Can't get brown gunk out of his ears

[One_Mokena]

Okay so we adopted a 12-week-old kitten about 2 weeks ago. When we took him to the vet she said that he had an ear infection but no ear mites and gave us some derma-vet ointment to use in his ears for a week. She cleaned his ears and we went home. We finished up the derma-vet yesterday. I have some kitten ear wipes to use to clean his ear but the brownness will not come off, it's like it's stuck on there. When I wipe nothing comes out but when I look down in there it's still really dark. Am I overthinking this? Is it normal?

 

[sivyaleah]

did they run any cultures to find out what it might be?
Our young one suffers from yeast infections in her ears. A cytology would be needed to see exactly what this discharge is. Yeast is fairly common and usually can be cleared up with medication.

 

[One_Mokena]

This is after a week of antibiotic/antifungal ointment. All the vet did was look at his ears with the otoscope and make her diagnosis. He doesn't seem to be bothered by his ears at all it's just that I can't get the brown part off

 

[sivyaleah]

This is after a week of antibiotic/antifungal ointment. All the vet did was look at his ears with the otoscope and make her diagnosis. He doesn't seem to be bothered by his ears at all it's just that I can't get the brown part off

If it's not subsiding with that treatment, there are several other medications which will target the problem better. I don't think an antibiotic is going to help unless it is bacterial.

I'd personally push to have a culture done so that the right medication will be used. I like definitive answers. It may not bother him now but could in the future.

Could also be he's prone to excessive ear wax with no underlying medical problem. If not pawing at his ears or shaking his head, a gentle ear cleanser used every day or so will certainly help but you may never be able to get the ears looking as clean as you would like them to be.

 

[LTS3]

If you carefully and very gently rub a q tip on the brown spots, does anything come off? If not, the brown spots may just be pigmented skin and harmless. One of my cats has brown freckles in her ear.

 

[One_Mokena]

If you carefully and very gently rub a q tip on the brown spots, does anything come off? If not, the brown spots may just be pigmented skin and harmless. One of my cats has brown freckles in her ear.

It really looks like dirty ears but when I wipe it with cotton or the ear wipes nothing really comes off. A few of small little specs will come off but that's about it. I feel like I'm wiping it well enough that it should be coming off. I suppose it could be just part of his ears but it really looks like some kind of residue and not like scabby or anything. I've been putting ointment in his ears twice a day for for a week few. I was wondering if perhaps it could have caused some sort reaction. I'm probably overthinking this a lot