On July 4th, I noticed Her Highness had dried blood in her right ear. I promptly took some wet Q-tips and cleaned the outer parts of her ear. Joel also checked her out and we decided she needed to visit the vet soon.
Her Highness has had several bouts with ear infections and/or ear mites in the past. We're giving her Revolution for flea/tick control and it's also supposed to prevent ear mites. The last time she had ear issues, we had to give her meds for three weeks. We didn't want a repeat.
So Wednesday afternoon I took Portia to the vet. $86.10 later, I had kitty meds and a diagnosis of a bacterial infection AND a yeast infection in Portia's right ear. Thankfully our vet gave Portia the first dose of the meds.
We've had interesting experiences with giving Portia meds. The last time we dosed her ears, she got really good at slinging the meds all over the walls. Yes, cats can sling their heads THAT hard. So, we now have practice and I've gotten pretty good at aiming, squeezing the bottle just right, and then giving her ear a gentle, but good rub to get the meds down the ear canal. But this is an activity best done with two folks -- one holds, the other doses.
Let's hope this works quickly. I think we caught it early on. My mom had interesting advice, though. One of her cats had a yeast infection in his ears and it just wouldn't respond to the meds. Mom got some Monistat from the drug store (yes, girls, THAT Monistat), gave him a good bit in the ear every day, and by golly, that infection went away. I don't know if the vet researchers have done work on that, but it might be worth exploring in the literature!
Poor Kitty! Animals are so fun when they don't want medication. Hope she is better soon. I love your mom's solution!
Posted by: Rustee | Friday, 07 July 2006 at 09:35 PM
I've never heard that solution before (the Monistat), but it certainly makes sense. Did she ever mention it to her vet, and if so, what was the response?
Posted by: mosker | Saturday, 08 July 2006 at 10:00 AM
I don't think mom mentioned it to her vet. If she did, I imagine the vet laughed and was pleased that it worked.
Posted by: lauragayle | Monday, 10 July 2006 at 12:55 PM
Hope she's doing better.
Posted by: Carl V. | Wednesday, 12 July 2006 at 08:10 AM
Her Highness is doing much better, thank you! She tolerated the ear meds pretty well -- it's as if she knows it's supposed to help. She squirms a little, but doesn't put up a huge fight.
Posted by: lauragayle | Thursday, 13 July 2006 at 06:41 AM