My senior cat has lumps in his ear. Are they serious or normal?

Your suspicions are right. This is a skin mass unfortunately. Due to the color, I would recommend having Nanni seen by your vet and the mass sampled to see if this is cancerous or benign (non-cancerous). Hopefully it is not cancerous and we can just monitor it. But if it does end up being cancerous (after viewing the cells that make up the mass microscopically), then removal of the mass can be discussed with your vet. I wish you all the best moving forward with Nanni. Take care!

This looks like ceruminous cystomatosis which is a non-cancerous tumor of the wax glands in the ears. Treatment involves removal of the lesions (which often will regrow and need to be removed again) either surgically, with a laser, or with cautery. It is important to note that surgical removal will likely lead to scar tissue formation and some deformation of the ear flap. I suggest you have Mowgli examined by your vet when you can.

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.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! These could be benign or malignant growths. There is no way of knowing for sure without an examination though this represents a reason to seek veterinary care. This is usually determined with an examination and a fine needle aspirate (FNA) or a biopsy. Treatment depends on the findings up to that point. I recommend you have Moo evaluated by a veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. Good luck and have a good night!

This appears to be ceruminous cystomatosis - very common in Himalayan and Persian cats. It is a benign neoplastic condition but sometimes becomes a problem when lesions enlarge and occlude the ear canal, which disrupts normal self-cleaning. With just one cyst present I would not be overly concerned but if more start to appear and/or they get larger then you may need to have treatment done. Cryotherapy and/or laser treatment is usually the first line of treatment. It does not cure the issue then surgery to remove the entire ear canal is needed (TECA). At this stage I would just recommend monitoring it. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

As long as it isn't bothering him, you can monitor it at home. Watch for rapid change or growth or if it causes pain. Your veterinarian can perform a fine needle aspirate to collect samples for pathology. This may identify the lump. Treatment options can be discussed once results are returned.

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. In the photos you provided this appears to be what looks like a cyst to me. Many times these cysts are the nine and occur with age. If you do not want to put him through any major testing you could still have him examined by a veterinarian and the vet you have a look at him can stick a small needle into the cyst and drain the contents. This does not generally require any sedation and is typically well- tolerated by cats. Most likely the cyst will fill back up, but I have several patients that are older where the owners do not want to put them through any major testing or surgery and elect to bring the animal in every so often to have the cyst drained. I would discuss this with your veterinarian and see if this is something that he or she would do. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please feel free to contact me if you have any further concerns.