My older cat has a bloody, black mass on her ear. Is it cancer?

Your suspicions are right. This is a skin mass unfortunately. Due to the color, I would recommend having Nanni seen by your vet and the mass sampled to see if this is cancerous or benign (non-cancerous). Hopefully it is not cancerous and we can just monitor it. But if it does end up being cancerous (after viewing the cells that make up the mass microscopically), then removal of the mass can be discussed with your vet. I wish you all the best moving forward with Nanni. Take care!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. It is difficult to guide you in the right direction without seeing the tumors myself, however, I would recommend having a veterinarian assess the ear canal to see if these tumors can be removed. If the tumors extend far enough into the canal and are causing problems (chronic ear infections, bleeding, sore, etc.) then the ear canal may need to be removed along with the tumors to ensure complete removal. Again, this is something I would have a veterinarian examine so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction!

This is a seriously big tumor and needs to be removed ASAP before it spreads to thee inside of the ear. It is obviously painful or bothering the cat, which is why she is scratching it drawing blood. This in turn may cause infection. Please encourage your neighbors to take Baby to a veterinarian and have that tumor removed surgically.

Poor Kitty Bear! I would be concerned that she may have ear tip vasculitis that affects the blood flow to the tips of the ears and can result in crusts and ulcerative wounds. Squamous cell carcinoma is a cancer that can affect the tips of the ears as well but it would be unusual for both ears to be affected. I would definitely recommend having your vet examine her as soon as possible to determine what might be going on. A biopsy might be recommended.

Oh, that looks bad on Fred's ear. Certainly it could be a malignant tumor such as a cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. This is a cancer of the skin that occurs on unpigmented (white) parts of the body like the nose and ears. Please keep in mind that I cannot say this for certain without seeing him in person, and he definitely needs to see a vet for as soon as possible. I would take him into a vet first thing in the morning. If this is a SCC, he may need to have the area surgically removed. Please take him into a vet as soon as possible.

Yes, I would strongly suspect squamous cell carcinoma in an older white colored cat. The microsporum was likely an incidental finding. If this was my cat I would definitely remove the pinna and send it to a lab for histopathology. If it is SCC, the surgery should be curative. Here is a link to a good article about this problem: ( https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4952685 ) Hope this helps. Best wishes.

I'm sorry to hear that Baby Kitty's ear has been such a problem for her! Surgery is generally the treatment of choice for aural hematomas, but these issues can also develop scar tissue over a period of at least 6-8 weeks. If Baby Kitty has an ongoing ear infection, this could also exacerbate any head shaking, preventing scar tissue from forming appropriately. No surgery ever offers a definitive guarantee, but it seems that surgically addressing the hematoma would be less invasive, less painful and likely less expensive than removing the entire pinna (ear flap). The only pinna amputations that I have seen have been due to cancerous masses on the ear because the surgery can be very painful and cause a significant amount of bleeding. Consider discussing this with your vet and have her ears checked to assure that an infection is not present and causing irritation. I'm glad to see that she has an e-collar on - keep it up! Avoid using the transdermal medication on her right ear for the time being and be sure to clean her left ear prior to each application. I hope that all goes well!