My cat has red, dry ear bumps spreading to his face. What's wrong?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This may be secondary infections due to allergies for example. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing her allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests. Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!

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!

Poor Inky could have allergic skin disease and a bacterial or fungal infection going on. He really needs to get some antibiotics on board, and likely your vet will want to do a skin scraping to look for mites and make sure he doesn't have fleas or other parasites. He may also need anti-itching medications to feel better.

Carbon has milliary dermatitis. It is often caused by a reaction to insect bites like knats, or from allergies. Basically it is a skin infection/irritation. Usually it will clear up on its own if the cause is gone. You can clean the skin with a mild antibacterial pad and apply antibacterial ointment. If Carbon goes outside using a flea prevention product will help repell insects too. Allergies are often seasonal so as it cools off and the bugs and humidity go away this should resolve. If it gets worse an exam is recommended. Generally this is treated with steroids and antibiotics. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care Carbon.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Judging from the photos you have provided, I would suspect this to be a severe allergic reaction or something such as a cancerous skin condition of the ear pinna. I would recommend having a veterinarian examine this so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. Vampira may need a course of steroids to treat this if it is a mosquito bite hypersensitivity or other allergy. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

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!

Hi there. If your vet has tested appropriately and Jacks already has a history of Herpes, I would be concerned about an immune mediated disease. If you have also done a food trial as well as steroids, etc the best thing would be to do a biopsy and send off a piece of affected tissues for histopathology. I hope this helps and I wish you the best.