Ear Polyps

Recently, I adopted my 3rd cat, a 10-year-old boy named Simba. He had been at the humane society I volunteer with for over FIVE years; I adopted him so he could finally have his own home. He's healthy, other than the fact that he has ear polyps in each ear...and has apparently had them for some time. The people at the humane society took him to the vet to get them checked out. Like all vets, they said there were 3 options: the two surgical methods and to leave it alone. Because of his age, they were afraid to put him under anesthesia. I plan to take him to another vet, just to get another opinion, but I was wondering if anyone had any experience with polyps or maybe some advice they'd be willing to offer. He shakes his head a bit and will scratch his head as well; he goes into fits of scratch once he really gets going. Also, if anyone has any ideas on how to make him more comfortable, I'd appreciate those as well. Thanks!

Hello, I'm not familiar with polyps, but I'm curious, how big are they.  

Questions I would have for your second opinion:

Scenario 1 - If Simba can live with them: would they grow bigger, if so, what's the growth rate, are they effecting his hearing, can they turn into something else.  Is there and over the counter or be prescribed medicine for the itching.

Scenario 2 - Surgery, is it at all an option, I know 1st vet said its a risk, but should be asked.  Also, if the growth rate is slow, what is his future going to be, will he eventually need surgery then, if so, should you get it done now, will they grow back.

In the meantime I would make sure his nails are clipped so he doesn't irritate his ears more than they already are.

I always go with a more natural method if available, my cats never did well with the anesthesia, nor do I for that matter, my opinion is it's poison.

There may be older threads on TheCatSite with info if you search, but there are advisors on here also who you can privately message, they've been more than helpful in my time of need.

Good luck to you and Simba.  It's wonderful he now has a place to call home.  

I haven't had much experience with polyps in the ear (yet) but my Mary (she is 20) for the past 6-8 months has been getting recurring ear infections.  Yeast, bacterial and so on...   My vet hasn't mentioned polyps or really looking for them but probably because of her age.  I had a 19 year old who went under for a teeth cleaning and she did just fine.  If you were to choose the surgery route, I don't think 10 is too old.  

I know there are some anti-inflammatory medications that you could apply to help with any swelling or pain.    What I have read is that there are two types of surgeries to remove the polyps one is less scary but also less effective.  

Definitely get a second opinion.  

Here's a picture of Simba...if you look at the ear on the left (his right ear), you can see the polyps (those greyish bumps). He has clusters in each ear. What the first vet was most concerned about was the placement of the polyps. Because of where they are, if surgery were to happen, it would mean his ears would have to be removed (as there wouldn't be enough tissue remaining). He has polyps in both ears, though one is "better" than the other (the one you can actually see inside in the picture is the one that gives him the least trouble). 

Poor baby.  They look dirty.  I thought polyps were more pink and swollen.   I would for sure get another opinion.  He may just need a flush and cleaning.    They don't seem to be red and pulsating in pain like I was imagining.  Does he let you touch them?    I'm in love with him now.  

Let me say, he's a cutie pie.

His ears do look a bit dirty, would you let him clean them gently?  My female cats ears get moist and with that collects more dirt and she scratches rather aggressively.  So I make sure I do them daily and she's good. Cleaning and keeping them dry may help with the itching.

Can they freeze off the polyps like you would a skin tag or wart?  Just wondering if they do that for cats.  It's awful they would have to remove the ear.  With the second opinion you'll know how best to proceed.

Good luck.

Isn't he just the sweetest looking boy? He's very needy too, which makes my heart melt even more.

I thought his ears were dirty myself, but when I got to have a closer look, they look dusty  if anything. Weird, eh? I've touched the outside of his ear several times, and he shies away from my hand when I do (just to come back to it several seconds later). I'm in the process of making an appointment to see a vet, so I can get that second opinion. I'm going to see if I can possibly clean them though, to see if that does any good. His ears don't seem to bother him all the time, but when they do, they really irritate him. Just trying to find some ways to relieve any pain or irritation he might have.

librariangretch said:

 
Isn't he just the sweetest looking boy? He's very needy too, which makes my heart melt even more.

I thought his ears were dirty myself, but when I got to have a closer look, they look dusty  if anything. Weird, eh? I've touched the outside of his ear several times, and he shies away from my hand when I do (just to come back to it several seconds later). I'm in the process of making an appointment to see a vet, so I can get that second opinion. I'm going to see if I can possibly clean them though, to see if that does any good. His ears don't seem to bother him all the time, but when they do, they really irritate him. Just trying to find some ways to relieve any pain or irritation he might have.

Click to expand...

So the inside of his ears are gray, cute.  Well only thing I would do is make sure his nails are clipped.  Good luck with him and keep us posted.  I'm curious to learn the outcome.  Cheers

I have seen many pix of ear polyps before, and they do tend to look like little brownish gray mushrooms growing in their ears

What I'm wondering is WHY your Vet doesn't want to use anesthesia on a 10 year old cat.  10 years isn't that old.  Many cats endure anesthesia who are much older than that.  Does he have other health issues?   (One thin I have read is that the surgery is pretty expensive though...couple thousand dollars!)

I've heard they can "pull" them out somehow, but with that method,they usually grow back.  So....

Can't wait to see what the next Vet says.  Please let us know.

They are nasty looking, but I sure wouldn't want his ears removed. Hope the next vet has a better solution.

First off, Thank You for doing the job that you do,  and Thank You for giving this guy a real home........As far as the Polyps,  I've been told,  that cats can live fine with Polyps as long as they are not bothered by them,  the biggest worry for me is that in times of irritation that you mentioned,  hopefully he won' t damage his ears by putting his foot in there,  then there will be a new issue on hand...........Work on trying to keep that irritation down until you get that second opinion...........

Booberry is my special kitty.  Someone suggested that I should have named him Six because he's used up 6 of his 9 lives. Among other health challenges he also has an ear polyp deep in his left ear. He shakes his head because he's aware of it. I have to wash his ear regularly. The vet recommended a surgery but they can't do it and I'd have to take him to someone with more experience taking out ear polyps. In the meantime, I wash his ear with simple saline solution, like what you would soak your contact lenses in. Then I wipe out his ear with a cotton pad---which doesn't shed like a cotton ball. This is to get the wax out otherwise it gets trapped by the polyp and leads to infections.

Because of the location of his polyp, I'm told that they would go into the ear likely from outside of it above his cheek. This doesn't excite me in the least.

The vet practice I take my cats to concentrates on cats, but they all are hesitant to do specialized surgeries outside of dental and spay/neuter and recommended that for polyps, that it should be done by a vet with more experience. Of course, a different vet would likely have a completely different opinion.

In any case the saline wash doesn't change the ph of his ear and doesn't dry it out like ear cleansers with other ingredients. And perhaps that helps keep down the risk of infection. He absolutely hates the process, but likes the wipe with the cotton pad afterwards. He puts up with a lot of process in his life.

Hi, I grew up with 2 cats who had this, a female Siamese and her son. None of our other cats got them. This was 30 years ago, and so little was known. The mother cat had her ears cleaned several times under sedation, because they bled, and the smell was awful. Sadly we had to put her to sleep because of this. Nothing the vets did helped and she was spraying blood from her ears and it just got to be too hard to see her suffer. Her son was a little luckier, but at age 13 me and my sister brought him in to have the polyps removed, and they removed his ears (without telling us). I don't think either one of us quite got over that. He lived several more years though. Mind you, both he and his mother's ears bled and they smelled awful, so if your cat doesn't have this issue that is very good.

What did a biopsy and culture say?  Honestly, if the only alternative is to remove his ears, why do it now if they aren't infected or bothering him?

My Pedro had ear polyps.   He came from a hoarding situation and had several health issues.   His polyps were allergy related and were controlled by feeding completely grain free with limited ingredients.  He also had frequent  ear cleaning by the vet.  Occasionally, he needed ear drops.   However, if Simba's polyps are only in one ear, his are probably not due to allergies. 

You are doing a wonderful thing taking this little guy home!  Are these polyps cancerous or non-cancerous? Have they been aspirated?  

You might want to consult with a Board Certified Surgeon who would be better versed in dealing with this.

acvs.org  ( American College of Veterinary Surgeons )    You can go on their site and try to find one in your area.  Or at least go to a veterinary internist, who has more experience and specialization in this.  

hello. i actually had my cat in for almost the exact same thing on friday. and the vet told me that they were just hematomas from him scratching his ears too much. she drained them and then did irrigation of both ears which as unfortunately left my poor old man with vertigo. i hope this helps because snickers' were in almost the exact spot and she had no issues draining and treating them. 

I thought I would post an update about Simba.

I took him to see a second vet last week. The vet basically said the same thing as the vet the humane society took him to said: because of where his polyps are, it's best to leave them alone, especially since they aren't bleeding when he scratches. I can tell they still bother him, but if 2 vets say it is probably best not to mess with them, then I'll probably do as they suggest. The vet did say he would like to look further in Simba's ears, but he would have to sedate him because it would be painful otherwise. Simba wasn't exactly the friendliest patient, haha. The vet did comment about possibly using ear drops, so when I take Simba back for the vet to get a closer look into his ears, that may be what we do.

Thank you to everyone who commented. I really appreciate it! 

Hi Librarian Gretch -- I'm so glad another member showed me your post from last March because I also adopted a cat who is now about 10 years and has polyps in both her ears.  My vet said the surgery would be too dangerous because she also has FIP.  Right now, she is spending all her time in the closet and I think those polyps are on both sides of her throat because it's a challenge for her to physically eat anything.  I have a call in to my vet to ask him how this cat is supposed to live her life like this.  He put her on synotic drops (stressing it's not a cure) so I have a question to him if these drops shrink these polyps.

How is your cat doing now?  Does he seem to eat ok?

Dianee - Simba eats perfectly fine, though he does have IBD which causes him to throw up often. His polyps only seem to cause him some balance issues, mostly because he does shake his head when they are itchy. But other than that, his polyps don't really cause him any issues.

I'm very sorry to hear about your cat I hope you're able to find some relief for her soon!

Hi Librarian Gretch,

Thank you so much for responding on how it's going with your Simba.  It's encouraging to hear that.  My little Whisper has really improved since the vet put her on those steroidal ear drops.  She's so peppy now.  The problem still remaining (which my vet thinks may get better) is that I think there must be a polyp behind her throat because she is having a tough time eating.  She loved the kibble pellets even though she had no teeth but she must have realized her throat is smaller so she tries to crunch down on them -- forgetting she has no teeth, and they one after another, each little pellet falls out of her mouth so she rarely gets one down.  So I'm syringing in baby food with tuna water.  She is licking wet food, though, and just eating the little bits that her tongue can lap up.  I guess with no front teeth, they can't lift up a piece of wet food so she just has to keep licking it.  My vet wants to wait awhile to see if that improves. I'm so glad to hear about Simba, though, because that gives me some hope for Whisper.  She's already feeling so good on those drops.