Update on Tabby

Tabitha had yet another vet appointment last night. We are not getting anywhere with the ears. The left ear seems to be OK, but that right ear is still bad.

They took a swab of the waxy gunk and tested it. Now it seems she has a yeast infection in that ear....probably from being damp all the time. Well, of course it's damp. We've been cleaning that ear twice a day forever now! So, we are to clean the ear out well, dry it as best we can, then wait 20 minutes, til it gets drier. Then we put a steroid ointment/gel.....5 drops.....(and I forget the name, it begins with an M?) into the ear to combat the yeast infection. And we have another vet appt in two weeks.

The good news is that she is at 5 pounds and doing well, other than the ear thing. She'll be spayed around Christmas time when Rick and I are both off work and be home to care for her....we don't want another episode like we had with Mollipop, where Molli got out of the e-collar and tore her stitches out! (What a Christmas present for Tabby-her spay. Poor baby. It's just been one thing after another with her.)

We've about had our fill of cleaning ears and not getting anywhere. And poor Tabby. She hates me, she just absolutely hates me. She runs from me when I try to pick her up b/c she thinks we're going to clean ears. She's really starting to struggle with the cleaning, too. (She needs a serious claw trimming as she really showed me what she thought this morning; I have the scratches to prove it. ) It's breaking my heart that this little kitten is so frightened of me and that she wants absolutely nothing to do with me at all anymore. I hope she'll forgive me someday.

She got her second set of shots and the rabies bootser. She's good to go now until her spay in December....except for those ears. After they tested the ear swab and gave me the new gel, the vet said that we should start to see a considerable improvement in a week to ten days and that I may not even need the follow up appt. But they've been telling me that we're doing a good job; yet the gunk is still there.

Last night I was telling the vet that Tabby hates me and runs from me. The whole time I was talking to her, I was holding Tabs in my arms and rocking her. Tabby was sound asleep (well, she was traumatized and all tired out). The vet started laughing and said, "Pam, it really looks like she hates you; she's all stretched out in your arms!" But I stood there and started to cry. I don't want her to be afraid of me.

So that's where we're at with Tabby. We keep trying. But we're starting to feel like we're the worst kitty parents in the world.

May I please have some vibes that we get Tabby's ears until control? We're pretty much at our wits end with this. Thanks.

Oh that poor little doll!! She's just been through so much! I am absolutely sure she doesn't hate you hun... Once the treatments are over she'll forget all about them. she's just being a typical kitty. Lots of vibes coming from me!

Poor little Tabby! I agree with Kailie - she doesn't hate you. Poor thing just needs to get healthy!

Originally Posted by Winchester

The whole time I was talking to her, I was holding Tabs in my arms and rocking her. Tabby was sound asleep (well, she was traumatized and all tired out). The vet started laughing and said, "Pam, it really looks like she hates you; she's all stretched out in your arms!"

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Awww

Thats great news about her weight and her other ear.
Sending lots and lots of vibes that her ears heals quickly

Maybe you could incorporate a brushing or some type of treat after you clean and medicate her ear?

I had heard many times here on TCS the suggestion to talk to your cats and tell them what is happening and going on in situations. When I eventually tried it, I actually saw a difference in their dispositions over things that would normally cause them stress or discomfort.

all around.

She does not hate you, she just hates what you do to her ears...Poor little baby and poor you, hang in there

Aww, poor Tabby! And poor you! I agree with the others, she just hates the ear episodes, not you. I really hope this new stuff clears her ear up for good!!

Callie had a persistent yeast infection in her ears. I'd finally had my fill of treating it, so when I took her in for a dental, I asked the vet to do a thorough cleaning of her ears. Once that was done, he put a thicky, goopy medication in her ear and that was the end of the infection. The medicine was a 2 week thing that her body absorbed over time. I can look for the name of the medication when I get home from work if you'd like.

Pam .... let me reassure you on this. Pipsqueak whom I have had to wash his painful chin, soak the chin, apply ointment and all of this twice daily AND having to pill him three times a day at different times . Have been dealing with this problem for over two months now. He was running and cowering from me too and it just broke my heart . We are now getting somewhere with the serious chin infection and I am only having to wash once a day, ointment, and do pills all at once. Since he is not in so much pain anymore - he is back to being more trusting of me. He is sleeping back in the bed the last three nights after not sleeping with me for weeks . He is even curled up next to me right now as I am posting, which he hasn't done either in many weeks. Tabby WILL forgive you, I promise. I thought the same thing that Pip would never, ever trust me again. He does and I really think they know we are trying to help them get better. You have to treat Tabby's ear and I know the pain and dread you are going through about having to do it.

Massive vibes that Tabby's ear can be healed quickly. Makes me so sad that she had this terrible ear infection as a tiny kitten and didn't get any help for it. You and your DH are her "knight's in shining armor" LOL and are giving her such a loving and happy home. She will get past this!!!! 100% sure of it

Pam so sorry that Tabby is still having those ear problems. Never say you are a bad cat parent because you take care of your kits very well and do whatever you can for them. I just hope this latest med works for Tabby, I hate to see her suffering from this and you suffering with her, good vibes coming your way

Pam, I also know this feeling. I had to medicate Flowerbelle with various things - 11 of them - numerous times a day for seven months, until she had her eye out. She also had a persistent ear thing going on. Even now, as an adult one ear just gets gunked up, and we just keep cleaning it. Now that she's 8, it's just part of the routine, but... I have a zillion picture of her as a baby, happy and cuddling with Gary. But none of her happy and cuddling with me.

I know it's sad and heartbreaking... but it's what you have to do to help her. She WILL forgive you for what you've had to do to take care of her. She's still having issues with the gunk, not because you're bad kitty parents, but because the vet hasn't hit on the right solution to the problem. You'll get there!

!!!!!!!!!!

Poor baby! I'd be feeling the same way. But she is young. Once you get this all cleared up she will come around and probably not even remember it!! Shes very blessed to have you guys!

Poor Tabby It's to bad we can't explain to them, everything we do is to help them. At least she's a kitten. When she's grown up she won't even remember this

Poor Tabby and poor you!

I agree with the suggestion about giving a treat or brushing her after the treatment. Get her associating the treatment with something good to follow. It will help her see that getting her ears cleaned isn't so bad after all because there is something nice at the end.

And I also agree that she doesn't hate you. She was in your arms alseep. For a kitty to do that, they have to be very trusting of the person holding them.

Lots and lots of vibes coming your way and for Tabby's improved health!

Awwww and for both you and Tabby

I hope things are going to start to get better with Tabby. How frustrating that would all be.

I'm so sorry to hear about your sweet kitty. Ear infections can be very difficult.

I'm sure you've tried evrything but this is what we used for our dog. Don't know if you've tried it or not Our big dog had recurring yeast infections in his ears for years. Someone recommended "Natural Care Ear Relief" and we had wonderful results. It's a two part cleaning with the second part being a drying agent. It goes in the ear looking like a lotion but it turns to a powder once in the ear and dries the moisture. We have gotten it at Petco in the past. We have had no further ear infections.

I know you are seeing a Dr. And it's pretty severe so you may be past the point of trying this but thought I would throw it out there.

Good luck to you amd kitty.

Thanks so much for your vibes and your support. I think we're pretty much as down as we can get at this point. Frustrated and disgusted and very worried. We think we're going to be cleaning ears every day for the rest of her life.

I know, she can't hate me, but I do wonder sometimes. She does run from me, especially in the morning as that's when we do the ear cleaning. And yes, we do talk to her the whole time we're cleaning and we're telling her that we love her so much and we're explaining that we're trying to make her ears feel better. Rick and I both constantly talk to her the whole time we're cleaning those ears. But she's simply just had her fill of the whole thing, too, and we can't really blame her.....she's been really good throughout this stuff. (The vet said that she knows Tabby has been through this with us on a daily basis; when she examines her ears and cleans, Tabby stays very still....most cats wouldn't allow the vet to do this, but Tabby is just so used to it that she's pretty good about it.)

Stephanie, our vet talked to us about packing her ears with real goopy stuff, too. The problem is that she's still in rapid growth stage. And this goopy medicine can do funky things to bones sometimes. We don't want to take that chance since she's still growing. But it's been discussed.

RAFM, Tabby has an appt in two weeks, so I'll definitely bring up the Natural Care Ear Relief and see what she says. Esp if the Mometamax (which is the gel for her ears we're using now) does nothing. Thank you.

I'm a little frustrated that we've been treating her ears with an anti-bacterial medication and she has a yeast infection. Anti-bacterial drugs don't do much for yeast. So, for the past month or so, we've been treating her with the wrong stuff. When the vet did the ear swab and it came back positive for yeast, not bacterial, I was more than a little upset. I guess because she did have the mites, they automatically assumed it was a bacterial infection, not yeast.

We're also having difficulty keeping Whisper away from Tabby's ears. Whisper is a good mom, but she's just constantly licking the other cats. It's almost an obsession with her (I know, she's 17 years old, so she's allowed to obsess about things sometimes.) But this is out of control and I can't help but think that it's just adding to the problem with her constantly licking Tabs' ears! (When Banshee was alive, we couldn't understand why her fur almost looked shaved sometimes; we figured out that because Whisper was constantly licking her, she was almost shaving Banshee's fur! She's really obsessed with licking the other cats....and us, too.)

Thank you for keeping Tabby in your thoughts. I feel so bad for her. I keep hoping that in the next few months, something will happen and her ears will clear up. Thanks, guys!

Honestly, treating a yeast problem with an antibacterial can make it worse. So now that you're on the right track, hopefully it'll clear up quickly.