My cat's ears are sore, inflamed, and scabby. What could be wrong?

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. The scab could be a self-inflicted wound if Yamcha has been scratching the ear excessively. It often happens with ear canal infections. It could be reaction to sun - cats can get sun burns, which most often affects ears. You can try using sunscreen on the ears to see if it is going to help ( you can buy sunscreen for cats Online). Finally, there are some diseases affecting the tip of the ear (usually auto-immune diseases) but they are very uncommon in cats.

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!

This may be sun damage, a precursor to skin cancer, a skin infection or damage due to excessive scratching. I recommend a full check up as soon as possible, in many cases removal of the ear tips and biopsy is recommended if no apparent infection is identified

It is difficult to diagnose without actually seeing the lesion but it could be an infection or possibly a squamous cell carcinoma which is more common in white cats. If your vet is not able to diagnose then you should find another vet in your area that can examine your cat.

It could be Simba has a yeast or bacterial ear infection. Those tend to happen more than ear mites in adult cats. Kittens are more likely to get ear mites. You do need to have him seen by a vet. The vet can diagnose if he does have an ear infection and can treat him. It's important to get him seen promptly as leaving it untreated can lead to hearing loss. I hope this helps!

It is possible that his ear was sunburned, but he could also have an ear infection. It's not normal to have this area bright red, and I would have your cat seen by a vet immediately. The vet can diagnose if he has a sunburn or an ear infection, and can treat him for it.

This is a serious problem as cats with white ears and lots of sunburns are very prone to cancer on the ears (Squamous Cell Carcinoma). The best would be to make your cat an inside only cat in summer so that she is not exposed to the sun. This includes pulling shades in the house so she cannot sunbathe and get burnt in the window either. You can try to put sun lotion on the ears with a high protection factor against UV light, however most cats will lick it off. Keeping her out of the sun is vital and the only way to keep her from being burned.