Itchy Ears

Hey there everybody,

Atari has recently started scratching her ears a lot more than normal and I'm almost 100% sure it's because the house is really dry right now so her ears are probably as dry as mine. I've checked her for mites out of paranoia(She's an indoor-only cat after all) but she has no signs of them anywhere.  No funny smells, no wax that I can see either.

I want to give her something to ease the itch and moisturize her ears but I'm unsure what I can give her and I'm not sure what to trust when I search google. I've heard that baby oil or Vaseline could be used to help her but again I'm not 100% sure I can trust that information.

What do you do for dry itchy cat ears? And how much do you give them of whatever you use?

Thanks for your time!

If you do not see her inner ear has any swelling, redness or little coffee grounds, you can safely use mineral iol, a few drops per day for a few days.

It's safe and a good moisturizer as well as cleaner.

Nope, no wax-ies, no coffee ground, and no swelling. It's a bit red but that is mostly because she's deliberately sticking her claws inside her ears to scratch them. I've caught her doing it five times today alone.

Thanks for your help!

Have you changed your cat's food recently, or is there something in the environment other than the air being dry that could be causing an allergic reaction? The scratching could also be caused by a yeast infection which would require having your cat's ear swabbed to get a culture for testing. Repeated scratching can lead to injury so it is important to find out the cause of the scratching so the issue can be corrected. 

I give my cats coconut oil as a health supplement. It is also a good anti-fungal and all around skin emollient. This would be completely safe to use on your cats ears, or to place a couple of drops inside the ears IF it is determined that the scratching is due to an infection.

Hope this helps.

I would see the vet, mites have to be seen under a microscope. If your house is real dry put some humidifiers in them, I have one in almost every room because my Virgil has allergies. Personally I wouldn't put anything in my cats ears unless they have seen the vet. I clean their ears with my finger wrapped around a piece of paper towel. I follow my personal doctors advise when it comes to human ears, you should only clean your ears with your elbow. Get it.

Oneandahalfcats: Wouldn't a yeast infection smell? Nope, no food changes and we did recently move but we've been here more than a month and she's just started the scratching behavior now so I don't think it's allergies. The last time she had an allergic reaction she chewed her paws.

Blackcat: I'm one of those humans who was graced with bad ears so I know all about the 'no Q-tip' rule. I'm prone to wax build-up and infections so I have to put baby oil in my ears daily. 

Thanks for your help you guys!

Varsettie said:

 
Oneandahalfcats: Wouldn't a yeast infection smell? Nope, no food changes and we did recently move but we've been here more than a month and she's just started the scratching behavior now so I don't think it's allergies. The last time she had an allergic reaction she chewed her paws.

Blackcat: I'm one of those humans who was graced with bad ears so I know all about the 'no Q-tip' rule. I'm prone to wax build-up and infections so I have to put baby oil in my ears daily. 

Thanks for your help you guys!

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Yes, a yeast infection if it is particularly bad can smell, sometimes not though. There is generally no smell from ear mites but you say the ear is clear of brown coffee grind material. There could be mites deep inside that you can't see. If the scratching continues, it would be a good idea to take your cat in so the vet can have a closer look inside. Let us know what turns up.

Alright. I've just got to get a hold of the vet first, he's a busy guy :/

I can also take some pictures of the insides of her ears if it will help. She's very good with being manhandled and doesn't mind the camera. I checked her when I got home today and the redness is gone but she's still scratching on and off. Her ear looks completely normal as far in as I can see.

I would not put anything in her ears, cats are really sensitive with ear issues.  It could be allergies, I had a cat who used to scratch his ears bloody, he had food allergies.  We eventually had to remove his ear canals because it was so bad, constant infections and just really irritated from all the digging he was doing at them.  I would have your kitty checked out by a Vet.

That's good that the redness is gone. Hopefully you will be able to get to the bottom of the scratching with your vet, if you haven't already. Do let us know what turns up.

Alrightly, so...

Took Atari to the vet and he checked her out completely. It turns out she's a very healthy girl with a bit of dry skin deep in her ears and some slight irritation from her scratching all the time. My vet recommended that I start giving her 1/2 a teaspoon of either vegetable or canola oil with her food. I've done so and we're sitting at two days with no scratching :3