My cat has ear scabs and skin bumps. Is her skin problem contagious?

These lesions look suspicious of scabies mites, ringworm and/or this could be a result of a current ear infection (ear mites) and fleas. Neither of these conditions can be properly diagnosed and treated without the help of your veterinarian unfortunately. I would try to take at least 1 cat in to the vet to have a skin scrape and ear exam + ear cytology (if debris is seen inside the ear canal) to try and confirm the diagnosis so that we know how to best help your pets. I am highly suspicious that this is a contagious skin disease however because multiple pets have skin problems at the same time. Poor cats. Here is a website link for financial help if needed http://m.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/trouble_affording_veterinary_care.html I hope that Muming and your other cats get their skin problems resolved soon. The vet should know just what they need after the necessary preliminary testing is done. Best wishes and take care.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Blossom! Her skin on her ears looks bad. I think she should see a Vet to diagnose the cause and start treatment. Possible causes are food allergies, ringworm, mites. You can play with her diet and see if changing the protein helps for long term management. If an animal has a food allergy chicken tends to be the most common allegen. But that won’t help her feel better in the short term. Ringworm is diagnosed on fungal culture and mites on a skin scrape. An infection is treated with antibiotics and steroids. I hope this helps and I wish Blossom a speedy recovery!

I would recommend having Sharon examined by your vet and have your vet do some simple skin tests to determine what might be going on with Sharon. We do sometimes see some different types of mites (I have attached a link to a handout below with more information on one type of mite) that can cause skin problems in cats as well as bacterial or fungal infections. so your vet will need to determine the cause of the crusting in order to determine the best treatment option. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=512 Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Ouch! Those are some major hot spots in that photo. I would recommend having Lili seen by your vet so the area can be clipped and cleaned and any medications such as pain or antibiotics can be given to help it heal a bit faster. I'd also keep Lili from scratching or pawing at it as this can introduce bacteria and more inflammation which can slow healing. If only Lili is affected and you're not noticing other issues like parasites, etc, it is possible there is an allergy underlying. She could be rubbing up against something causing the itchiness, or could have an ingredient allergy to something in her food (or a treat if the spots correspond with intermittent feeding of a treat or wet food). Other issues such as an underlying illness like an immune or metabolic issue can also cause scabbing and skin issues that affect only one cat in the household. A vet visit is a good option at this point both to treat the current scabs and to see if a food trial, allergy meds, or additional testing such as bloodwork to rule out any underlying health issues may be beneficial in finding the cause.

Blue's skin is very inflamed! There are a few things that can cause this including mites (both demodex and scabies) and allergies. Secondary bacterial infections are also super common when the skin looks like this. Allergies and demodex are not contagious but scabies is and it can be found where ever pets go (including the pet store). Humans can get scabies from their pets but the infection is usually short lived as we are not the target host. You should speak with your doctor if you have any rashes. This is not something you can likely tackle at home, it needs medication to get better. I recommend to take Blue into see her veterinarian who needs to run a diagnostic called a skin scrape to check for mites (and thus know how to treat her). Blue will likely get an antibiotic as well. I hope this helps and feel free to post any additional questions.

Hello! With out at least a picture of the bumps its hard to give you an idea of what may be going on. I can tell you that the most common reason cats scratch there ears is due to a mite infection. Another common problem are polyps in her ear, which are usually in the ear canal and can cause cats to scratch their ears. The bumps around the outside of her ears could be irritation from her scratching the area. Other considerations could be a primary dermatological problem and neoplasia. While age is certainly not a disease, neoplasia is more common in older pets and therefore has to be on the list. I do not think Spicy is any immediate danger. I would recommend having her seen by a veterinarian as for an examination of her ears and possibly some tests of the skin around the ears. Hopefully this helps a bit!

This may be a small reaction to getting bitten by something or an allergy to something in the environment. the skin around the scab does not appear to be inflamed or infected and that is a good sign. If it does not go away or begins to spread or bother him, I would see a vet for medication to clear it