Cat near me with ear problem

[Catlover2017]

There is a cat who's always hanging about on the road next to mine. He was always there last summer and he had a strange skin condition on his ear.

I didn't see him for a few months and then today his ear has gotten a lot worse, and he looks skinnier and he looks really sick

https://ibb.co/jX19iv
https://ibb.co/iUW9iv

He was always friendly and seemed well apart from the ear but now he looks like he's feeling really sorry for himself. I'm not sure who he belongs too if anyone.

His head was kind of greasy as if someone is rubbing creams in? I took him a plate of food which he ate but now I'm not sure what to do.

Does anyone know what's wrong with his ear?

Thanks for any advice.

[MarySkater]

I'm no expert, but given that he has pink skin on his ears, I'd have said that skin cancer is a possibility. Definitely needs veterinary assessment. Where do you live? You could try calling RSPCA (England and Wales), SSPCA (Scotland) or whatever animal protection agency operates where you are. I have to say, some of these agencies get reported as inefficient, but I would make it my first port of call. If you get no joy with that, you could try Cats Protection or an equivalent charity, and see what they say. Somebody needs to scan him for a microchip, and if he has an owner, they need to be made aware of their responsibilities.

Good luck, and thank you for caring.

[Lilith]

Oh poor chap.

Yes, I agree with Mary. Cats with white ears may be prone to sunburn/skin cancer. He doesn't look well in himself at all; his coat is clumpy and 'starey' - a healthy cat has a sleek coat. He needs help and please don't be rebuffed by charities; you may need to pester (been there done that.)

Please let us know how you go on with him; any support/advice we can give, we will, good on you and all the very best

[Catlover2017]

Ok thankyou. Will go and find him tomorow and ring the rspca

He's always on that road and wouldn't come up my street when I tried to coax him so it's possible he has an owner but they arnt treating him

[Alice]

Well done for trying to help this poor cat. If you don't get any help from the big charities, and I hope you do, then if there are any small animal charities in your area you may find them more helpful than the big ones. In some areas that seems to be the case.

If you can get the cat to a vet they'd check for a microchip, without charge, and may be able to advise you about the best charity to approach for help with the cost of treatment if no owner is found, or if the owner is unable to afford treatment.

Keep in touch.

[Janey]

Hi, poor lad, yep first thing if you can is take him to a local vet to check for a chip, he may be a stray or belong to someone, and the vet may know who, and as Alice says, if he is a stray, they will tell you which rescue is best to contact, in fact they may even do that for you if they work with a local rescues as ours do and they well tell you what to do. Or, contact your local Cats Protection, or other local rescue for a trap and they will assist with this and help.
https://www.catchat.org/index.php/cat-m ... lost-found
Best of luck and do let us know how things go.

[risotto]

If you can catch him/her, then go to a veet or charity/animal shelter - that way you can get some advice or the cat can at least be left with someone who can help. It could well be skin cancer and a bad case - I grew up with four white cats who all had it, but it was removed before it got that bad - unfortunately it does re-occur but still needs treating. Whatever it is the poor cats probably not feeling great, so anything you can do to help.

[Alice]

Have you managed to get any help for this cat?