My cat's ear infection is spreading with skin growths. How to treat?

This presentation could be due to a trauma (autotraumatism) or localized spot of skin infection (likely to be caused by bacteria). A check up, appropriate disinfection and possibly antibiotics (oral, topical or in a shampoo formulation) are needed to solve the problem. Disinfection may be started at home with very diluted hibiscrub or betadine or salted water baths. Buster collar may be useful as well to avoid any scratching. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Ear mites and underlying allergic disease (that can predispose to recurrent ear infections) are possible and should be ruled out. A physical and otoscopic examination of the ear canal are enough to rule them out. Bacterial swabs and culture can be used as well to rule out resistant infections. I would recommend to discuss all these options with your veterinarian. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation (where you can post pictures ) if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Hi and thanks for posting on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Thank you for sending along pictures but they are a little hard to make out clearly. This could be an infection-bacterial or perhaps fungal. It could also be due to a flea allergy. I would recommend keeping Jorfy on a flea preventative monthly to rule out a flea allergy but also have him see his veterinarian. Your veterinarian may do a skin scraping and/or fungal culture to rule out bacterial infection or a fungal infection. He may need antibiotics, antifungal medications, or other medications as needed. I hope this helps and thanks for posting!

Hi, I am sorry to hear about Sparrow's ear. The inside of his ear looks clean as you have shown in the picture. The back/base of his ear unfortunately looks quite infected. It is great that you are keeping the Ecollar on to prevent him from scratching the ear. Sometimes topical treatment alone will not be able to heal this type of infection. The area looks very moist, either from infection or the ointment(s) that are being applied. Typically when cats have an infected area on their skin, we want the area dry and do not put on topical treatments. This wound would most likely heal very quickly with a visit to Sparrow's veterinarian. The doctor can clip and clean the wound with medical grade gentle cleansing solution and get Sparrow on antibiotics. The antibiotics (which needs a doctor prescription) is the main treatment to get this to heal. I cannot recommend any further over the counter treatments that would allow this to heal. I am sorry about that. I would recommend to keep him indoors only, keep the ecollar on, and hold off on the ointment so the area can dry up. The veterinary appointment can hopefully happen soon and Sparrow will be on his way to healing quickly. Best of luck.

This presentation could be due to a trauma or localized spot of skin infection (likely to be caused by bacteria but fungal infections are possible as well). A check up, appropriate disinfection and possibly antibiotics (oral, topical or in a shampoo formulation) are needed to solve the problem. Disinfection may be started at home with very diluted hibiscrub or betadine or salted water baths. Buster collar may be useful as well to avoid any scratching (if any). Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

This lesion is very severe and requires antibiotics and proper wound care. The area surrounding the area affected must be clipped and disinfected appropriately and antibiotics (topical or systemic) are required.

Oh my. This ear looks badly infected and nothing topical should be placed on this ear except sterile saline and perhaps Chlorhexidine solution diluted. Bull needs to be seen by a vet as soon as possible for proper debridement of this wound, possible skin samples to find out the underlying cause, pain medicaiton, and oral or injectable antibiotics. This is not something you can treat for at home due to the severity of this wound. Please take Bull in to a vet right away. I hope that he is able to make a full and speedy recovery. Best wishes and take care. Here is a website link for financial resources if needed. Best of luck. http://m.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/trouble_affording_veterinary_care.html