Ask your vet to show you how the first time.  If you're not very careful,
you could do a lot of damage.

Whatever you do, don't stick the Q-tip in the ear canal, you could push wax
and debris further down against the eardrum which could cause it to rupture.

Phil

Pick up some ear cleaning solution at the pet store. Wrapping in a towel
might be in order (understatement lol).

Immobilize the cat, squirt in some solution, rub the base of the ear gently
to get the solution into all the folds and loosen the debris you're trying
to remove, then wipe the areas you can see gently with a q-tip and/or cotton
ball. Stand back when you're done as the cat will vigorously shake it's head
and send more debris and cleaning solution flying. You may have to do this
again in a week or so depending on how cruddy the ears were to begin with. I
had a litter over the summer who had the cruddiest ears I've ever seen. I
had to clean out stuff that looked like Spanish moss before I could get to
the gobs of black ear wax.

W

One of our recent adoptees came from a munincipal dog pound who got
her because the pet store couldn't sell her. We took her to a groomer
for a bath and the vet for a check up before introducing her to the
other two. Turns out she had a yeast infection deeo in her ear canal.
This guy was going very deep into her ear with the swab. Possibly an
inch or two. And he brought out more crap that I thought possible. We
had to keep it clean and apply drops for ten days. We were told to
clean any foriegn matter that "we could see". Definately a two person
job, both cleaning and drops. One holds the cat tight to their chest
and the other cleans and applies drops.

I wouldn't feel comfortable using a Q-tip myself. I usually use a
cotton ball or Klennex soaked with warm water. Sit behind kitty, so
her instinct will be to back *into* you.

If her ears are really dirty, I'd suggest having a vet look at them.
Perhaps there's an infection or ear mites that need to be taken care
of.

Rene

Scruff the little guy with one hand, pull back the ear with the other hand,
and squirt in some ear cleaner.

let us know which of those 2 you can do best with one hand

ron