Animax ointment for ear infection

bugmankeith

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
May 15, 2012
Messages
457
Purraise
52
Hello,

One of my stray cats has an ear infection, I think in the ear canal.  He has been persistantly shaking his head and on one side brown goo was coming out of one of his ears and he cried if you touched his ear he has also been vomiting once in a while and very tired. I brought him to a mobile spay/neuter clinic since he is fairly socialized hoping they would be able to clean his ears and put medication in. The cat is strong and tried to get away so they were not able to clean his ears at all or give him medication, but the vets could clearly see an ear infection and buildup of ear mites in both ears.

I asked for anything to give him, since they said oral antibiotics wont treat it they gave Animax ointment drops.

I managed to get about 5 drops in his ear for 2 days, I am not sure how far the drops are supposed to be in the ear I got some in his ear and when he shook his head the ointment kind of was spread over the inside of the ear and stayed there. Its VERY hard to keep him still and even harder he is black and has thick black hair in his ears making is very hard to get an accurate dose in his ear, so I only do it once a day. On top of that the instructions say to clean the inside of the ear first and if you see puss and use the drops it could make it worse, side effects also include hearing loss, how can I tell if this happens if he is an outdoor cat?

How long am I supposed to do this for, and how do I know if he is better if I cant see inside his ear? Even if his ear stops leaking that doesnt really mean the infection is gone and I cant find a vet to bring him in to properly examine or clean his ears, or I would have boarded him for about a week and let them sedate him so they can clean his ears and give him the medication each day.
 

momofmany

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jul 15, 2003
Messages
16,249
Purraise
70
Location
There's no place like home
I don't think anyone here can answer your question about how to treat this condition. None of us are vets, and it might be dangerous for you to take advice from someone who hasn't seen your cat.

When you mentioned that you can't find a vet to treat him. Is it because he is an outdoor cat and somewhat on the wild side? If you are willing to invest in him (and it sounds like you are), then you need to find a vet that will agree to help you.

Vets that work with rescue groups, particularly feral cat rescue groups, are usually willing to help in these situations. I've had to resort to boarding cats in the past for similar reasons and my vet worked with me on it.

Find some folks that rescue in your area. The easiest way to do this is to go to Petfinder.com, and search for cats within your zip code radius. You will see a list of available cats, but more importantly, the rescue group that is adopting them. Avoid any Animal Control groups and city/county sponsored agencies. Look for the smaller groups, link to their website, and see if they do feral cat TNR (trap/neuter/return). If they do this, they are working with vets that will work with cats on the wild side. If you explain your situation to them, they will most likely refer you to their vets.

I hope this helps.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

bugmankeith

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
May 15, 2012
Messages
457
Purraise
52
Great news! I found someone who works for a rescue and they were able to bring him in for free and get antibiotics in him, clean his ears out, and give anti parasite medication. They did find a slight heart murmur in him, and his ear canal is not as wide from him have chronic ear infection, but he should be feeling better and otherwise did great, the vet said he was easy to handle and I was right he is part Maine coon.
 
Top