Should My Cats Ears Feel Warm
Cats naturally feel warm to the touch to humans because their body temperature runs higher than ours.
Should my cats ears feel warm. Popular culture may lead us to believe that a healthy cat has a cold wet nose which creates the assumption that a dry warm nose must indicate a fever. To determine if your cat has ear mites check your cats ears for material that looks like coffee. Taking your cats temperature with a thermometer is the only real way to diagnose a fever see box below. They are easily passed between cats and are most commonly diagnosed in kittens.
If the heat emanating from one or both cat ears is a cause for concern dont panic. Sometimes clients report to me that the cats nose was warm or the cat felt warm or hot but that is not a reliable indicator of fever dr. This however is untrue. Ear mites are tiny parasites that like to live in and around cat ears.
She may be caring a fever or illness. If we want to understand if a cat having warm ears is a worrying condition then we need to also look at other symptoms and possible behavioral changes. If your cat has been spending their nap time splayed out in the sun or lying next to the fireplace it is understandable that this part of their body might feel warmer than usual. Look to the whole cat before you call the vet.
A cat can have warm ears one hour and cool ones the next. The hairless part of your cats ears should be clean and odorless. A healthy cat will have a body temperature of 1005 1025 degrees fahrenheit. One of the best ways to determine your next step is to observe for other symptoms.
If you notice your cats ears feel hot to the touch you do not always have to be alarmed. Hot ears is sometimes a sign of a fever related to a viral infection and you can check if the cat has a fever by feeling other parts of their body to see if they are also warmer than usual. Your cat may also have an ear infection or mites. Check for flaking scabs foul odor or discharge.
A cats ears should vary in temperature as a cat heats up and cools down. The temperature of cats ears is changeable so a cats ears feeling hot does not necessarily mean there is a problem. This means that a cats ears will often feel hot to the touch. When a cats ears are very hot to the touch this can but not always indicate a fever.
Here are a few other symptoms to note when your cat is sick. Ears that are constantly hot suggests a fever. In fact the first possible cause might be a potentially obvious one. For instance if you feel your cats ears warm its her temperature.
If you see a black gritty substance inside they probably have ear mites which are parasites that cause severe itching and are contagious. She is supposed to be warm but if your cats ears are hot thats when you should be concerned. Ear mites make cats shake their heads and scratch themselves around the ears head and neck.