icky ears

Bastet, my six month old bengal, has "ear dirt". What is the best/ safest way to clean her ears? She's pretty laid back about anything inolving grooming.

Could it be ear mites? I recommend that you take her to the vet to rule out mites.

The vet can also give you an ear cleaning solution. The way that works is you squirt a little in each ear and rub it around and then wipe the excess cleaner and dirt out with a cotton ball.

They also sell ear cleaner at the pet stores, but again... make sure it's not ear mites causing the dirty ears.

Have your vet check for ear mites first. If its just dirt or wax you can use a cotton ball and clean them out.

I use a q-tip but you have to be careful and hold the head still and the ear back so you don't go in too deep. Some say never to use the q-tip - but I've never had a problem with using them for kittens to adult cats.

If the vet says it's just gunk, not mites or an infection, you can use either cotton balls or "kitty ear wipes". I use these on Bella's ears. She's prone to a lot of gunk in her ears, so we do a regular cleaning every 10 days or so. Stanley's ears tend to be cleaner, so I use the wipes on him monthly.

Recently the gunk increased dramatically in Bella's ears, so the vet prescribed ear drops in addition to our regular ear cleaning.