Crusty ears on a cat.

Dr. Marie replied:

Thank you for sending me these photos. Your boy is beautiful!

I have included a couple of the photos here:





These images have me a little concerned. There is a chance that this could be something relatively serious. One thing that can look very much like this is a condition called pemphigus foliaceus. This is an autoimmune condition. It can usually be controlled with medication but it can be a lifelong condition.

Another possibility is something called squamous cell carcinoma. However, this would be unlikely in a 3 month old kitten. This is a type of skin cancer that is very serious.

In an outdoor cat, I have seen ears that look like this as a result of mosquito bites. Some cats can have something called mosquito bite hypersensitivity. But, at this time of year, this would be quite uncommon in an indoor cat.

In a three month old cats, ear mites are fairly common but this does not look like ear mites. Cats with ear mites have dark crusty material deep in the ear canal and not really on the tips or margins of the ear.

Another unlikely possibility is ringworm which is a fungal condition, but I haven't seen ringworm affect the ear margins like this.

I would highly recommend that you have your vet examine your boy. They will want to do some tests and will probably need to do a biopsy of part of the ear in order to determine what is going on.

If you do get a diagnosis, I would love for you to post back and let me know.

Dr. Marie

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Dr. Marie replied:

I'm glad to hear that! Hope things clear up quickly!

Dr. Marie