Hello everyone 
I'm new to the site obviously but I wanted to share some of my own experiences with my cat, AJ. I would like to start by saying that I am not a vet. Librariangretch, my cat, AJ, has the same looking "dirty" ear polyps in his ear that Simba seems to have from the picture you provided. I can tell you that after 12 years (same vet clinic), a new vet came on to the scene and was bothered by the diagnosis (grain allergy) the other vet had been sure was the cause of the polyps. I myself questioned this many times as since the initial diagnosis (around age 2), AJ has been on a grain free cat food with no symptom relief. I should also mention his symptoms are more then just the ear polyps. He's never had solid stool in his entire life, and until I switched all the kids to the Kirkland (Costco) brand of grain free cat food, he threw up regularly. When he was younger, we also had to have 12 of his 30 (I believe) teeth removed. After reading over his chart from start to finish and discussing things with me she asked if she could do a little research after seeing him. She called me the next day and we scheduled an appointment. She wanted to see AJ's ears one more time. I brought him in and she took a look and pulled out and old veterinary med text book and opened it up to a page showing a cat with identical polyps that were dirty looking. She diagnosed AJ with obstructive ear disease. I've looked this term up online and found very little regarding the subject. She actually brought some of her students in to see it as she says it's very rare, and she's never herself seen it. His ears have been bothering him more and more as he's aged. The original trip that brought me to her attention was for an ear infection (very smelly) that she diagnosed as Pseudomonas caused by his scratching at the polyps. We discussed the matter further and decided to try having them laser removed. She was not optimistic that the polyps would be resolved for good but we felt it was worth it to alleviate his discomfort for a time. They have since grown back, not as large (yet). He's still suffering from chronic ear infections due to his scratching which require oral meds/ear drops and an antibiotic shot about every 3-6 months. He's also been started on steroids to help relieve him of the itching caused by the inflammation. It does seem to help, even if only a little. I don't believe in declawing so for his next appointment, we are going to try nail caps on his rear paws to try to prevent his tearing the polyp open thereby causing the infections. As I stated above, I am not a vet, but when I saw that picture of Simba, I wanted to share my experiences with you. I'm sorry I don't have better news to deliver to you, but I hope my experiences help in some way.
I'm new to the site obviously but I wanted to share some of my own experiences with my cat, AJ. I would like to start by saying that I am not a vet. Librariangretch, my cat, AJ, has the same looking "dirty" ear polyps in his ear that Simba seems to have from the picture you provided. I can tell you that after 12 years (same vet clinic), a new vet came on to the scene and was bothered by the diagnosis (grain allergy) the other vet had been sure was the cause of the polyps. I myself questioned this many times as since the initial diagnosis (around age 2), AJ has been on a grain free cat food with no symptom relief. I should also mention his symptoms are more then just the ear polyps. He's never had solid stool in his entire life, and until I switched all the kids to the Kirkland (Costco) brand of grain free cat food, he threw up regularly. When he was younger, we also had to have 12 of his 30 (I believe) teeth removed. After reading over his chart from start to finish and discussing things with me she asked if she could do a little research after seeing him. She called me the next day and we scheduled an appointment. She wanted to see AJ's ears one more time. I brought him in and she took a look and pulled out and old veterinary med text book and opened it up to a page showing a cat with identical polyps that were dirty looking. She diagnosed AJ with obstructive ear disease. I've looked this term up online and found very little regarding the subject. She actually brought some of her students in to see it as she says it's very rare, and she's never herself seen it. His ears have been bothering him more and more as he's aged. The original trip that brought me to her attention was for an ear infection (very smelly) that she diagnosed as Pseudomonas caused by his scratching at the polyps. We discussed the matter further and decided to try having them laser removed. She was not optimistic that the polyps would be resolved for good but we felt it was worth it to alleviate his discomfort for a time. They have since grown back, not as large (yet). He's still suffering from chronic ear infections due to his scratching which require oral meds/ear drops and an antibiotic shot about every 3-6 months. He's also been started on steroids to help relieve him of the itching caused by the inflammation. It does seem to help, even if only a little. I don't believe in declawing so for his next appointment, we are going to try nail caps on his rear paws to try to prevent his tearing the polyp open thereby causing the infections. As I stated above, I am not a vet, but when I saw that picture of Simba, I wanted to share my experiences with you. I'm sorry I don't have better news to deliver to you, but I hope my experiences help in some way.
