Bnt Ointment For Bacterial Ear Infection - Is It Safe?

[Darekeyed]

Hello all,

My cat recently had some itchiness in the his ear so I took him into the vet today. They said it was a minor bacterial infection and offered ear drops. Since my cat is pretty personal about his ears, I asked if they had any tips to administer them. They instead offered "BNT ointment" according to my invoice. Apparently it is inserted into the ears and then works over a period of two weeks. My vet said they haven't seen any side effects with it, but my cat would not be able to hear well for a couple weeks.

I went through with this treatment for both ears, even though only the one ear was having issues. Now that I have my cat home, I decided to look up more information on it. I see a few posts about the ointment causing deafness in dogs and this is making me concerned that my cat may have issues.

Has anyone had any experience using this treatment with their cats? If so, were there any problems with long-term hearing?

 

[stephanietx]

Yes! I love this stuff! I have used it very successfully twice on one kitty. It was the only thing that would treat a stubborn yeast infection in her ear. We had tried drops and oral meds to no avail. My kitty didn't like it and had "helicopter ears" for a few days and she pouted, but it helped clear up her infection, so it was worth the cold shoulder I received. The ointment will leak a little bit out of the ear and down the fur, so I would wipe off her fur with a damp washcloth. I also put old towels down where she laid just in case it happened to get on anything. Made for easier clean up and protected the bedding.

 

[Darekeyed]

Thanks for the response, stephanietx. It sounds like this ointment worked great for your cat. My cat already seems to be benefiting from it - he hasn't been itching at all since he got home.

Roughly how long did it take for your cat's hearing to return to normal? I know the vet said 2 weeks, but I'm wondering if it might work through his system faster than that.

 

[stephanietx]

It takes about 2 weeks for the ointment to be absorbed. The hearing comes back before then. I don't think they can't hear at all, it's just diminished. Think about it like when you have a wad of cotton in your ear. You can still hear, but not as well.

 

[Leslieh]

Hello all,

My cat recently had some itchiness in the his ear so I took him into the vet today. They said it was a minor bacterial infection and offered ear drops. Since my cat is pretty personal about his ears, I asked if they had any tips to administer them. They instead offered "BNT ointment" according to my invoice. Apparently it is inserted into the ears and then works over a period of two weeks. My vet said they haven't seen any side effects with it, but my cat would not be able to hear well for a couple weeks.

I went through with this treatment for both ears, even though only the one ear was having issues. Now that I have my cat home, I decided to look up more information on it. I see a few posts about the ointment causing deafness in dogs and this is making me concerned that my cat may have issues.

Has anyone had any experience using this treatment with their cats? If so, were there any problems with long-term hearing?

My cat just got dosed with this med today after a 2 week struggle with baytril eardrops. My kitty is extremely difficult to medicate so the drops didnt entirely clear up a bacterial/yeast infection. My cat seems to have no ill effects but is still giving me the kitty cold shoulder! I do think his hearing is a bit muffled as the medication is a thick goo but from what I've researched it should completely clear the infection. This is the way to go if your cat is hard to medicate...lots less stress on everyone.