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Could I Have Made His Ears Worse?

post #1 of 13
9/3/10 at 6:52pm
Thread Starter 
At first, I noticed he started scratching his ears and shaking his head more often each day so I figured his ears were dirty. I checked inside his ears with a flashlight to see if it might be eremites but I didn't see any black specks.

So I cleaned his ears with Ear-Rite Miticide and it said to put 10 drops in each ear. I did that and it
s been about 5 hours since I did that and he is twitching his ears and shaking his head a lot more. I'm just worried if the solution is still in his ears and if that will cause an infection?

Active Ingredients: Pyrethrins, Piperonyl butoxide, technical

Next time I'm not putting anything on him unless I'm ordered by a vet.
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post #2 of 13
9/3/10 at 6:56pm
I hope the pyrethrin concentration was low but I highly suggest you call an ER vet NOW.
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post #3 of 13
9/3/10 at 7:17pm
It could well be that the ear mites are dying and struggling. I've seen it happen that way.

Keep an eye on him. I wouldn't panic.
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post #4 of 13
9/3/10 at 7:23pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by strange_wings View Post
I hope the pyrethrin concentration was low but I highly suggest you call an ER vet NOW.
Well I called them and described what was happening they said it didn't sound like an emergency and the reactions are normal, but I could bring him in tomorrow morning just to be safe. The pyrethrin is only 0.15%. I watered down his ears in case there was still any excess solution.
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post #5 of 13
9/3/10 at 7:25pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrblanche View Post
It could well be that the ear mites are dying and struggling. I've seen it happen that way.

Keep an eye on him. I wouldn't panic.
Well I'm watching him a lot more now and I hope the situation isn't as bad as I think. I didn't see any ear mites though.
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post #6 of 13
9/3/10 at 7:27pm
It's good that you called. They'll surely have went over reactions with you.

The water is bad, though.

If his ears look clean and this is an indoor cat I highly doubt it was earmites. Not all ear problems are, in fact in well cared for pets that don't associated with strays it rarely is. More likely you're looking at some sort of ear infection (which water will make worse) such as a yeast infection or an allergy presenting as ear itchiness.

In the future, no OTC chemicals like this. Properly dosed in a healthy cat by a vet, pyrethrin isn't as serious but an overdose from an OTC would be easy to do.
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post #7 of 13
9/3/10 at 7:45pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by strange_wings View Post
It's good that you called. They'll surely have went over reactions with you.

The water is bad, though.

If his ears look clean and this is an indoor cat I highly doubt it was earmites. Not all ear problems are, in fact in well cared for pets that don't associated with strays it rarely is. More likely you're looking at some sort of ear infection (which water will make worse) such as a yeast infection or an allergy presenting as ear itchiness.

In the future, no OTC chemicals like this. Properly dosed in a healthy cat by a vet, pyrethrin isn't as serious but an overdose from an OTC would be easy to do.
Water is worse? Well that's just great. Well I sprayed the water on a paper towel then wiped the ear so it may not be that bad. Luckily I didn't spray directly to and in his ear.

I'm definitely taking him to the vet first thing tomorrow. Thank you!
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post #8 of 13
9/3/10 at 7:48pm
Wiping out the ear is fine. I hope they can figure out what his ear itchiness is from.

There's been a few rather experienced people on here that assumed earmites first only to discover at the vet it was very much something else. So don't feel silly or anything.
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post #9 of 13
9/4/10 at 5:52am
No, don't feel silly. I was sure Boo and Chickster had ear mites, and was told so by a vet who said they were "dog mites" and it was soooo unusual and recommended a 300 dollar bath for BOTH of them. I took them to another vet in another county where my siblings go and he said there was absolutely NO mites and it was probably some sort of fungus or yeast, and he gave me Animax ointment to put in their ears. Talk to a vet before you administer anything else, but it could very well be just yeast or fungus or an infection. They had a brown/black gunky stuff in their ears like ear wax almost but not as sticky.
Definitely talk to a vet tho.
Good luck
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post #10 of 13
9/4/10 at 6:32am
My Mazy cat has chronic ear problems. She gets a lot of wax and yeast and if I don't notice in time and start treatment it goes into bacterial infection.

Her symptoms are very subtle so it's easy to miss. I'm glad you are taking your cat in to the vet. I keep a bottle of Tresaderm ear drops (gotten from my vet) in the refrigerator at all times. Tresaderm drops contain an anti-fungal, antibiotic and a steroid, so it covers all the bases. Great stuff.

Home treating without a positive diagnosis from a vet is almost always a mistake. And most OTC products are not safe for cats regardless of what is says on the packaging, or what the store clerk tells you.

Welcome to TCS and please keep us posted on your kitty.
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post #11 of 13
9/4/10 at 10:51am
I have a great vet who says that ear mites are pretty rare in healthy adult cats; various infections (yeast, bacteria, etc.) are much more common.
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post #12 of 13
9/4/10 at 3:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Snickerdoodle View Post
Talk to a vet before you administer anything else, but it could very well be just yeast or fungus or an infection. They had a brown/black gunky stuff in their ears like ear wax almost but not as sticky.
that's what Cable's was like [in one ear] & it was a bacterial infection, most likely began as a yeast infection. vet gave her a shot & some drops & it cleared right up. smelled awful - that was what clued me in that it was more than a wax issue. i was fairly certain it wasn't mites because the wax came off easily - in the cases of mites i've seen the dirty stuff won't come off.
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post #13 of 13
9/4/10 at 4:02pm
Dusty had a really bad ear infection several months ago that nearly killed her. I would take her to the vet. Tresaderm finally cleared it up. She was also on prednisone.
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