Expert: Jessica - 9/28/2011

Question
My Cat just had kittens, she had gotten out for about a week and came home pregnant. She had four kittens all pretty healthy and active but the mom after having the kittens started getting this black substance around her nose, I thought it was dirt or something from when she cleans her kittens but it wont come off. When I got up this morning her nose is more pale than usual and the black ring has been getting bigger and now behind her ear is bleeding from what it looks like from scratching a lot, I checked her ear them seem the clean and everything but I don't know whats going on.

Answer
Hi Mark,

You should have mama checked out by the vet. This might be allergy-related, and a cortisone injection can help with that. But it's possible mom might have something that could be contagious to the kittens, like mange or ear mites. It doesn't sound like a typical description of mange, but most mange is found on the face and ears. And ear mites will cause scratching to the point where cats will damage the skin on the back of their ears. Both of these pests can be treated with two different flea treatments (Frontline for mange and Revolution for ear mites). Less likely, it could potentially be a fungal infection like ringworm. This is treated with a topical cream.

Good luck!

Jessica