Posts Tagged ‘ear disease’

Cleaning your cat’s ears is essential in ensuring he doesn’t get ear infections that can cause horrendous damage if left untreated.  For the sake of your cat’s health and your pet insurance, it is well worth cleaning your cat’s ears regularly.  In this post I provide a simple guide to how to clean your cat’s ears thoroughly.  You will need cotton balls and ear cleaning fluid, though some owners prefer to use olive oil instead.  You can also clean with the addition of cotton swabs, as I shall explain later.

Firstly, place the olive oil or ear cleaning fluid container in some warm water to heat it to body temperature.  Then, with the cat lying down on a flat surface, fill the ear canal with the fluid – this should only take a few drops!  With the fluid in the ear canal, massage the base of the ear for about 30 seconds to work the fluid around and release the debris.  Some owners suggest leaving the cat alone for a while now, to allow him to shake his head around, further dislodge dirt and move the fluid to the outer ear – this stage is entirely up to you.  Lastly, using a cotton ball, wipe out the loose debris and excess fluid to thoroughly clean the ear and move on to the other.

Cotton swabs can be used to further clean the ear, as they are very useful for cleaning out the earflap and visible part of the ear canal.  However, please note that cleaning further down the ear canal is more likely to push debris further down than remove it.  It is highly advisable NOT to clean any further down the ear canal than you can see.

Although ear infection of the outer ear (otitis externa) is very common in cats, the disease can also spread deeper down the ear canal if not treated quickly enough.  Otitis externa is has a range of causes and treatments, but will normally have no more serious an affect than discomfort and trauma to the ear from scratching.

Inflammation of the middle ear (otitis media) however, can actually require surgery to put right – although treatment normally involve antibiotics or antifungals.  Symptoms include shaking or tilting or the head as well as a loss of balance in some cases.  Should the infection reach the inner ear (otitis interna), then your cat is in real trouble as these infections can result in permanent damage or even death!  The signs of otitis interna are un-missable and include vomiting, hearing loss and loss of coordination.  For this reason it is imperative that ear diseases are diagnosed and treated as soon as possible, as many cats are put down when the treatment is too expensive for owners without pet insurance.

There are many causes of ear disease and hence many treatments.  In this post I explain a few of the causes and their appropriate treatments.

Bacteria and Yeast:

There are many different kinds of bacteria and yeast that can cause ear infections and hence the ear has evolved to have excellent defences against them.  However, variations in the ear environment – caused by moisture, for example – can provide a breeding ground for bacteria and yeast, allowing them to multiply and overcome the ear’s natural defences.

Regular ear cleaning helps combat both bacterial and yeast infections, though normally a course of antibiotics or antifungals will be required as well, to prevent the infection spreading deeper in the ear.

Allergies:

Allergies change the ear environment, increasing the chances of bacteria and yeast infections.  However, simply treating the infection is not enough in cases when the problem is cause by allergies in the first place.  Allergy testing is recommended to discern the best treatment.

Normal treatment of allergies in cats involves regular ear cleaning combined with antihistamines and fatty acid supplements.

Parasites:

Ear mites are a very common cause of ear problems in cats that can be detected by debris of a dark, crumbly material in the ear.  If a cat is hypersensitive to mites, the itching caused by the parasite can be so intense that the cat may actually damage their ear by scratching so much! 

Once again, regular ear cleaning is recommended, though this time a mediation will be required to kill the mites.  

As should be obvious from the above information; it is essential to keep your cat’s ears clean!

Ear disease, especially of the outer ear (otitis externa), is one of the most common conditions in pets and is estimated to be responsible for up to 6% of feline hospitalisations. The main reason for this is that ear disease can have a variety of causes, including hereditary conditions, allergies, parasites and microorganisms, objects stuck in the ear, trauma and the environment within the ear itself.

Due to the various causes of ear disease, careful diagnosis is required to ascertain the correct treatment. This will include a through physical examination, as well as inspection of the ear canal and taking swabs of the ear. Depending on the cause of the problem, treatments include antibiotics for bacterial infection, antifungals for yeast infections and glucocorticoids to reduce inflammation. When it is a systemic disease that is causing the ear infection, the treatment will have to involve the entire cat rather than just the ear.

Signs of Ear Disease Include:

• Ear odour
• Scratching of ears
• Discharge from ears
• Redness of ear canal
• Shaking or tilting of head
• Pain around the ears