Inner Ear problems..cat freaked

[arrgy]

21 year old Homer started developing inner ear problems. Horrible smell coming from his left ear, lots of blood from scratching, etc. Took the old man to the vet, she told me that he had a bacterial infection in one ear and two in the other. She gave me antibiotic to administer 2x a day in each ear. The first time I gave it to him, he freaked out, and I wondered why, since he was good at the vet. Well, since the liquid is refrigerated I'm shooting an ice into his ear, duh. So I warmed the applicator in my hand, he still hates it. Then all of the sudden he decided he didn't want to eat solid food, he couldn't grasp it or chew it, uh. oh. So I rushed online and found out cats that have this problem usually have a ruptured eardrum, now if it occurred at the vet or if I did it somehow putting in the medicine, I don't know, his movement is fine however, wasn't listing and his one eye doesn't seem to be drooping or is unusual. He would like the gravy from wet food, but I couldn't get him to eat anything solid no matter how much I mashed the food.
So I went to the pet store and bought up all those packets of the liquified food, he licked that stuff right up. After a few days, the odor went away and the amount of blood decreased, but he still kept scratching at this ear because the blood and the antibiotic would dry up and flake in his ear. Its like a catch 22. Things were getting better until last night, as he was licking up his food he let out this blood curling cry that wouldn't stop for half a minute, he ran and hid and its probably a result of pain from not being able to open his jaw. He is now 24/7 under the couch in his nice safe environment, he is constantly on alert, can never get calmed, his frightened of me and is miserable, I recently stopped the meds because it this point its doing more harm then good. He ate almost an entire pouch of food this morning, and I scheduled a follow up in a couple of days to get him checked over again. This is freakin me out, I want to look under the couch every minute to see if he is resting, but every time I do, I know he is worried I am going to do harm to him. I might go see if there is something calming I could get for the room, just to relax him.

 

[Instinctive Energy]

It sounds like a good thing you are taking him for a follow up appointment. This poor guy! Reiki can help with pain and relaxation (but not a substitute for vet care). It also can help with stimulating appetite, though it sounds like that is better now. Hope he feels better very soon!

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

There is specific music for calming cats. You can google it. Also, there are calming products like Rescue Remedy for Cats and others. I believe Jackson Galaxy has some calming products. And there are some calming chews and sprays you can purchase at places like Petco and Petsmart even. Just try to avoid loud noises around him and really, just let him be. Make sure he has food and water and access to his litter box, and when he feels comfortable, he'll come out and seek you.

I hope all goes well at the Vet Let us know what they say

 

[FeebysOwner]

Things were getting better until last night, as he was licking up his food he let out this blood curling cry that wouldn't stop for half a minute, he ran and hid and its probably a result of pain from not being able to open his jaw.

I guess I would have to ask what is causing you to think he can't open his jaw? Is your vet's office open, or have an emergency back up you could call? Is it possible to get some pain meds for the interim? It might be that even though the meds were helping him, his eardrum has since ruptured anyway. He is 21 yo, I wouldn't be fooling around with this. At least call someone and ask about the ruptured eardrum and if anything can be administered to help with that aspect. When you get past this, and have to re-administer meds to his ear, ask about how you can minimize the accumulation so it doesn't bother him as much.

Keep the lickable food nearby, and some water, in case he would emerge just enough from under the couch to eat/drink a bit. He is not necessarily frightened of you, he is frightened over how he feels.

 

[arrgy]

Well the interesting thing is he isn't shaking his head, or scratching at his ear any more, he is just staying in his safe spot. He moves fine, no motor coordination issues. He actually ate half a bottle of turkey baby food and another bisque pouch. I got so tired of him not wanting the food and facing away that I said F-- it, and took a bit on my finger and shoved it right in his nose. He flinched at first, then licked it off, and looked at me and moved closer to me and wanted more. Dumb cat. So after what he ate this morning he actually ate more today then he has in a while. I also noticed that I have to angle the dish to make sure that his head is facing upward, I think he went into extreme pain when I just put the plate flat on the ground and he had to bend over. It isn't a matter that he can't open his jaw, its just the infection causes him a lot of pain when he does. Sadly I live in a rural area so I have to wait until Sat to take him for his follow up.

 

[FeebysOwner]

It sounds like you have found a way to keep him eating, so that is great!! Keep it up! I know the feeling of wanting to call your cat 'dumb'! I have said similar things about Feeby too. I really don't mean them, and know you don't really either. It is a good momentary stress reliever though. He just doesn't know what to make of what is going on with him, so we have to improvise to get around that anyway we can - it sounds like, at least, for now you have done that. Keep us posted, please.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

OK, he's eating, even if you have to dance in a circle to get him to do it. We won't argue with success. Let us know what is going on when he has his follow-up! We'll fret.

As for rupturing his eardrum, if that has happened, it is almost certainly from the infection. A cat's ear canal is not like a human's. See diagram. It is almost impossible for us to rupture a cat's eardrum. Rest easy on that one. You did not do it.

 

[arrgy]

Thanks all. I know at this point the most important thing was to get him to eat something, now we have to deal with the pain and the infection.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Keep us post. Once you have posted about an issue here, your cat becomes, in some small way, our cat as well, and we fret! Welcome to TCS, to BOTH of you!

 

[arrgy]

Just got back from the vet. The antibiotics didn't work in the one ear, so they are going to grow a culture in the lab, figure out what specific bacteria it is and then go from there. The vet can't tell if the ear drum is punctured or not, when I mentioned the pain opening the jaw, she didn't seem to think that it was related to the infection, it could be an issue with a tooth or something completely different. They cleaned his ears and told me to check them a couple times a day and clean them if needed, and stop the antibiotics. The vet was able to open his mouth wide and move his jaw without any pain. They are doing blood work on him, in the meantime because of his age as long as he can eat the liquified food they don't want to give him any pain killer, and he actually seemed better today. I tried a warm cloth towel on his face and instead of being completely under the couch he stuck himself halfway out the couch. I fed him an entire thing of baby food which he ate up, he wasn't too dehydrated but they gave him liquid anyway.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Well, at least he's not completely hiding anymore, which is good considering you hauled him off to the Vet! Hoping the culture comes back quickly so you can correctly treat the ear,and maybe that will resolve everything. You never know.

At least he's hungry...always a good sign!

 

[arrgy]

Took my boy for a second opinion. The new vet, after actually examining him, said he has a tumor in his ear, which is why he keeps shaking his head, and it is causing the infection. About $2000 for surgery to remove it, or he can live with it for about a year and suffer.

 

[FeebysOwner]

About $2000 for surgery to remove it, or he can live with it for about a year and suffer.

Dare I ask what you mean by live with it for about a year?

 

[arrgy]

The Vet said that if it wasn't removed, he might live in severe pain for only a year. But I wouldn't do that at all to my boy. There seems to be no other problems with him, so guess I need to suck up two grand.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Does the vet think, at his age, he is a good candidate for the surgery?

 

[arrgy]

I don't think so, but he is healthy as an ox otherwise. He actually thought Homer was 12 years old not 20.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Do your research about the tumor and where it is, what data there is on removing it, and what the recuperative care and timing is. Find out what tumor is called, and see if anyone on this site might have had any experience with it. I know I have seen some previous threads on Inner ear tumors, but I am not sure how they were 'titled'.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

The Vet said "tumor", not "polyp"? I've heard of ear polyps, but not sure I've heard of ear tumors. But it is true that even with polyps they need to be removed. I would definitely get more information though. What kind of tumor, is it cancerous, etc? Maybe he needs to see a specialist before you do anything further.

 

[arrgy]

He can't tell if the tumor is cancerous or not until they remove it, and he doesn't even want to remove, he is going to refer me to a mobile surgeon who said has done lots of these.

 

[arrgy]

This is driving me crazy. So Homer's blood work came back, the is healthy as an ox. Thyroid Normal, White Blood Cell and Count Normal, nothing wrong with him at all. Again, the vet is amazed that this is a 21 year old cat.
So now I am getting a referral to Allergy and Ear Specialist group here in the South East. He is also getting a mild narcotic that will last about 3 days to keep him calm.