Dirty Ears

I noticed that my cats ears are a little dirty. They have some black crust in them? Does anyone know how to get rid of it?

I would take the kitty to the vet before trying to clean them myself. It could be earmites or an ear infection. The vet can even teach you how to clean them properly.

Originally Posted by megmar6853

I noticed that my cats ears are a little dirty. They have some black crust in them? Does anyone know how to get rid of it?

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YES, and you need to do so before it leads to a yeast infection in his/her ears. Have you checked with your vet for ear mites? You should do that as well. That might require more extensive treatment, although it isn't terribly expensive if caught fast enough.

Anyway, in order to clean them, go to www.1800petmeds.com and search for 'Vet Solutions Ear Cleaner"...it runs about $10 for a big bottle. You can also get this from your vet quite easily...it's OTC. When you get the cleaner, squirt some in the ear canal and gently massage the base of the ear. Then let Kitty shake out the excess cleaner. Then, you need to go in with a part of a cotton ball and clean out the gunk. Make sure you do this gently but thoroughly.

Hope that helps!

Add that to the talk to the vet list... likely something like ear mites but have it checked

How old is the cat...id they are younger its probably mites, if they are older it might be a yeast infection..which will also have a wierd smell to it....

Either way it is not safe to clean your cats ear without proper training, they will need to go to a vet

my 5 month kitten gets that from time to time, I have all sorts of funny names for it... Ive been faR too scared to get any bits of crust that are in his ear but have just picked bits that are far out as that wont damage him, when he's sleeping or I wouldnt get away with it .
I hadnt though anything of it, though it was like ear wax or something...
so this is yet another thing Ive learnt from this site!! Ill talk to my vet when the boy goes in to get the dreaded 'chop'

Pombina....The vet will treat the mites first if there are any (and that stuff will help clean out any excess gunk for now too. )Then afterwards you can get a solution for the ears that is just for cleaning them. (I bought mine from the vet) and he will show you how to do it...it probably is`nt anything you`ll have to use very often, and the cat will probably not like it too much....but it is`nt really too bad to do at all. You can do it!
Linda

Originally Posted by lionessrampant

Anyway, in order to clean them, go to www.1800petmeds.com and search for 'Vet Solutions Ear Cleaner"...it runs about $10 for a big bottle. You can also get this from your vet quite easily...it's OTC. When you get the cleaner, squirt some in the ear canal and gently massage the base of the ear. Then let Kitty shake out the excess cleaner. Then, you need to go in with a part of a cotton ball and clean out the gunk. Make sure you do this gently but thoroughly.

Hope that helps!

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Please do not clean the ears yourself with over-the-counter medications until you've seen a vet, had a diagnosis from him and then if he wants you to clean them they will give you instructions on how to do it. I'm sure you do not want to do any damage to your cat's ears and unless you know what you are doing, you could cause harm.

Some folks here have had experience with cleaning ears and mean well when giving advice but if you have never done this before, please see your vet first.

How can you damage a cats ears cleaning them? Their ears aren't built like ours. I mean, it's good to be shown how to do it. But it's really a simple process.

However, it sounds like ear mites to me. Do the ears smell? If they have a smelly odor [[kind of sweetish]] it could be yeast. If your cat is indoor only. I vote yeast. If it's an outdoor kitty too, I say ear mites, and you'd need to get some ear stuff to kill the mites. Simple cleaning will not get rid of them. To further prevent them, you can treat your cats with Revolution, which you can also get from the vet.

Originally Posted by Plebayo

How can you damage a cats ears cleaning them? Their ears aren't built like ours. I mean, it's good to be shown how to do it. But it's really a simple process.

However, it sounds like ear mites to me. Do the ears smell? If they have a smelly odor [[kind of sweetish]] it could be yeast. If your cat is indoor only. I vote yeast. If it's an outdoor kitty too, I say ear mites, and you'd need to get some ear stuff to kill the mites. Simple cleaning will not get rid of them. To further prevent them, you can treat your cats with Revolution, which you can also get from the vet.

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You can damage your cat's ears (hearing) if you do not know what you are doing just as you can damage your own ears by cleaning or poking in them incorrectly.

What may be a simple process to one person may not be a simple process to someone else with less knowledge or experience.

Get your vet's office to show you the correct way before poking around in their ears. In any event you should have them checked by a vet to be sure you know what you are treating anyway.

Buying and using over-the-counter medications before knowing what you are dealing with and without a vet's go-ahead can be harmful to your pet.

You can damage a cat's ears if you clean them incorrectly, Q-tips are a definite NO NO- they can pierce an eardrum. You put the medicine inside the ears, and then you gently rub the outside of the ear, distributing the medicine (that you have gotten from your vet) The medicine is killing the mites, so the mites are going nuts inside the ear, biting the heck out of the cat in a last death goodbye-which is why so many cats go nuts when that stuff is in their ears. Once you have distributed the medicine, you take a cotton roll and twist it into a tube, then set that in the ear, and gently twirl back and forth to pick up the blood and the dead mites

I am going thru the same thing now with my 3 outdoor cats.....they have earmites and my vet told me to use the drops and CLEAN the black outta their ears for 3 weeks..you have to kill the eggs too or else the ear mites will come back.

If you do not treat these earmites, it can lead to bad ear infections, and even to deafness : - (