Funny skin on cat's ears

[catsmother]

I know you're all going to say I should take my cat to the vets - and I will be - but I wondered if anyone else has come across anything like this, so I know what to expect in terms of cost etc.

One of my cats has now had small scabby bald patches on the tips of each of her ears for about 3-4 months, plus a similar patch on the outer edge of one of them too. At first, I thought she'd been in a fight as they all do and that it'd clear up, but when you look very closely, she seems to have tiny little orange spots of "scab" (which you'd normally expect to be reddish brown).

I've done nothing about it because it seems to be causing her no distress, she's not scratching her ears at all. These orange patches don't appear to be moving - thank god, and don't smell. But 3-4 months is far too long for these areas not to have healed.

Has anyone got any ideas ? There's nothing like this in any of my cat books or on the net (at least where I've looked). I wondered if it was a fungal infection ?

aaaah yes
i think i knwo wym
its fighting i think or fleas

or ear mites.

or a blue tooth?

Our old cat had this and the scabby bits were, apparently, non-malignant cankers caused by sunburn. He had white ears and from then on we had to put factor 30 on him in the summer, which he wasn't too happy about. He's not with us any more but he died due to old age (17) and nothing to do with his ears.

i think i remember my rabbit having this when i was a child, it could be Canker as someone else suggeseted. Or ear mites. Isnt there a vet site to go on? vetsnet

I don't think it's anything to do with fleas. I treat her for that and haven't seen any.

Also don't think (though obviously don't know for sure) it's mites as she doesn't scratch.

Fighting ? ....... maybe, 'cos she often scraps with the others, but I've never seen an orange scab before.

The sunburn theory's interesting - though she's black !

Oh well, will just have to resign myself to spending at least £40 down the vets.

Thanks all.

not a blue tooth tign then>

What colour is your cat? Don't want to seem alarmist but it could be skin cancer, white eared cats are more sceptible to it, get to the vets asap, just in case.

Hope the wee soul's ok

tlb.x

anything like here?

if you are using frontline for treating fleas then it will kill earmites as well.if your cat had earmites though for 3-4 mths wd be yucky wax coming out of them by now.outside chance is harvestmites if you live in oneof few areas where you see it (kendal?).need frontline spray for this.if you are using something shit like bob martins flea control your vet will tell you to use a vet one so may as well do before.
unfortunately if not itchy and not healing i wd also suspect a skin cancer, needs checking to see if benign/malignant.

my last cat had this, i picked all the scabs off and his ears were all pink and bald and then the fur grew back. looked very odd when he was bald though. current cat had a milder dose of it on just one ear, whichi'm sure was because it picked the scabby bits off sooner.