Hey everyone, so my five year old cat Jude has had some bad luck these past few months. I'll keep it brief, but, essentially, back in December I babysat my upstairs neighbour's new kitty over a weekend without knowing she had fleas, and in turn she passed them on to Jude. We got the fleas under control and taken care of since I caught it pretty quick, and a couple weeks ago was when I put his last round of the treatment on him. Again, and luckily, there was no issue with that. He's an indoor only cat and has never had any health issues, so this little hiccup was pretty traumatic (more so for me) and a little bit insulting, lol.
However, about a week ago I noticed that he had a little bit of ear wax(?). Up til then I had never really cleaned his ears, as I'd just swipe a damp cloth over them any time I'd give him a little non-bath about once a month and that was the extent of it because he'd just never had issues with his ears. I'd see a spot or two of light brown wax every now and then, but he seemed to take care of it himself.
So, here's where I'm not sure there's a problem or I'm just overly paranoid because of the nightmare of having dealt with fleas (aka the true demons of the world) recently. As I said, about a week ago I noticed some light brown ear wax in his ears; I cleaned it with some q-tips and it was kind of gross, but not a whole lot and didn't resemble what I'd seen in photos of cats with ear mites. A couple days after cleaning his ears, there was some wax again, not a whole lot, but it was there. I swiped his ears with 50/50 apple cider vinegar and water, which he had no problem with me doing, and figured I'd check again in a few days. So today, he had two specks of brown in his right ear, and I cleaned his ears with q-tips again (very gently, of course! I'm not going deep into his ear canal, just cleaned the folds that are visible) and took a picture because holy moly am I ever getting paranoid about his poor ears! I'm just not sure what's considered normal or abnormal when it comes to kitty ear wax!
So here are the pictures - the first is of what came out of his right ear today, the second is the left ear. Is this just normal ear wax build up? Is it considered a lot or too much? Could he possibly have ear mites, or a yeast infection? I didn't take photos of the other ends of the q-tips because they came out clean on both ears.
His ears do not smell, they're not red (I would've taken a picture of them directly but he just wanted to bat around the q-tips after I was done cleaning his ears and wouldn't sit still long enough), and he's not scratching or rubbing them. He shakes his head slightly from time to time, but I've noticed he's always done that and he only really does it after he gets out of the litter box, wakes up/stretches, or finishes eating (so I think it's just a normal little quirk).
I would love to just go to a vet and have my worries confirmed or denied outright, but at the moment we don't have a vet, as our last one didn't work well at all for Jude (who was abused as a kitten before I rescued him and extremely timid with those he's not super familiar with) and would constantly traumatize him any time he went it. I've been trying to find a new vet whom I feel comfortable with, but around here, that's proving difficult. So, in the meantime, I would absolutely wholeheartedly appreciate any words of advice about Jude's ears from any of you. From the pics I've attached, and based off your experiences, do you think he's got some kind of ear issue or is he normal and I'm being a little more paranoid than need be?
Sorry this turned out so long, but I appreciate any time you take to read it or respond!
However, about a week ago I noticed that he had a little bit of ear wax(?). Up til then I had never really cleaned his ears, as I'd just swipe a damp cloth over them any time I'd give him a little non-bath about once a month and that was the extent of it because he'd just never had issues with his ears. I'd see a spot or two of light brown wax every now and then, but he seemed to take care of it himself.
So, here's where I'm not sure there's a problem or I'm just overly paranoid because of the nightmare of having dealt with fleas (aka the true demons of the world) recently. As I said, about a week ago I noticed some light brown ear wax in his ears; I cleaned it with some q-tips and it was kind of gross, but not a whole lot and didn't resemble what I'd seen in photos of cats with ear mites. A couple days after cleaning his ears, there was some wax again, not a whole lot, but it was there. I swiped his ears with 50/50 apple cider vinegar and water, which he had no problem with me doing, and figured I'd check again in a few days. So today, he had two specks of brown in his right ear, and I cleaned his ears with q-tips again (very gently, of course! I'm not going deep into his ear canal, just cleaned the folds that are visible) and took a picture because holy moly am I ever getting paranoid about his poor ears! I'm just not sure what's considered normal or abnormal when it comes to kitty ear wax!
So here are the pictures - the first is of what came out of his right ear today, the second is the left ear. Is this just normal ear wax build up? Is it considered a lot or too much? Could he possibly have ear mites, or a yeast infection? I didn't take photos of the other ends of the q-tips because they came out clean on both ears.
His ears do not smell, they're not red (I would've taken a picture of them directly but he just wanted to bat around the q-tips after I was done cleaning his ears and wouldn't sit still long enough), and he's not scratching or rubbing them. He shakes his head slightly from time to time, but I've noticed he's always done that and he only really does it after he gets out of the litter box, wakes up/stretches, or finishes eating (so I think it's just a normal little quirk).
I would love to just go to a vet and have my worries confirmed or denied outright, but at the moment we don't have a vet, as our last one didn't work well at all for Jude (who was abused as a kitten before I rescued him and extremely timid with those he's not super familiar with) and would constantly traumatize him any time he went it. I've been trying to find a new vet whom I feel comfortable with, but around here, that's proving difficult. So, in the meantime, I would absolutely wholeheartedly appreciate any words of advice about Jude's ears from any of you. From the pics I've attached, and based off your experiences, do you think he's got some kind of ear issue or is he normal and I'm being a little more paranoid than need be?
Sorry this turned out so long, but I appreciate any time you take to read it or respond!
