Ear cleaning at the vet (2024)

Dasha went for her first vet visit with me yesterday and got her vaccines and general exam. They said her heart sounds good (though at some point they said it would not be a bad idea to get echocardiogram) and all else looks well save for her ears which were very yeasty and greasy.

The doc says she tends to be conservative about ear cleaning in cats (which I am glad of, as I know cleaning can bring risks of vestibular issues if not done properly). However upon a close look they recommended cleaning her ears there at the hospital. I said go ahead and it sounds like they got quite a bit out.

Only trouble is now she’s still shaking her head, maybe even more than before. I have a call in to the vet to discuss. I know sometimes there are ear creams or drops to help remediate the itching. Anyone else have this kind of issue after an ear cleaning? I’m also wondering if she could have food allergies.

@blindowlblues , hugs n head smooches adorable Team Dasha! glad her heart sounds good.

you can ask vet for a free follow up visit to look at ears ( to make sure they didn't go too deep , sharing, it has happened on occasion to some)

my vet got me hooked on trizultra w/keto almost 20 yrs ago to clean ears. I don't actually flush ears.

2x a week I wet cotton swisppers and brand name qtips and gently wipe out ears with a little squeeze to the cotton round. in the beginning I wore a little head lamp to see the nooks and crannies. our sphynx get dirtier ears quicker because they don't have ear hairs.

Dasha is a sweetie
how did the lamb. food go? it can take weeks for a new food to settle. took my girl upward of 12 weeks.

keep us updated on the call back from vet.

Thank you @Yoda mom for the kind reply and well wishes!! The doc had us come back in today to address the severe itching and I was so relieved. My poor girl was really upset about her ears.

They did another slide to double check and make sure there are no ear mites present, and none were there. The doc said given that we really don’t know much about her background, it’s possible she just had an overgrowth of yeast due to never being cleaned properly. She said let’s give her a one time steroid injection to provide some itch relief, prescribed tresederm drops for 2 weeks to get the yeast under control. If she is still having issues it maybe an allergy. But the doc also said it’s fine to eliminate fish from Dasha’s diet - since her food at prior house was solely fish based and fish is a common allergen this could be the culprit.

She ate lamb again when we got home and seemed to like it once she started in. Cleaned her plate!!

I’m not a huge fan of steroids long term but I realize they have their place occasionally - so I hope this helps. I have been through this before with another kitty who had to eat duck for several years, then seemed to out grow most of her allergies. My vet team offers integrative medicine which means they provide mainstream medicine as appropriate, steroids and surgery and such, but also offer homeopathic type remedies, Chinese medicines and supplements and the like. Since I like having options and not being locked into one philosophy, I appreciate this very much.

@blindowlblues , awh, you are the bestest mum. glad you have a great working relationship with your vet and were able to go back in today. hopeful the injection brings some relief. I have used tresederm in the past with good results. all paws crossed for good news updates.

glad she loved the lamb. ( Lamb was a winner for one of my pups food allergies years ago. my vet said not to allergy testing him since can get false positive or negatives. once the food settled in a few weeks no more itching or skin issues. glad Dasha cleaned her plate!
my vet's team also traditional and holistic. I used jin tangs chinese herbs in the past with my pup Sam.)
with the good ear cleaning she had getting gunk out and a routine ear cleaning going forward hopeful much relief.

keep us updated adorable Team Dasha! hugs n head smooches