Here’s the cold truth about your cat’s ear

I inherited an outdoor cat from my uncle’s upstate farm. This cat has always been an outdoor cat and came to me with a crumpled left ear. I was told that was a result of frostbite. My local vet said he had never heard of such a thing and that the ear deformation was likely due to a prior ear infection that resulted in something called a hematoma or swelling of the ear that was never properly addressed. What say you? My uncle is old and I don’t fault him, but will this cat suffer any long-term negative effects? He still has dark discharge in both ears, and I was given medication for that. I hope he will be OK now that he is living indoors in the suburbs. While I have never seen a cat with frostbite, the clinical signs would be different and not lead to a crumpled or cauliflowered ear. If a cat had frostbite, he would also be weak and lethargic due to hypothermia. Areas of thin hair coat are the first affected, such as tips of ears, tail, toes and nose. If not treated, irreversible damage sets in and the skin would turn blue or pale, be cold to the touch and the tissue would eventually become necrotic and slough off. A piece of ear may be lost but not crumple up. What your cat likely has is scarring from an old aural hematoma that was not properly drained and supported. Often this happens from a cat having an ear infection, shaking the head a lot or scratching at the ear. A vessel ruptures between the skin of the ear, and the cartilage within swells the ear with blood and fluid. It sounds as if your new cat has a current ear infection under treatment, and there should be no long-term negative effects.