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What causes red, scabby ears and hair loss in my indoor cat?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Domestic Shorthair | Female | spayed | 5 lbs

Last night it was just the her left ear that was red with a couple of scabs. This morning I noticed her right ear was starting to turn red and looks like there is hair loss on both ears. A few days ago her ears were fine. She’s strictly an indoor cat and when she does go outside she doesn’t wander beyond the pool, and we will bring her in after 20 minutes because there are a lot of feral cats. I know I will need to take her to the vet for it as there are many causes to this issue with her ears.

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1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Maria DVM

Veterinarian

Published on February 18th, 2018

You are correct that this warrants a veterinary visit. Exactly what you said it could be multiple things. This could be from an infection on and in the ears, ear mites, it also can be fungal. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

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