Ear Wax??

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Buddy - 02 Apr 2006 14:41 GMT

We adopted a 3 year old Maine Coon a year ago from a shelter. His ears
were full of a dark brown waxy substance. When I took him to the vet,
the vet cleaned them out and gave me some drops to put in his ears for
10 days. It looked like they cleared up, but after another week or so,
his ears looked dirty again [the vet says it is not mites and it
doesn't look like coffee grounds to me, just dark wax] so I took him
back to the vet. The vet said that maybe he just has a tendancy to
have a lot of ear wax and that I should clean it out about once a week.

Well, I have been doing that and then the other day, the kitty had his
one ear down and was scratching and scrathing and running around. He
scratched so much that a small bald spot is on his outer ear. His ear
was full of this stuff again - really full.

So what in the world is this?????

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Toni - 02 Apr 2006 17:10 GMT

"Buddy" <armshome@aol.com> wrote in message >

> Well, I have been doing that and then the other day, the kitty had his
> one ear down and was scratching and scrathing and running around. He
> scratched so much that a small bald spot is on his outer ear. His ear
> was full of this stuff again - really full.
>
> So what in the world is this?????

Time for a veterinary recheck.

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Toni
http://www.irish-wolfhounds.com

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D. - 02 Apr 2006 17:42 GMT

> "Buddy" <armshome@aol.com> wrote in message >
> > Well, I have been doing that and then the other day, the kitty had his
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>
> Time for a veterinary recheck.

See http://www.thepetprofessor.com/articles/article.aspx?id=350.

Sounds like an infection. You probably want to nip it as soon as
possible; I'm not sure about cats, but untreated infections in children
can lead to hearing loss.

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Elizabeth Blake - 03 Apr 2006 03:17 GMT

> We adopted a 3 year old Maine Coon a year ago from a shelter. His ears
> were full of a dark brown waxy substance. When I took him to the vet,
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
>
> So what in the world is this?????

My cat Tiger had problems with brown waxy gunk in her ears for pretty much
her entire life. She was seen & treated by many vets and they ALL said the
same thing: it's not mites, it's not an infection. They would do a deep
clean and she'd be okay for awhile. I would try to clean her ears with the
cleaner they gave me but she really hated that so I didn't do it as often as
I should have. The last time they were cleaned by the vet was in December,
and the vet gave me some drops to put in just in case it was mites. They
stayed clean until last month, when she passed away.

She was always scratching at her ears, so much so that she'd often fall over
while doing it. The whole top of her head was covered in little scabs and
she would sometimes scratch her ears bloody. She was always walking
lopsided because of her ears.

Try cleaning out your cat's ears more than once a week, maybe every other
day. As long as I kept on top of it her ears could stay clear for quite
awhile, but even dedicated cleaning didn't always stop it from coming back.

--
Liz

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bethmeryle@yahoo.com - 03 Apr 2006 18:33 GMT

This sounds like FUNGUS. My late kitty had this on and off. The vet
prescribed something for it called animax. It was an antifungal
ointment. I would put some on a q tip and gently clean out his ear.
Then, I would instill a few drops in the ear and hold him still for a
bit to make sure it dripped in ok. Mention the possibility of fungus
to your vet.

Beth

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Buddy - 03 Apr 2006 21:27 GMT

Thanks everyone. We have an appointment tomorrow afternoon and I am
going to ask about a yeast/fungus infection. I hope that I can get
something to cure this once and for all!

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blkcatgal - 04 Apr 2006 00:03 GMT

I'm going through the same thing with my 8 month old kitten. My vet gave me
some antibiotic drops (called Tresaderm) to put in my cat's ears once a day
and told me to clean his ears about once a week. If this doesn't work, I'll
have to mention the possibility of a fungus to her.

Sue

> This sounds like FUNGUS. My late kitty had this on and off. The vet
> prescribed something for it called animax. It was an antifungal
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>
> Beth

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Elizabeth Blake - 04 Apr 2006 03:07 GMT

> I'm going through the same thing with my 8 month old kitten. My vet gave
> me some antibiotic drops (called Tresaderm) to put in my cat's ears once a
> day and told me to clean his ears about once a week. If this doesn't
> work, I'll have to mention the possibility of a fungus to her.
>
> Sue

Tiger's last ear treatment was back in December and that vet gave me
Tresaderm for her. I think she said it was for mites. When she looked in
Tiger's ear she insisted she saw mites in one, but not the other. Tiger had
never had mites and I seriously doubt she had them, but the vet prescribed
the medication anyway. I was also cleaning Tiger's ears on a daily basis
for awhile and then cut it down to a couple of times a week.

--
Liz

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blkcatgal - 04 Apr 2006 04:26 GMT

My cat definitely did not have mites....was tested twice and each time
negative for mites. But my vet still prescribed the tresaderm because my
cat was still getting the dark waxy buildup. She said that cats that had
mites at one time may still get the waxy buildup even though no mites now.
We'll see how it goes.....

S.

>> I'm going through the same thing with my 8 month old kitten. My vet gave
>> me some antibiotic drops (called Tresaderm) to put in my cat's ears once
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
> --
> Liz

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Elizabeth Blake - 04 Apr 2006 13:51 GMT

> My cat definitely did not have mites....was tested twice and each time
> negative for mites. But my vet still prescribed the tresaderm because my
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
> S.

I hope that you & the vet find something that works. I always felt awful
when Tiger's ear would get full again because she was miserable. As far as
I know, she never had mites. We got her at my job when she was about 1 1/2
years old and the ear thing started a couple of years after that and
continued for the rest of her life. I thought maybe it was environmental,
but it happened in the next two places we lived as well.

And, her ears did stay clean for 3 1/2 months after the Tresaderm so maybe
it did help.

--
Liz

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Elizabeth Blake - 04 Apr 2006 03:03 GMT

> This sounds like FUNGUS. My late kitty had this on and off. The vet
> prescribed something for it called animax. It was an antifungal
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>
> Beth

Beth,

My cat Tiger had been on Animax a couple of times and it didn't do anything
to prevent it from coming back. I know that she was tested for several
things and all of her tests came back clean. None of the vets could ever
tell me what it was, only to keep cleaning it to prevent it building up.

--
Liz

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