Blood blister in cats ear

by Sandra
(Nevada)

Hello, My cat Boo has a blood blister in his ear and it is very swollen. About 6 months ago one of my other cats had one in his ear and it did go away on it's own but his ear will never look the same. I'm not really worried about Boo's ear not looking the same what I'm worried about is can a blood blister get infected. It's so swollen and just looks so painful. Also is there any herbal treatment to help with the ear or maybe a warm dish towel to help the blister open on it's own?

Sincerely,
Sandra

RESPONSE:

Simply breaking the blood blister with a hot cloth or other methods isn’t going to help with the space left because the blood collects between the skin and cartilage on the inner side of the ear.

The blood blister that you mention is an aural haematoma that can be caused by a number of things such as bacterial ear infections, infestation with ear mites, skin allergies, fleas, polyps, ticks, foreign objects like grass seeds, or even being in a cat fight. This blood blister results from a rupture of a blood vessel in the ear.

Basically there are two problems. One is alleviating the pain by surgical removal and the second is resolving the underlying cause. The surgery is performed to remove the blood clot and the space left between the skin and cartilage using special sutures. This prevents another aural haematoma from forming. However, the cause of the blood blister must be treated or it may reoccur. The most common reason is ear mites but it could be one of the others listed above.

You really should get your cat to the vet. You’ve stated that your other cat has an obvious ear deformity now after allowing it to resolve itself. That was caused by the blood in the ear flap separating into serum and a clot that gradually was absorbed, taking 10 days or up to 6 weeks. Some scarring takes place during this process and it also causes a deformity of the ear flap resulting in a “cauliflower ear” which can cause additional problems over time.

A cat feels discomfort and in some instances considerable pain during this time. I would suggest that you get your cat to the veterinarian and have it taken care of properly. Once the underlying cause is discovered you will also benefit by knowing what procedures to take to prevent another occurrence in the future.

Since both of your cats have experienced this issue it might be common culprits like ear mites and there are ear drops available to resolve this. I noticed one of my cats (Giorgio) shaking his head a lot scratching and because I suspected ear mites I put the ear drops in. The scratching stopped and I believe further health problems were avoided. This may be your solution in the future.

Good luck with the blood blister resolution.