Poor baby! But she will be feeling better soon & will look better once the fur grows back. I'm sure you and Kitty are both glad the surgery is over and she's back home!
1 - 20 of 29 Posts
4
Okay so as promised I have some pictures of what Kitty's ear looked like before the amutation. Please be advised the images are a bit graphic and may disturb some people.
![]()
This is what her ear looked like before amputation.In this photo it would seem like the ear is okay but the scab had just fallen off exposing the funny looking flesh you see in the picture. Unfortanatly a huge scab would cover the entire area and continue to fall off and re-scab on a freaquent basis. In the following picture you will see the end result of her battle with this ear.
![]()
So this is how she looks now when you look at her pretty much dead on. The ear is really puffy right now, and with all the hair shaved she looks even more odd. I still think she looks beautiful! :luv
![]()
This is how it looks... I think that the vet did a nice job trying to maintain an ear shape of some kind for her. I can see that it will look great once the swelling comes down.
![]()
The lack of hair really throws off the look! But she is doing really good today, even resting more and seems for the most part quite content, which is good. I will continue to post on her progress as well as add pictures of the healing process.
This is what her ear looked like before amputation.In this photo it would seem like the ear is okay but the scab had just fallen off exposing the funny looking flesh you see in the picture. Unfortanatly a huge scab would cover the entire area and continue to fall off and re-scab on a freaquent basis. In the following picture you will see the end result of her battle with this ear.
So this is how she looks now when you look at her pretty much dead on. The ear is really puffy right now, and with all the hair shaved she looks even more odd. I still think she looks beautiful! :luv
This is how it looks... I think that the vet did a nice job trying to maintain an ear shape of some kind for her. I can see that it will look great once the swelling comes down.
The lack of hair really throws off the look! But she is doing really good today, even resting more and seems for the most part quite content, which is good. I will continue to post on her progress as well as add pictures of the healing process.
It concerns me that the section of your girl's ear that developed the unhealing lesion was white. White ears, esp. in cats who have spent a lot of time outdoors, are susceptible to developing skin cancer. That's exactly what happened with Billy's ear, as well. For a couple of years, Billy's lesion would scab over and fall off, revealing flat, pink skin underneath but never completely healing. My vet diagnosed it as allergies. Unfortunately, it was actually skin cancer. After a couple of years, the lesions increased both in size and number, and they became lumpy and bloody. At that point, I sought out a second opinion from a vet who said the entire pinna would have to be removed in order to remove all of the cancerous cells.
It's possible that your girl's ear damage was caused by both frostbite and by skin cancer, so I urge you to keep a very close eye on the remainder of that ear and the other ear to make sure no lesions resurface. Check your girl's ears when they are backlit by a window or lamp and see if you see any dark lines running down the interiors of the ears. That's something that also showed up in Billy's cancerous ear.
It's too bad that your vet didn't send the amputated pinna to a pathology lab for testing. Then you'd know for sure whether frostbite was her only problem. Regardless, if you do see anything suspicious arise on either ear, you'll know to take her right back to your vet for a biopsy and pathology.
Here are pics of Billy immediately after, immediately before, and several years after his pinna amputation.
Laurie
It's possible that your girl's ear damage was caused by both frostbite and by skin cancer, so I urge you to keep a very close eye on the remainder of that ear and the other ear to make sure no lesions resurface. Check your girl's ears when they are backlit by a window or lamp and see if you see any dark lines running down the interiors of the ears. That's something that also showed up in Billy's cancerous ear.
It's too bad that your vet didn't send the amputated pinna to a pathology lab for testing. Then you'd know for sure whether frostbite was her only problem. Regardless, if you do see anything suspicious arise on either ear, you'll know to take her right back to your vet for a biopsy and pathology.
Here are pics of Billy immediately after, immediately before, and several years after his pinna amputation.
Laurie
Attachments
Thanks all for the nice words! 
And wow to Billy's ear, poor little guy lost alot of it. I never noticed any dark lines in Kitty's ear only normal pinkish ones. She popped a stitch though this afternoon right after I was done talking on the phone with the vet of all things. That is a bit scary. I trimmed back one of her cones that could be altered so she can now wear it on a regular basis till this is over. I don't need to take any chances! The stitching is still in the ear so I don't know if the vet can tie it back up or not. I am again waiting for her call and I must say I feel kind of silly calling the vet all the time! Kitty hates the cone but it's for her own good.
And wow to Billy's ear, poor little guy lost alot of it. I never noticed any dark lines in Kitty's ear only normal pinkish ones. She popped a stitch though this afternoon right after I was done talking on the phone with the vet of all things. That is a bit scary. I trimmed back one of her cones that could be altered so she can now wear it on a regular basis till this is over. I don't need to take any chances! The stitching is still in the ear so I don't know if the vet can tie it back up or not. I am again waiting for her call and I must say I feel kind of silly calling the vet all the time! Kitty hates the cone but it's for her own good.
:wink Good news, I took Kitty in for a check-up since her surgery and the vet said she is healing up quite nicely. Turns out the bump on her ear was normal too and was nothing to worry over. Kitty will be cone free on Friday afternoon! I am sure she will be happy about that too. I will post some pics of her ear on Friday after the stitches come out.
Funny thing is I don't think Kitty notices the ear is missing, and is acting quite normally. It must feel better too I figure without having a huge open sore on it anymore. She paws at it to groom and seemed very comfortable while doing so, but her cone is on for now to keep her from going at it too much. The worst is finally behind her and she can go on living a more normal and comfortable life now. After the problem part of her ear was removed, she hardly even seemed to notice the pain of it all. I think because she is so used to having pain on her ear. It must be strange to not have that pain anymore for her. I am just glad it is over and she is doing really well!
Oh my in her pics she looks peeved. Lol. Glad to hear she is doing better. Best thing you could have done for her. I think a treat or a favorite toy is in order here
1 - 20 of 29 Posts
