Why is my cat's ear pink and losing fur? Allergies or dry skin?

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.

I would be really suspicious of ringworm. Although there could be other causes as well such as stick tight fleas, frost bite, infections, etc. I would encourage you to have him evaluated by your veterinarian soon. In the meantime please practice good hygiene after handling him as ringworm is contagious to people as well. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

This presentation could be due to a trauma or localized spot of skin infection (likely to be caused by bacteria but fungal infections are possible as well). A check up, appropriate disinfection and possibly antibiotics (oral, topical or in a shampoo formulation) are needed to solve the problem. Disinfection may be started at home with very diluted hibiscrub or betadine or salted water baths. Buster collar may be useful as well to avoid any scratching (if any). Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

From the appearance in the picture, it looks as though Jet is missing a bit of hair from his ear in addition to the scaling skin. There are several possible causes for this scaling, including allergies, ringworm, and mange. As a starting point, make sure that Jet is receiving a good quality flea preventive. Advantage is a good OTC option, but your vet will have other prescription flea preventives, like Bravecto or Revolution. I also think it's worth having him examined by your vet, particularly because ringworm and one form of mange (scabies) can be transmitted to people and other pets. It's important to rule out those contagious issues! During a physical exam, your vet may recommend taking samples to examine under the microscope, as well as samples for a fungal culture to rule out ringworm. Then, based on their findings, they'll be able to determine the best course of treatment for Jet. I hope that everything goes well!

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I suspect that some sticky, irritant liquid got stuck to the ear causing skin irritation and loss of fur. Please, try and clean the ear with an antiseptic skin solution twice daily for 2-3 days (for example 4% chlorhexidine). However, if the ear remains red, inflamed or if it starts bothering Abu, you should take him to your local vets for an appointment.

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!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is possibly due to allergies. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing his allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. A secondary infection is likely and also needs to be addressed. If it is just allergies then this is not expected to be contagious. 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!