Ear wax or infection?

[suestelladeville]

I’m petsitting for my parents, and I noticed their cat Sookie has a lot of brown discharge in her ears. I have two cats of my own, and I’ve never seen anything like this in their ears. It kind of looks like ear wax, but from what I understand cats’ ear wax shouldn’t be super visible so it seems like there’s way too much of it to be normal?
I haven’t been here for very long but she seems to be acting normally so far. She does have a little bald spot on the back of one ear from scratching, it looks like. Apologies for the yucky pictures but I would love to hear what others think. Does this look like mites? I know she has had allergies before so could it be that? My parents will be back in one week but I could take her to the vet sooner than that if needed, I’m just not sure what to do!

 

[neely]

Although a bit difficult to tell it does not appear to be ear mites. The most common symptoms in cats are: head shaking, frequent scratching around ears, crusty or waxy discharge that resembles coffee grounds, even pus or inflammation. Here is an article that may have some helpful information for you: Ear Mites in Cats | PetMD

Just out of curiosity, are there any other pets in your parent's house besides Sookie or does she go outdoors? The reason I asked is because ear mites are contagious. If you notice any of the symptoms I mentioned above I would suggest contacting your parent's vet.

 

[suestelladeville]

Although a bit difficult to tell it does not appear to be ear mites. The most common symptoms in cats are: head shaking, frequent scratching around ears, crusty or waxy discharge that resembles coffee grounds, even pus or inflammation. Here is an article that may have some helpful information for you: Ear Mites in Cats | PetMD

Just out of curiosity, are there any other pets in your parent's house besides Sookie or does she go outdoors? The reason I asked is because ear mites are contagious. If you notice any of the symptoms I mentioned above I would suggest contacting your parent's vet.

Thanks for the info! She does seem to be acting fine so I guess I’ll continue to keep an eye on her ears for now. My parents also have a dog, but the cat stays upstairs 99% of the time and he stays on the first floor so they don’t have much contact. His ears look normal so far but I’ll keep an eye on him too!

 

[marshmallow2013]

My indoor cat had the brown ear wax, looks same as the photos, which started over a year before he passed away from oral cancer. I knew it probably wasn’t ear mites, so I took him to the vet and she didn’t give him any medication for it even though I told her I had to clean my cat’s ears couple times a week. I didn’t know any better because I trusted my old vet. Several months later, when I took my cat in to a new vet, he informed me that a cat’s ears should look pink and clean inside with very little ear wax. The brown buildup was caused by inflammation and an ear infection, though my cat was never bothered by it. He hardly ever scratched his ears. My cat was 11 when I first noticed the brown wax.