My 4-month-old kitten has ear scabs & waxy bumps. Is it an infection?

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Lizzie. She appears to have an inflamed area with a scab on it. Has she been scratching her ears or shaking her head? The most likely scenario is an ear infection. This is usually itchy and the patient can cause self trauma from scratching. A lot of times there will be brown to black discharge coming out of the ear. The ear canal, however, is deep and there can be an infection that is not even visible from the outside. She will need to see her veterinarian to determine if this is the case or if she has a small mass growing. I hope this information helps!

It is difficult to diagnose an ear infection without examining the discharge under a microscope to see if there are any bacteria, yeast, or mites. Based on the pictures, it does not appear to be a large amount of discharge. There aren't any OTC ear medications for infections but you could clean the ear with just an ear cleaner labeled for cats and see if that helps. Clean three times a week for now and then once weekly and see if that gets rid of all the discharge. If not, he really needs to go to a vet for treatment.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Judging from the picture you provided, I see black waxy material and also a tattoo that has been done on the inside of the pinna. The tattoo is likely to indicate that she has been spayed and it is in the pattern of a circle with a linear line through it. That is not a concern at all and will be permanent. The black wax may be due to ear mites or an ear infection though. I would recommend having a veterinarian examine Fluffy so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you 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!

With a clean ear canal, the most common cause of tiny bumps on the ear itself is related to hypersensitivity reactions from insect bites. The inflamed and sore lesion in front of Teak's left ear is most likely due to self-trauma from him scratching. The concern is that this skin may be infected from the excessive scratching. Your best bet is to take Teak to his vet for an exam because he may need a course of antibiotics and antihistamines to manage this issue. Be sure that Teak is receiving a high quality flea preventative (such as Advantage or Revolution) monthly because flea bites can also cause bumps on the ears. I hope that all goes well!

It could be Kitty has an ear infection. In cat's her age, ear infections are likely caused by yeast or bacteria, and you need to have her seen by a vet to have this diagnosed and treated. Leaving this untreated can lead to hearing loss.

Unfortunately, without seeing it in person, I can't say for certain what is causing this rough and bumpy patch beneath Shiki's ear. I can say that if she is scratching below her ear, that can be a sign of an ear infection, and I do think she should see a vet for it. Ear infections in cats can be caused by ear mites, yeast, or bacteria, and can only be treated by medications from the vet. I recommend having Shiki seen by a vet tomorrow to diagnose if she does have an ear infection, and to get medications to treat it if she does. It's important to treat any ear infection promptly, as leaving it untreated can lead to hearing loss.