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My senior cat has inflamed ear spots and diarrhea. Are they related?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Ragdoll | Female | spayed | 11 years and 9 months old | 12 lbs

Hi! I have a senior, indoor ragdoll who I noticed has these pink, somewhat inflamed spots on her ears this morning. We have two other cats and they sometimes can be aggressive when play fighting, which is why there is a small scratch on her ear as well. Also, she's been having mild diarrhea for the past 24 hrs, but that is normal for her when she has a hairball. I'm not sure if either of those pieces of information relate to her ear, or if it is something mutually exclusive. Thank you so much!

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1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Strydom, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on June 12th, 2023

Hello, thank you for using PetCoach. This bump on the ear is very round and discrete which lends itself more to being an allergic reaction, a cyst, an abscess or some type of tumor. It does not look like trauma especially if there is more than one of these bumps. The diarrhea could be related if the lump(s) are related to an allergic reaction. Any time a cat has a lump on them it is best to have them examined by a vet. If it is not bothering her you can wait a day or two to see if it resolves on it's own but if it doesn't then she needs to see a vet. For the diarrhea I would start her on a probiotic like Fortiflora: ( https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/purina-pro-plan-veterinary-supplement-fortiflora-feline-probiotic-powder-for-cats-count-of-30-3348871 ) I hope this helps. Best wishes.

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