black dots on inside of ear?

arcadian girl

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when we got Wonton, one of the things that struck me was how clean his ears were. no mites, no discoloration - just perfectly healthy looking ears. in the last few months however, i've noticed small black dots on his ears - but not near in the ear canal, where ear mites go (that is where they go, right?) its only on the tips of his ears, and a little bit further down. The thing is, I dont think it happened prior to us starting to treat him with the Prozac (it's in a cream we rub in his ears), but my boyfriend says that he DID have it before that. It almost looks like.. mildew. can a cat's ears mildew? I don't think so.... anyway I can take him to the vet of course, but was wondering if anyone's ever seen anything like this before? He never scratches at his ears or shakes his head.

PS - will take a pic of the discoloration in a bit - he's sleeping on my lap right now and I don't want to disturb him
 

persi & alley

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Symptoms of mites includes your cat shaking his head or scratching at it, which you say is not the case. Also this same book states that mites look like a mother lode of black goop that looks like coffee grounds. Does not sound like Wonton at all. My nine month old has some spots in his ears that have got darker as he has aged, but then so has the rest of his body. Of course, as usual, your best source is your vet but my books with lots of information on ears tells me that your cat does not have mites.
 

pushylady

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My Pushy had a battle with ear mites when we first got him. You'd really notice the mites - gloppy brown mess you can scoop out with a q-tip. He scratched his ears a lot and shook his head too. Sounds quite different to what Wonton has.
 
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arcadian girl

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thanks.. yeah I don't think it's mites either really - just don't know what it IS. And I hate taking him to the vet because he hates it, he gets scared and cries and gets mean and bitey and refuses to go in the carrier..although of course I'll probably end up taking him anyway, becuase I don't like not knowing what it is. Maybe it's the Creeping Crud, for all I know..

anywhere, here's what it looks like. it was hard to get a good pic - he kept moving his head, or folding his little ear closed :p

 

sharky

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Not a vet but that is either just a bit of dirt to be cleaned out or pigmintation of the ear
 
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arcadian girl

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Originally Posted by sharky

Not a vet but that is either just a bit of dirt to be cleaned out or pigmintation of the ear
lol.. I feel silly now. I'll try to clean it, and report back.
 
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arcadian girl

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the conclusion - it's dirt. it's just hard to get off for some reason - I've run my finger over it before and it didn't budge, which made me think it was mites or something..but with a washcloth and warm water, it came off.
 

maddensmom

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Don't feel silly at all!! I'm glad it was just dirt, the dogs ears get that way right before bath time, but I've never seen Madden's that way before. I always get myself all riled up over the smallest things too! You can't love them too much though!!
 
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