Clicking noise from ear

monogodo

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I came home from work tonight and was petting my middle cat and noticed that a clicking noise seemed to be coming from his right ear when he'd shake his head. I picked him up, and he'd move his head, and I'd hear clicking. I put him on the bed, he shook his head, and again, clicking. The inside of his ears are dirty (as are the insides of the ears of the other two cats). He shies away when we try to touch his right ear, but acts as if he's in heaven when we touch his left ear. He usually loves having his ears rubbed, both the outside/backs and the base of the opening. Tonight, on the right ear, not at all.

Any ideas what it might be?
 

emb_78

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Originally Posted by monogodo

I came home from work tonight and was petting my middle cat and noticed that a clicking noise seemed to be coming from his right ear when he'd shake his head. I picked him up, and he'd move his head, and I'd hear clicking. I put him on the bed, he shook his head, and again, clicking. The inside of his ears are dirty (as are the insides of the ears of the other two cats). He shies away when we try to touch his right ear, but acts as if he's in heaven when we touch his left ear. He usually loves having his ears rubbed, both the outside/backs and the base of the opening. Tonight, on the right ear, not at all.

Any ideas what it might be?
Could have ear mites... Do they go outside??? I would contact your vet!
 

emb_78

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Just noticed this was your first post... Welcome to the site!!!
 

nebula11

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oooo yeah it probably most likely earmites......doofus used to make the same noises when we found him........everytimehe shook his head it sounded like water shaking and clicking........

a trip to the vet will take care of it.......
 
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monogodo

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Nope, he's always been an indoor cat (other than minor incursions out the front & back doors of the house I lived in 4 years ago.

I should mention he's 13 years old, and is otherwise in great health.
 

emb_78

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You can try cleaning thier ears... Is he shaking his head a lot?
 

sharky

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vet as soon as you can ... welcome
 

jennyr

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Hallo and welcome. I agree - a trip to the vet will sort it out! My cat Juniper (RB) had a similar problem and we noticed it when he changed from loving having his ears scratched to shying away.
 
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monogodo

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We took him to the vet yesterday afternoon.

The vet cleaned out all the gunk in both his ears (the right ear was much worse). He discovered that the inside of his ear was inflamed and has purple polyp-like bumps on it. He gave him an injection (anti-inflammatory), and gave us a bottle of antibiotic drops to put in his ear twice a day. He wants us to come back in 2 weeks to make sure it's just an infection and not melanoma.

Lorenzo (the cat) is doing much better now, and is a whole lot happier (except when we put the drops in his ear).
 
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monogodo

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Sorry to dredge up such an old post, but I have an update.

The ear gunk came back earlier this summer. We took him to the vet and had his ear cleaned out and were given Baytril Otic to put in his ear. He was also given an antibiotic shot.

It cleared up in 3 weeks, but came back with a vengeance 2 weeks later. Took him in for another check, and to get his teeth cleaned. The pre-op blood work indicated high kidney levels, so they didn't do the teeth cleaning. They prescribed Hill's Prescription Diet K/D for the kidneys and cleaned the ear and gave him a shot. We also had to give him more Baytril Otic for the ear, and give him an oral antibiotic (yeah, that was fun). It didn't seem to work. We went back about 3 weeks later, and the doc took a culture of the gunky build up, gave him another shot, installed an E-collar, and gave us Tobramycin to put in his ear before the Baytril Otic.

The culture results came back that it was pseudomonas. It started to clear up, but wasn't even getting close to being completely cleared up. We took him back for follow-up bloodwork for his kidneys and another ear cleaning. The kidney levels were just above the high end of normal, so we're hoping the K/D will keep him there.

Meanwhile, the ear wasn't getting any better. During one of our twice-daily ear cleanings, I noticed what looked like a tumor or growth between a couple of the folds of his inner ear. We called & made an appointment for him & took him in.

The doc was surprised when he saw it. He thought we were looking at a swollen fold of his ear. He looked closer and saw that it wasn't supposed to be there, and that it went fairly deep into the canal. We scheduled surgery for the removal.

He called me after the surgery to let me know that everything was fine, and that the growth was so deep it was almost in contact with the ear drum. He did his best to scrape away everything he could, and kept two good-sized samples to send off to the pathologist.

Three days later, he called with the pathology report. The growth was a tumor. It's been diagnosed as Ceruminous adenocarcinoma. We discussed treatment options. Pretty much, if we want to get aggressive with it, he'll refer us to a feline oncologist for laser surgery & radiation therapy.

I don't see the point to putting Lorenzo through all that. We're going to just keep an eye on it and have it checked every 6 months when we go in for kidney level tests. The pathologist report said that, while it has a high likelihood of recurrence, it has a low chance of metastasizing.
 

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Wow, what an ordeal you and this kitty have been through. It certainly brings home the importance of taking our kitties to the vet if we even suspect something is different or not right. I'm glad you took him when you first posted and got that good advice.

Sending healing wishes for your kitty and prayers that it won't come back.
 
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monogodo

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Thanks.

If it comes back, it comes back and we'll deal with it.

If it doesn't, that's great. We'll enjoy the time we have with him while he's here.
 

memwa

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My cat, ~19 yo, has had ear problems forever. When I got her from a rescue group, the vet guessed she was about a year old, but she had so many things wrong with her that the ear issue was never a priority. Month or so ago, her ear got extra stinky so I tried some mite medicine in it. It got rid of the stink, but also made them red and feverish. Now she's fine, but has a rattle which is how I wound up here. When I was cleaning them I did notice what looked like an extra ridge or fold in her right ear (the rattle side).

Did the cancer appear to cause your cat pain? Any other issues? Andy has a heart murmur and is definitely a scaredy cat so even going through all the vet visits for a diagnosis might wind up killing her from the extra stress esp. at her age and I still haven't paid off family debt from her sister's useless vet visits several years ago. 

Thanks for any info/suggestions you might have.
 

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Sorry to dredge up such an old post, but I have an update.

The ear gunk came back earlier this summer. We took him to the vet and had his ear cleaned out and were given Baytril Otic to put in his ear. He was also given an antibiotic shot.

It cleared up in 3 weeks, but came back with a vengeance 2 weeks later. Took him in for another check, and to get his teeth cleaned. The pre-op blood work indicated high kidney levels, so they didn't do the teeth cleaning. They prescribed Hill's Prescription Diet K/D for the kidneys and cleaned the ear and gave him a shot. We also had to give him more Baytril Otic for the ear, and give him an oral antibiotic (yeah, that was fun). It didn't seem to work. We went back about 3 weeks later, and the doc took a culture of the gunky build up, gave him another shot, installed an E-collar, and gave us Tobramycin to put in his ear before the Baytril Otic.

The culture results came back that it was pseudomonas. It started to clear up, but wasn't even getting close to being completely cleared up. We took him back for follow-up bloodwork for his kidneys and another ear cleaning. The kidney levels were just above the high end of normal, so we're hoping the K/D will keep him there.

Meanwhile, the ear wasn't getting any better. During one of our twice-daily ear cleanings, I noticed what looked like a tumor or growth between a couple of the folds of his inner ear. We called & made an appointment for him & took him in.

The doc was surprised when he saw it. He thought we were looking at a swollen fold of his ear. He looked closer and saw that it wasn't supposed to be there, and that it went fairly deep into the canal. We scheduled surgery for the removal.

He called me after the surgery to let me know that everything was fine, and that the growth was so deep it was almost in contact with the ear drum. He did his best to scrape away everything he could, and kept two good-sized samples to send off to the pathologist.

Three days later, he called with the pathology report. The growth was a tumor. It's been diagnosed as Ceruminous adenocarcinoma. We discussed treatment options. Pretty much, if we want to get aggressive with it, he'll refer us to a feline oncologist for laser surgery & radiation therapy.

I don't see the point to putting Lorenzo through all that. We're going to just keep an eye on it and have it checked every 6 months when we go in for kidney level tests. The pathologist report said that, while it has a high likelihood of recurrence, it has a low chance of metastasizing.
Hello. I know this is an old post but I found it while searching for my ragdoll cat's ear problem. She has always had black stuff in her ears and after testing would never be ear mites. She now has clicking on her ear as if there's a rattle i. there. I'm taking her to the vet tomorrow and just wanted to ask if you wouldn't mind following up on your cat. Thank you so much and I hope he's doing ok.
 

FeebysOwner

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Hi. The OP hasn't been active on this site since 2015, so it is doubtful they are still looking for responses/posts on this site anymore. :(

There are cats who, I guess just by genetics, collect ear wax in their ears and it has to be routinely cleaned out. I am not sure about the rattle. If I were you, I would start a new thread about your issue - it will likely get better responses!
 

dadukas

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Sorry to dredge up such an old post, but I have an update.

The ear gunk came back earlier this summer. We took him to the vet and had his ear cleaned out and were given Baytril Otic to put in his ear. He was also given an antibiotic shot.

It cleared up in 3 weeks, but came back with a vengeance 2 weeks later. Took him in for another check, and to get his teeth cleaned. The pre-op blood work indicated high kidney levels, so they didn't do the teeth cleaning. They prescribed Hill's Prescription Diet K/D for the kidneys and cleaned the ear and gave him a shot. We also had to give him more Baytril Otic for the ear, and give him an oral antibiotic (yeah, that was fun). It didn't seem to work. We went back about 3 weeks later, and the doc took a culture of the gunky build up, gave him another shot, installed an E-collar, and gave us Tobramycin to put in his ear before the Baytril Otic.

The culture results came back that it was pseudomonas. It started to clear up, but wasn't even getting close to being completely cleared up. We took him back for follow-up bloodwork for his kidneys and another ear cleaning. The kidney levels were just above the high end of normal, so we're hoping the K/D will keep him there.

Meanwhile, the ear wasn't getting any better. During one of our twice-daily ear cleanings, I noticed what looked like a tumor or growth between a couple of the folds of his inner ear. We called & made an appointment for him & took him in.

The doc was surprised when he saw it. He thought we were looking at a swollen fold of his ear. He looked closer and saw that it wasn't supposed to be there, and that it went fairly deep into the canal. We scheduled surgery for the removal.

He called me after the surgery to let me know that everything was fine, and that the growth was so deep it was almost in contact with the ear drum. He did his best to scrape away everything he could, and kept two good-sized samples to send off to the pathologist.

Three days later, he called with the pathology report. The growth was a tumor. It's been diagnosed as Ceruminous adenocarcinoma. We discussed treatment options. Pretty much, if we want to get aggressive with it, he'll refer us to a feline oncologist for laser surgery & radiation therapy.

I don't see the point to putting Lorenzo through all that. We're going to just keep an eye on it and have it checked every 6 months when we go in for kidney level tests. The pathologist report said that, while it has a high likelihood of recurrence, it has a low chance of metastasizing.
I sincerely hope you fired your vet and/or got A FULL REFUND for charges incurred up until the growth was discovered!!! And surgery booked!? that vet seems remarkably incompetent!
 
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