need advise

leigh

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I put a post on here a couple of weeks ago, we had a stray kitten that we had taken in that was having alot of dierra, thank goodness his is all better from that but we have another problem with him now, I think he has an ear infection, his left ear has been running. I was wondering if this would be contagious to our other cat? I took a Q tip and put a little perioxide on his ear and seem to have helped a little, should I be doing that? This is a kitty that stays mostly out side but we do let him in some, our other cat is an indoor cat, and I dont want to risk her to getting sick also. we are having alot of financial problems right now and cant take this kitty to the vet, so any advise that I could get to doctor him at home would be greatly appericated.
 

tuxedokitties

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What You Can Do If You Are Having Trouble Affording Veterinary Care

Please see the above link for resources - I don't personally know of anything you can do at home for an ear infection that would be effective because without a vet test you can't tell if the infection is yeast, bacteria, or mites. If the ear is running, that's not good. A severe ear infection can damage a cat's hearing.

If you want to try to clean the ears, use cotton balls or ear wipes - Q-tips aren't recommended b/c if the cat jerks its head you could rupture the eardrum (that's actually happened to me
).

It's probably best to keep this cat separate from yours until its health has been cleared by a vet - there are many diseases it could have that might be a danger to your cat. Be sure to wash your hands after you've handled it, too.

Good luck.
 

hissy

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Please don't pour anything liquid into your cat's ear, nor use q-tips. You say it runs? What color is the liquid, or does the interior of the ear look crusty red and black? If that is the case, then take some olive oil and warm it up for just seconds in the microwave, dip the cotton ball into the oil and wring the ball out well! You don't want it to be dripping, roll the ball down into the ear canal and rotate it gently, don't push it down or force it, wipe the crud out that you can see, don't go any deeper. If the ear is cruddy you need some medicine you can get at your vet's office- Mite-O-Clear or something like that which is very inexpensive. If there is liquid coming out of the ear, cloudy or clear this poor cat needs a vet quickly!
 
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