Well, it does sound as though his ear was affected. Have you asked this vet
about it? It may not be that the eardrum was punctured, but perhaps debris from
the ear mite infection was pushed down further into the ear canal. Severe ear
mite infection can damage the inner ear, but if that were the case I'd think
you'd have noticed these symptoms prior to the vet visit.

If your cat was given anesthesia, which would suprise me for a simple ear
cleaning, that may affect balance too, but he should recover from that in a day
or two.

I'd be interested to hear what others think may have happened here, because of
what happened to our cat recently. She had dental work, including extractions
of two rear molars, and afterwards was very wobbly and couldn't walk straight.
She also exhibited the head tilt typical of vestibular syndrome. She recovered
in a couple days, but it took long time before she seemed as sure-footed as
previously. I'm still not sure she is 100 percent. The vet suspected a bad
reaction to anesthesia, but I wonder if pulling those molars somehow affected
her inner ear.

With his balance affected, I would indeed suspect his inner ear was
injured somehow. I would take him back to the vet ASAP, hopefully they
will take responsibility if they did indeed affect his inner ear
somehow. Good luck!

K

One of the reasons for using Acarexx is that the ears do not need to be
cleaned prior to application for the drug to be effective.   Ear cleaning,
unless done *very* carefully,  can pack debris further down the canal and
close to the eardrum which can cause it to rupture   Once the eardrum has
been ruptured. debris can enter the middle ear where it can cause an
infection.

Poor appetite and trouble walking or balancing are classic signs of middle
or inner ear problems.

He acts

Some vets allow their assistants to clean the animals' ears - which
increases the risk of damage to the eardrum.

I would take your cat to a *different* vet for an ear examination.  Its
unlikely that your vet would admit to rupturing the eardrum - if the eardrum
was ruptured.

Best of luck.

Phil.

news:bl2702$79845$1@ID-119381.news.uni-berlin.de...

You should talk to the vet who actually did the work, not to technicians or
vet nurses.  Discuss all the points you mentioned in your post as well as
any additional points other posters have made.

There may be simply a miscommunication.  Perhaps the vet performed an
additional procedure that wasn't made clear.  Perhaps your cat has
additional medical problems that weren't clearly explained.

If the conversation with the original vet doesn't settle all your concerns,
consult a different vet for a second opinion.  Choose a vet who is not
affiliated in any way with the original vet for the best chance of an
unbiased opinion.

Good luck, and let us know what happens.

Bill