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My cat has itchy ears, hair loss, and is scooting. Should I see a vet?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Female

I'm concerned my cat may have a mites. She scratches her left ear a lot recently and behind her right ear in the past week she has lost some hair and a brown substance has formed. She also wipes her bum on the floor sometimes and licks it but i don't think she does this enough for it to be a real issue like ringworm. Also occasionally sick (wet food?) keeps scratching her ear getting irritated though so I'm really unsure. Please can you tell me whether to buy medication or visit the vets Thank

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4 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Jessica Desrosiers

Veterinary Technician

Published on April 28th, 2017

Cute kitty! It's possible mites could be to blame, however they typically cause problems with the inner ear including discharge/dirty debris. However if Peanut is scratching a lot it could cause hair loss elsewhere. The bottom scooting and occasional vomiting could be related to the ear via an allergy, or may be related to anal gland, digestive, or parasite issues. Since this problem has been ongoing for a bit, and you have a few symptoms you're concerned about it'd be best to schedule a vet exam to rule out anything serious and find the problem causing her itching.

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    Answered By Dr. Leigh, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on October 16th, 2017

    Poor Lily! Her ears look very red an inflamed. Besides ear mites, she could have a bacterial and/or yeast ear infection and might need a prescription medication to treat. She really should be examined by a vet to determine the cause and treat. Your vet can do an ear cytology and then prescribe medications to treat the infection and control the itching.

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    Answered By Chad Brown, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on July 9th, 2018

    Hello and thank you very much for your question regarding Amber. When it comes to bilateral hair loss and scratching on both ears we begin to think of a few possible diseases. Some of these are environmental allergies, external parasites like lice or mange, flea bite dermatitis, ringworm, and a few others. They generally do not get food allergies at this age but it is still possible that she could be allergic to the blue Buffalo food also. Even if you do not see fleas at all, your cat needs to be on a prescription strength flea and heartworm preventative every single month of the year no matter whether it is hot or cold outside. In order to get a correct diagnosis, you will need to make an appointment with your regular veterinarian to have a full physical examination performed. At that appointment, the vet will probably want to do some testing such as skin scrapes, flea comb, ringworm culture, etc. Your vet should be able to take these test results and put you on the correct treatment that will be able to stop your cats itching and hair loss. I encourage you not to try any over-the-counter medications or supplements, but rather seek a professional veterinarian to get the correct diagnosis. The reason being that the hair loss can spread and your cat can get much worse. I hope I have provided you with the information you needed. Have a great day

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    Answered By Dr. Elizabeth

    Veterinarian

    Published on October 29th, 2019

    I would be concerns that the lesion is either ringworm (which humans can get) or an infected bite wound (maybe an accidental bite that occurred while playing). I recommend to have Sophie examined by the veterinarian soon to test that area fro ringworm and get the correct treatment. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

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