Ear Surgery for a Cat

The fur on your cat's ears helps protect the delicate skin inside and outside its ears. Occasionally, that protection fails and your cat's ear can be damaged through an object lodged in its ear canal or by a growth on or within its ear. Ear surgery is one form of treatment your veterinarian might recommend.

  1. Reasons for Surgery

    • When something needs to be removed from your cat's ear, surgery is one possible option. If your cat has a foreign object lodged inside of its ear canal or a tumor growing within the canal, your veterinarian might need to surgically remove it, according to "The First+Aid Companion for Dogs &Cats." If your cat develops skin cancer on the tip of its ear, it will need to be removed surgically.

    Symptoms

    • A cat with a tumor or a foreign object lodged in its ear will have a foul-smelling ear infection in only one ear. Your can might paw at its ear and scratch it often. The infection will not clear up over time or after treatment with ear drops. If your cat develops squamous cell carcinoma, you will notice the skin on its ear tip is red and scaly and that the hair is falling out.

    Types of Ear Surgery

    • To remove an object in your cat's ear, a veterinary surgeon will first view the inside of your cat's ear with an otoscope. Once she has located the tumor or the foreign object, she can cut it out. Squamous cell carcinoma on a cat's ear can be removed through cryosurgery or by the complete surgical removal of the cancerous tip of your cat's ear, along with a small border section of healthy tissue, according to the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.

    Recovery

    • Cats usually recover well from ear surgery. To keep your cat from damaging the ear during the healing process, put an E-collar on it to make sure it cannot scratch its ear. If your cat has bandages on its ear, replace them a few times as it heals. Your veterinarian may prescribe antibiotics following surgery to help prevent the risk of infection during recovery.

    Considerations

    • If your cat has a tumor in its ear, the infection the tumor causes will not clear up until the tumor is removed. Untreated ear infections in cats can lead to balance problems and hearing loss. Prevent squamous cell carcinoma from developing on your cat's ear by limiting its exposure to the sun and by putting sunscreen on the tips of its ears when it goes outside.