Jan 16 2009
Cleaning cat/dog ears & underlying infections
It’s actually not uncommon for a cat, especially a kitten, to have ear mites, and sometimes bacterial or yeast infections in their ears. Dogs on the other hand, rarely have mites, but often have yeast and/or bacteria in their ears. Either can have just wax build up on occassion. When they scratch at their ears, often they’ll lose the hair in that area, and sometimes the discharge causing the problem isn’t apparent from the exterior part of the ear, since the ear canal makes a sharp “L”- shaped turn.
If you are seeing debris in your cat’s or dog’s ear(s), or noticing a sudden scratching problem, I would definitely clean the ears by using an ear cleaner specifically made for cats or dogs, available from any pet supply store or online catalog or vet. My personal favorites are Otic-Clens, Derma-Pet and Pan-Otic, but any made specifically for dogs or cats will suffice for general cleaning of wax and debris build up.
Make sure the ear canal is filled, then massage the base of the ear well, then allow your cat or dog to shake the excess debris out. Wipe the exterior gunk off gently with cotton or gauze. Wash the ears daily, but gently for a few days and you should notice, if this is just wax, that is doesn’t return for quite some time (weeks t months). If having difficulty restraining your cat, try wrapping in a towel so the front legs are covered. This way, if your kitty tries scratching the ears while you’re cleaning, it prevents you from getting scratched. Large fiesty dogs may require an additional helping hand.
If the debris seems ‘never-ending’ to you, you are eventually going to need a medication from the vet, depending on what culprit is causing this problem (mites, bacteria or yeast). The vet will put a sample under the microscope to determine this. The day of your vet exam, don’t clean the ears that morning, so some debris will be built up for a good sample. Don’t put off a vet visit too long, as there can be some damage done to the ear with the infection and drying.
Until your visit though, continue cleaning daily and do your best to discourage scratching and further irritating the ears. This may require buying an e-collar from a pet supply store or vet.
Christine, LVT
