that she'll say yes to the examination, but I'll pay if necessary. I just hope that chipsy doesn't have too big problems
I don't wanna lose her, she's still so young ╥﹏╥

 

[silent meowlook]

Oh, good. I am glad your mom is checking. I wouldn’t worry about losing her. But when you have a surgical area that’s not healing, it needs to be checked.

 

[NekoM]

Something like this happened to one of my Cats when I was a kid. The ears are really thin at the very tips and too much sun exposure and sunburn leads to Skin Cell Cancer - Don’t panic it’s only on the epidermis. They obviously didn’t get to remove all of it when they snipped her ears. It’s got to be taken care of though. If she goes out in the Sun in future put sun block on that area to protect it from further damage

 

[SnazzyJazzy]

Short update: my mom is currently reaching out to her friend from the shelter, but has received no reply as of now.
It seems that chipsy scratched the scab off overnight, since the big thing is gone. But it's rescabbed already; I'll be observing it closely like I have before. I'm hoping that it may finally heal now, but even if it does, I'm still taking her to the vet.

 

[SnazzyJazzy]

And again, thank you all so so much for your advice, it's been a really really big help!! ♡

 

[gemee1]

Definitely sounds like skin cancer. Keep the cat out of the sun from now on. The vet will need to remove more of the area to stop this from spreading.

 

[SnazzyJazzy]

Okayyyy it's time for the update we've been waiting for.

Yesterday was quite eventful. Quite a few things happened BUT

I convinced mom to bring me to the vet. I called them yesterday and then me and my dad went to do a checkup for chipsy.

The checkup wasn't done for free but it was surprisingly cheap so whatever.

It turns out that, despite the shelter lady telling us that chipsy was completely healthy, she's had quite a few problems with her blood test 5 months ago.
The vet couldn't really figure out what was wrong with her from only looking at her.
He said that he only took minimal notes when she was brought in by the shelter, as they only do very basic stuff that they're asked to. Apparently most shelter cat owners don't come back to the vet that the shelter went to or something.

The vet did say that they suspected that uh
I forgot the name since it's quite complicated but it's that cancer from what I got. Said they might have to chop off a bit more of her ear.

They took some blood that they're currently testing and said they'd call at around 8 pm today to talk to us about further diagnosis and treatment. That's in roughly 11 hours. Once I get the call I'll come back here to update yall on the issue.
I just hope that she'll be alright. The vet said that her results from 5 months ago could be very very bad.

My mom is just mad that the shelter lady lied to her though

 

[SnazzyJazzy]

Welp, the vet just called!
They're gonna need To chop off both of her ears. And not just the "tips" but the entire thing. Earless cat anyone?

Not sure if mom will do it, since it's a 700€ procedure, as the vet said. He told me that mom should talk to the shelter lady about cost coverage since they might help out.

I'm really upset to say this but if the shelter doesn't help out with the cost, I doubt that mom will agree to pay for the surgery.
She said herself that she can't afford a sick cat.

I honestly don't have much hope at this point. :[

 

[silent meowlook]

Hi. Yeah, I was thinking it could be Squamus cell carcinoma. That’s the name for the skin cancer in cats that causes the crusting on the ears and sometimes the nose.

I knew a cat that had her ears and nose removed. She wasn’t affected by it after she healed from surgery. She lived a normal life, although she looked odd without a nose. Just not having ears won’t look as bad. It might be cute.

There may be organizations that can help with costs. I know in California there is a group that will pay for entire procedures, if the owners qualify. It takes doing some paperwork but I’ve seen them cover $4,000.00 bills before. They are called the Face Foundation.

I would think there should be something like that. I know you aren’t here, but there is usually some help if you look for it. The shelter might be a good resource.

Of course without knowing the rest of the Health issues it’s hard to say.

I am so sorry this is happening.

 

[fionasmom]

I had a cat who lost his entire ear, along with part of the scalp, due to skin cancer that was very deep in the ear canal as opposed to the tips. He healed fine and lived for years longer with no additional therapies. If this is on the exact tips of the ears, it is not complicated. Do you have the option of calling around to get other estimates? Check with organizations as was suggested.

I may be simplifying your cat's condition in my mind, but about a year ago I got my vet to amputate a feral cat's tail which had turned gangrenous for $50.

You are better off having a complete pinnectomy because leaving a close margin to the SCC will run the risk of recurrence.

 

[gemee1]

I know of a couple of cats that had their ears snipped off and they recovered beautifully!! Do an online fundraiser now! This can be done!

 

[SnazzyJazzy]

Hi again! I'm glad to hear that your cats all turned out fine first of all ♡

I'll try to look up if there's any way of getting that financial help.

The vet said that we'd have to bring her in soon for another x-ray, because he said that it might have spread to the lungs, and if that's the case then there would be no point in trying a surgery.
I'm not sure about the odds of that happening or having happened, but she does breathe a bit funny. Always sounding like her nose is super duper stuffed and everything.

She's already had half her ear amputated, and although the wound is only at the tip of the ear, there's like, a bump that reaches further down, so I'm guessing that the affected area is quite big. I wouldn't mind having an ear less cat at all-I would do anything for chipsy to be healthy again

And I could try contacting another vet for a second opinion of the estimation, that's a really smart idea! We have one close to my home. Or we'll, at least closer than that 30 minute drive.

I don't think my mom has contacted the shelter yet, though. I'll be looking into that Organisation stuff asap, because the vet said he could do the surgery this Friday and that it's super super urgent.

I can't thank you guys enough for your replies,,,,

 

[fionasmom]

SCC of the skin tends to stay put, but your doctor is not wrong in bringing up the question of mets. If it were to be in the lungs, it should not take more than an xray to determine that. My cat had sat around with his skin cancer for a while as the vets continued to believe that he had a very deep ear infection, and even at that it did not spread.

A cat who loses their ears does not lose his hearing. The ability to swivel the ears in order to do things like track prey or identify the location of sound may be impaired, so keeping your cat inside is best if the amputation is done.

 

[SnazzyJazzy]

Yeah, I really really hope that it didn't spread to the lungs. We have a vet that's more local, nearer to home instead of that one which is like 30-40 minutes away.

I'm gonna make an appointment there today for next week to get her an x-ray. Unfortunately it's been quite a while since she's had this-it was likely there from the start, even after she got the tips of her ears amputated. I'm not sure if like, 4-5 months are enough for it to spread to the lungs but I really hope not.

The vet that we were at said we should amputate both ears just to be sure, but mom said she would never do that because she finds it unnecessary. Thoughts on that? The other ear seems completely fine, so not sure why he'd wanna remove both.

My mom also said that if it didn't spread, she'd reconsider-she said that she'd pay 300€ Max on a surgery, but only if it's really just that one ear and there's no chance of it spreading further. If that vet there offers it for less, I'll 100% help mom pay it off, I've been saving like hell for a terrarium for my beetle larvae but this seems a lot more important hahhhhh

And my cat is strictly an inside cat for multiple reasons, so it should be fine! I only let her come with me to the staircase sometimes (she likes to watch out the front windows) and of course the balcony (which is cat-proof, she can't go outside and never really tried to).

If anything can be done at all, I'll definitely update this thread again! I really hope that it'll be okay, but I'm not sure anymore. In the meantime, here's another picture of my precious ♡

 

[fionasmom]

The reason for taking an ample amount from the ear is to insure that there is a very wide clean margin. In the world of cancer, having a clean or negative margin is a huge part of the battle and often will even prevent the use of other therapies.

The vet may be thinking that it is best to take both ears since both were affected, and he may not be wrong about that. I would have a talk with him about your mom's reservations about leaving one ear alone and ask him to explain his reasons in more detail. Seeming fine may not be the whole story as it could have healed but still contain cancer cells.

The shelter did the first surgeries, and they probably just took the tips with no further investigation and for that you really can't blame them. They may not have even sent in pathology to see what the margins showed. Your mom seems to be coming around, so I think that you should get everything clarified with the vet about his reasons for wanting to proceed as he does.