Ear Problems

[shelleymarie]

I inherited two cats, about 7 years old, from a friend. When I took them, one of the cats had what my friend said the vet called ear mites. She scratched constantly. We gave her ear drops, but they did not go away. Another vet stated that she had a skin allergy, and gave us some topical medication, which seemed to help slightly. The scabs made her continue to itch, however. She is now 12 years old, and she has been to the vet numerous times. They have given her shots, drops, injections, but nothing seems to get rid of her constant scratching. She makes her ears and her chin and the area around her mouth bleed from the scratching. I am taking her to the vet again, but I would like to know if there is anything I can tell the vet that might help alleviate this problem. I heard that some cats can have blood cancer which causes them to scratch, and now I am very worried. Will we ever figure this out?

[zodiacqueen]

Hi, don't worry itchy ears is not a form of blood cancer!!  Maybe, you're thinking of skin cancer-I seriously doubt this as well, especially since you've taken the cat to so many vets already(I'm sure one of them would've mentioned the possibillity).

Have you had a kidney panel done on your cat, yet?  This is a blood test that'll let you know the cat's kidney function.  Unfortunately, cat's kidneys can start to lose function around 7 yrs old.  This would cause the skin to itch, too.  You'd also see drinking lots of water, and peeing a lot.

If the kidneys are fine, you might want to see a vet dermatologist to get to the bottom of this.  This must be very miserable for your kitty to itch all of the time, hopefully you'll find out what's going on.

[Savas]

For starters I'd try putting petroleum jelly on the scabs two or three times a day. It will help soften the skin some; scabbing can cause itching in itself. Especially if its long term, the continual pulling feeling of the scabbed skin is quite uncomfortable.

Otherwise I'd consider going to an animal hospital. You didn't mention  ear hematoma. Its a condition where small hematomas form in the ears that are often impossible to spot by visual inspection. In layman's terms, it's an oversized or partially burst blood vessel that gets engorged and causes discomfort and itching.

Generally it can be treated with medications, but it usually ends up needing to be cauterized at some point to truly make the problem go away.

I know, an ear hematoma shouldn't cause your cat to scratch the chin/mouth area...but...sometimes, after a long period of suffering, the scratching becomes almost violently obsessive and frantic.

It is possible you've got a secondary thing going on (two different problems). Have you checked your cat's chin/mouth for feline acne? Sometimes it can cause itching leading to obsessive scratching.


There is a product called "Fungaid" that I advise for use with simple wounds...but there are long term use considerations here that may make it inadvisable. (Recent information suggests that cats with allergen problems can suffer a reaction to the active ingredient as well). So perhaps your best off cleaning the wounds as neccessary and applying a light coating of petroleum jelly. Its safe, but cats do love to eat it, so it may take a few applications at a sitting to make sure it takes. :-)

Good luck, and let us know how the vet visit goes!