Why is my cat scratching, with lumps behind ears and swollen neck?

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!

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 Luna. It looks like she may have created a skin infection behind her right ear. We will commonly see cats create wounds from scratching at areas. I would recommend having her evaluated for an ear infection and to evaluate for any secondary skin infections. If there is an underlying cause for her to scratch that area (ear or other skin problem), you will need to treat that underlying cause first in order to allow that area to heal. I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

That looks like it may be a hematoma or a wound that has become infected (very common in outdoor cats). Unfortunately, it needs to be seen by a vet in person so it can be clipped away and the area cleaned/antibiotics given as needed. If you are unable to catch him and bring him in yourself, you may see if your local humane society or animal control can come out to humanely trap him so he can be brought in fore care.

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.

I'm sorry to hear of your concerns with Bagheera. The most likely causes for an acute swelling such as that shown in the picture include an abscess, trauma or allergic reaction. I would recommend that you have him seen by your veterinarian. They may recommend a fine needle aspirate of the swelling to get a better idea of what's going on. If it is an abscess, surgery may be required to drain the infection.

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!