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kiki3898

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I have been cleaning Gracies ears every wk since i have had her after about 5 days she starts scratching at them I clean them the way the video shows to do it I can see brown stuf i guess wax way down in the ear but cant get it with cotton balls and i dont wont to go that far in the ear is this normal? or what do I do? Thanks
 

marlene

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You need to get that wax out of her ear canals, cleaning just the outside isn't enough. If it stays there it can cause infection. But deep cleaning ears isn't easy. I took my kitty to the vet and had the vet teach me how to do it properly and safely. That might be the best thing for you to do too. Plus the vet can give Gracie's ears a good look-0ver and make sure there's nothing going on in there.
 

laurame

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I had this happen with my kitty too. I thought it was normal for his ears to get so dirty turns out he had ear mites. Poor little dude :( If ear mites are ruled ou with your little baby the only thing you cant do is just try to get what you can out with ear cleaner and cotton balls.
Good luck!!
Laura
 

Gizzymom

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I totally agree with Marlene. Once you get used to cleaning out the ear canal... it is no big deal (for you at least; maybe not for Gracie).. but it's good to be shown how to do it correctly. You don't want to hurt your baby, but you have to get the gunk out or big trouble!

If you call your vet's office and ask if someone can assist you, there may be an assistant or tech who is qualified to teach you and save you from making an appt with the vet... just a thought.
 

marlene

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I respectfully disagree with laurame. Sitting back saying "I got what I could get" isn't good enough. It would be a good idea to have the vet check for ear mites, but that wax has to come out whether or not Gracie has mites. Leave it in and you're asking for trouble, especially yeast infections. And a kitty with a yeast infection in the ears is a truly miserable creature.

Sphynx are known to produce more ear wax than hairy kitties. And some of them produce it heavy-duty. I used to have one who needed his ears cleaned out at least 2x per week with Cerulytic.
 

ckutkuhn7

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You need to get that wax out of her ear canals, cleaning just the outside isn't enough. If it stays there it can cause infection. But deep cleaning ears isn't easy. I took my kitty to the vet and had the vet teach me how to do it properly and safely. That might be the best thing for you to do too. Plus the vet can give Gracie's ears a good look-0ver and make sure there's nothing going on in there.

I second that opinion!!:ThumbsUp:
 

laurame

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I respectfully disagree with laurame. Sitting back saying "I got what I could get" isn't good enough. It would be a good idea to have the vet check for ear mites, but that wax has to come out whether or not Gracie has mites. Leave it in and you're asking for trouble, especially yeast infections. And a kitty with a yeast infection in the ears is a truly miserable creature.

Sphynx are known to produce more ear wax than hairy kitties. And some of them produce it heavy-duty. I used to have one who needed his ears cleaned out at least 2x per week with Cerulytic.

Umm just so you know I don't "sit back and get what I can" I clean my cats ears very well. No need to get snippy on here...geez.
 

marlene

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Umm just so you know I don't "sit back and get what I can" I clean my cats ears very well. No need to get snippy on here...geez.

If ear mites are ruled ou with your little baby the only thing you cant do is just try to get what you can out with ear cleaner and cotton balls.
Good luck!!
Laura


My apologies if you thought I sounded snippy... but I didn't see anything about your original post that hinted you did something different/additional besides doing the best you could with the ear cleaner and cotton balls.

Again, sorry if you thought I was snippy, that wasn't my intent.
 

eurynome_az

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Your vet (or probably the pet store) can get you cat "ear cleaner" and it is a solution that breaks up the wax. Put a few drops in every couple of days and he'll shake like mad but that helps also break up the wax and disloge it. However, as others have mentioned, you should get him checked for ear mites. Once that is cleared, just stick to a regime of ear cleaner drops and cleaning with cotton balls/Qtips. When you put the cleaner in, fold his ear down for a second and rub that stuff in there well before you let him start shaking his head. This should help.
 

ilovemysphynx

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Just wanted to add please use caution when sticking a q-tip in a cats ear, if a piece comes off in the ear it can cause big problems for your kitty. I have great luck with squirting some epi optic on a cotton ball putting that in the cats ear and rubbing the base of the ear so the cleaner drips down, I rub for about 10 to 20 seconds then remove cotton ball and wipe out all I can. I sometime use a q-tip for what I can see on the outside. This always does the trick and we have not had any ear issues (knock on wood). I also have the vet to a good cleaning at our visits but he is always impressed that there is not much gunk in there.
 
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TotenEngel

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after our first week with Smeagol I could tell he was always going to be a grimy ear baby!
First trip to the vets I asked for some standard cleaning solution (I use clean-aural, made by the people who do Canaural for ear infections!) but it might be called something different for you guys in the US
I put a few drops of that in and have a good 'squelsh' around the base of the ear, then get out whatever I can see lurking with cotton buds (I was a veterinary nurse for years so probably am a bit braver about digging around than a lot of people!) I always use a good brand of bud rather than the cheaper ones (which we use!) to avoid bits falling off!
 

Gizzymom

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after our first week with Smeagol I could tell he was always going to be a grimy ear baby!
First trip to the vets I asked for some standard cleaning solution (I use clean-aural, made by the people who do Canaural for ear infections!) but it might be called something different for you guys in the US
I put a few drops of that in and have a good 'squelsh' around the base of the ear, then get out whatever I can see lurking with cotton buds (I was a veterinary nurse for years so probably am a bit braver about digging around than a lot of people!) I always use a good brand of bud rather than the cheaper ones (which we use!) to avoid bits falling off!

Pardon my ignorance, but for us silly Americans... but are cotton "buds" like q-tips or cotton swabs? Or cotton balls? :Pudently:
 

Nofuratu

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after our first week with Smeagol I could tell he was always going to be a grimy ear baby!
First trip to the vets I asked for some standard cleaning solution (I use clean-aural, made by the people who do Canaural for ear infections!) but it might be called something different for you guys in the US
I put a few drops of that in and have a good 'squelsh' around the base of the ear, then get out whatever I can see lurking with cotton buds (I was a veterinary nurse for years so probably am a bit braver about digging around than a lot of people!) I always use a good brand of bud rather than the cheaper ones (which we use!) to avoid bits falling off!

I have to agree with buying "name brand" q tips! I used the dollar store brand once and lost a tip in Nofuratu's ear. Being a vet tech, I was comfortable going in and getting it back out, but I will never buy cheap ones again!
As long as you never go farther in than you can clearly see, you should be fine. At least if you lose a tip you can see where it is. Going in farther than that can be dangerous, especially if you lose a tip.
 

Gizzymom

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I have to agree with buying "name brand" q tips! I used the dollar store brand once and lost a tip in Nofuratu's ear. Being a vet tech, I was comfortable going in and getting it back out, but I will never buy cheap ones again!
As long as you never go farther in than you can clearly see, you should be fine. At least if you lose a tip you can see where it is. Going in farther than that can be dangerous, especially if you lose a tip.

OK.. now that I know that cotton buds are q-tips... I only use the medical grade "q=tips" that are used for wound care. I order them in bulk from a medical supply place. They are more expensive than q-tips, but worth it because they are designed to not come off or "shed" in wounds. Great product! :ThumbsUp:
 

ypvsypvs

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I use the babywipes for what I can reach and just damp q-tips for the rest. Seems to work fine.

Abour earmites you can easilly find out yourselves if ýour cat has it. They are big enough to see easilly with a magnifying glass or mikroscope. Magnifying glass is enough though.

Q-tip the ear, smudge on a paper and watch.
 

ypvsypvs

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From another animal they met, your clothes that came into contact with them, shoes or whatever really.
It's not dangerous really, can cause inflammations but normally doesn't and just itches. Needs to be treated though ofc. There are lots of products sold to get rid of the mites. Some long time stuff that takes 2-3 weeks of use and others that are one or few time use.
When I had outdoors cats I had mites all the time almost in my cats. Fixed it once every 6 months or so. They just got it again and again after treatments. Took a month or two but it always came back. Don't know but suppose it's the same everywhere with dense population of dogs and cats, especially roaming cats because they tend to be a bit less treated for stuff like that and therefor spread it around.

It's nothing to panic about though, if the cat is not itching it is not harming it but it still needs to go though or it will spread to other animals or in the end cause infections.
 

ypvsypvs

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the main trouble with ears mites really tends to be the secondary infection they give themselves from scratching!

Yup, preciselly. As long as they don't scratch it doesn't hurt them normally. But even so I don't wanna sound like it's something that could just be left if the animal is not scratching. :)
For one it CAN cause problems even if not serious and number two, we do have a responsibility to not let our pets spread stuff around that can be stopped. Even indoor cats can spread it to other animals after all since most people (even reluctant spynx owners) tend to leave their homes, now and then at least. :Wink:
 

ilovemysphynx

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I use the babywipes for what I can reach and just damp q-tips for the rest. Seems to work fine.

Abour earmites you can easilly find out yourselves if ýour cat has it. They are big enough to see easilly with a magnifying glass or mikroscope. Magnifying glass is enough though.

Q-tip the ear, smudge on a paper and watch.

Great tip, thanks but when it comes to anything to do with a mite or bug :Badly2::Struggle: I would much rather someone else do the looking:Smile:
 

ypvsypvs

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You guys should see what lives in your livingroom rugs I hear. Much nastier things than ear mites that's for sure.
We looked in microscope on cutouts in biology class when I was in school and even the most clean homes has some pretty nasty things living as house guests.

Ear mites looks pretty cute if you compare with
http://www.greendrycarpetcleaning.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/mite.jpg
and those there are thousands of in any carpet. Every square meter...


:Laugh::Laugh::Laugh:

Sleep well hihi.
 
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