Horrific middle ear infection

jenpen60 · Jan 5, 2016

Hi there. I'm new here... looking for any help, urgently.

Yesterday morning, my boyfriend and I noticed that our cat (Dax - 1 and a half years) was heavily in distress. She was itching, her ear and her fur was twitching, at a few points she started panting like a dog. We bought some flea powder and put it on when we got home. It ended up making it worse... A LOT worse.

She was rolling around, she was absolutely desperate. I eventually brought out the flashlight on my phone and started to look at her ear, it seemed to be bothering her the most. I looked inside and it seemed fine but I started to notice that if I gently touched her ear, she became hysterical. Especially at the back. It was at that point I demanded we take her to the 24hr vet although we were still thinking fleas, even though I didn't see fleas.

She lost her mind when the vet touched her ear, and he put an earbud in. I won't go into detail about what came out but it turns out it was DEFINITELY not fleas. She has a horrific ear infection which somehow irritates her skin. She got an injection and eardrops (which I left the room for) and the vet told us we have to give her these eardrops every morning and every night for 2 weeks. Easy enough, right? WRONG.

This is where we need help. We did it for the first time this morning. My boyfriend did the first ear by himself, easy peasy. Called me for the 2nd one. The nozzle with the eardrops is about 5 centimetres long and it has to go ENTIRELY in her ear. My baby girl was screaming with pain. Even thinking about it makes me want to bust out in tears. I ended up calling our neighbour for help.

Please, does anyone know what we can do?? Even if it's just a thought. Please.

donutte · Jan 5, 2016

jenpen60 said:
Hi there. I'm new here... looking for any help, urgently.

Yesterday morning, my boyfriend and I noticed that our cat (Dax - 1 and a half years) was heavily in distress. She was itching, her ear and her fur was twitching, at a few points she started panting like a dog. We bought some flea powder and put it on when we got home. It ended up making it worse... A LOT worse.

She was rolling around, she was absolutely desperate. I eventually brought out the flashlight on my phone and started to look at her ear, it seemed to be bothering her the most. I looked inside and it seemed fine but I started to notice that if I gently touched her ear, she became hysterical. Especially at the back. It was at that point I demanded we take her to the 24hr vet although we were still thinking fleas, even though I didn't see fleas.

She lost her mind when the vet touched her ear, and he put an earbud in. I won't go into detail about what came out but it turns out it was DEFINITELY not fleas. She has a horrific ear infection which somehow irritates her skin. She got an injection and eardrops (which I left the room for) and the vet told us we have to give her these eardrops every morning and every night for 2 weeks. Easy enough, right? WRONG.

This is where we need help. We did it for the first time this morning. My boyfriend did the first ear by himself, easy peasy. Called me for the 2nd one. The nozzle with the eardrops is about 5 centimetres long and it has to go ENTIRELY in her ear. My baby girl was screaming with pain. Even thinking about it makes me want to bust out in tears. I ended up calling our neighbour for help.

Please, does anyone know what we can do?? Even if it's just a thought. Please.

Are you having difficulty because she's squirming, or because she's screaming? If it's the latter, you'll just have to kinda mentally remove yourself from the situation. You're not mom anymore, you're Dr. Mom and she's getting those eardrops.

If it's the former (squirming) then you may find it easier to wrap her up in a towel before you start the whole eardrop process. It sounds like you are doing both ears? I would say wrap her up even before you do the "easy" ear because it will be more difficult if you try to do it afterwards, as she'll know what's coming.

jenpen60 · Jan 5, 2016

I'm definitely most uneasy because of her cries. I can just tell it's excruciating for her. Like what goes through my head is "we are her mommy and daddy, we're supposed to protect her - not hurt her" even though I know it's best for her. I will try the towel way, perhaps it can help. I usually don't have trouble getting her body to stop wriggling, it's her head. She freaks out if the dropper touches even a hair on her ear. But I'm thinking I can press her against me in a way.

Thank you!!

stephenq · Jan 5, 2016

jenpen60 said:
I'm definitely most uneasy because of her cries. I can just tell it's excruciating for her. Like what goes through my head is "we are her mommy and daddy, we're supposed to protect her - not hurt her" even though I know it's best for her. I will try the towel way, perhaps it can help. I usually don't have trouble getting her body to stop wriggling, it's her head. She freaks out if the dropper touches even a hair on her ear. But I'm thinking I can press her against me in a way.

Thank you!!

It's possible she is complaining not do to pain but to fear or to simply hating the feeling of something going in her ear. IMPORTANT QUESTION (I'll explain after you answer) is it one ear being treated or both?

Also, if you need to burrito wrap her as per @Donutte above, here is a great video:

jenpen60 · Jan 5, 2016

Thanks for the video! It's both ears, but one is a lot worse than the other.

stephenq · Jan 5, 2016

jenpen60 said:
Thanks for the video! It's both ears, but one is a lot worse than the other.

Rats i was hoping for one ear, then you could test the reaction to the tube (without meds) in the good ear and if she screamed then you would know she was "faking". But, since one ear is a LOT worse than the otehr, does she produce the same reaction with both ears or a worse reaction with the worse ear/ If the same, then she may be at least partly faking it.

jenpen60 · Jan 5, 2016

She is quite a lot more chilled with the other. But she did SO well tonight. She barely cried at all and stayed surprisingly still. Her ear is irritating her a bit and that's about it. She's been sitting in her box for the past 3 hours. Such a brave girl. I'm hopeful that it stays as good as it was.

stephenq · Jan 5, 2016

jenpen60 said:
She is quite a lot more chilled with the other. But she did SO well tonight. She barely cried at all and stayed surprisingly still. Her ear is irritating her a bit and that's about it. She's been sitting in her box for the past 3 hours. Such a brave girl. I'm hopeful that it stays as good as it was.

OK well good news!

jenpen60 · Jan 6, 2016

Just an update: we used the burrito wrap method this morning. She was not a happy cat but it worked brilliantly. She also did very well today. 12 more days to go.

Thanks to both for your wonderful help!!!

donutte · Jan 6, 2016

So glad it went well!

laura mae · Jan 6, 2016

I have a cat that I have to clean his ear daily. He has a polyp in the ear. Cats really hate getting their ears messed with. For him, I have to put some saline solution (like what people use for contact lenses) and then swab out the wax and other stuff that comes out. (yuck). He had a shot but he'll keep getting ear infections until we can afford to get the polyp removed, I'm afraid. It is hard to continue to do what's best for kitty especially when they complain so much!

jenpen60 · Jan 6, 2016

Oh, poor thing. Yours actually sounds loads difficult than mine! Maybe the burrito wrap can work for you too? It reeaally helps with ours! And she gets a treat afterwards for being so good which seems to make it more bearable for her because now she knows that she gets something yummy after. I really hope you guys will be able to afford the polyp removal soon. I know how you feel. I have another cat about 16 hours drive from me, my parents look after him. He has a mouth infection, he needs to have his teeth extracted which is very expensive.

gangsta chanca · Jan 7, 2016

Just a thought: Could it be, or did the vets say if it was, mites? Or is it an actual infection. Mites are super nasty and gruesome. Mostly with mice, but with some cats too, they would scratch at it, rub it on things etc. The mice would scratch their ears off, and i have heard that cats will do the same. If its just an infection its still bad of course. I suggest, as several others have, wrapping your cat in a blanket while either you or someone else holds them tight to their chest and puts the medicine in. The poor kitty may meow, but its usually not from the pain from the drops. The ear(s) are super sensitive and even worse with such a bad wound. Whats good to keep in mind is these drops are going to help your cat, not hurt it.

jenpen60 · Jan 11, 2016

It's definitely an infection! She appears to be getting better. Especially with the itching! So that's a relief. We don't have to wrap her in a towel anymore, even though she still HATES the drops. Still meows etc, which I think could actually be mainly from the coldness of the drops, along with maybe a tiny bit of pain.

We definitely keep that in mind and it helps sooo much. She seems to forgive us afterwards when we give her kisses and hugs haha!

pushylady · Jan 11, 2016

I'm glad she's getting better. I winced when reading your first description, poor kitty.. Sounds like it's clearing up now and hopefully that'll be the end of it.

Horrific middle ear infection

jenpen60

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donutte

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jenpen60

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stephenq

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donutte

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laura mae

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