Fluid Filled Area Inside Simba's Ear Flap

[les26]

Simba who is about 16 or so we noticed for the last few days is holding his right ear low; we tried to get near him this morning to try to clean it out and of course he won't let us, but we noticed it appears inside his ear flap to be like a water filled bubble, it is not red it is the same white color as the inside of his ear but it is fluid filled. The trouble is he might be one of the sweetest cats going but to try to get him to take him to a vet forget it, the last time that he went we had to have a woman from the Cat Shack come in here and trap him in a net so we could get him there and Deb is worried that might be too much stress on him (and us and the rest of the cats too) but we want to help the little guy. I called two local vets, one told us about a vet that makes house calls but what can they do in our house if he is wild and how would they perform any procedures on him? And the other one the woman at the desk, not the vet, said that it sounds like a hematoma, a fluid filled sac that probably should be drained and perhaps stitched. I asked her if they can drain on their own and she said "sometimes", but again she isn't a vet so I am asking for advice on here. I wish that we could hold a hot compress on it but even just us trying to get a look at it wigged him out, now he is leery of us!

Any suggestions would be appreciated, thanks as usual!!

EDIT: I just Googled hematoma in cat's ears and found some info that says they usually will resolve on their own but could take a while and could be painful...we want to help the little guy but don't want to stress him out either, ugh....

And I just watched a vet's video on Youtube who said he used to always operate and drain them but that can cause the cat more pain and scarring and all so he doesn't operate anymore he just let's them reabsorb the blood and fluid on their own, so we agreed to take a "watch and see what happens" approach, he isn't in pain or anything but we will keep a very close eye on him and see if he is okay or getting worse. And this comes on the heels of me catching and taking Sylvester for a checkup and haircut two days ago which went fairly smoothly but is also ALWAYS so so stressful regardless!

But any advice we would surely love to hear, thank you!!!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I think at Simba's age the cyst/hematoma/whatever it is, should be looked at. And, it takes a lot for a cat to display serious pain, so while he may not look like he is in pain to you, there is no guarantee he isn't.

If you have a vet you want to take Simba to, ask them about providing you with a small does of Gabapentin (or some similar light sedative) that you could pick up ahead of time and give it to him before the vet visit.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I'm afraid that I agree with FeebysOwner . He's in pain from this, and while they can resolve themselves, if they are large enough, they tend to recur. Really big one require a stitch or two through the ear to close the pocket and prevent them from coming back. It's quick, and takes care of the issue permanently.

 

[Jem]

My Chewy had an aural hematoma when he was 17. We brought him to the vet and they said that they could drain it, but that usually it would just fill back up again. They said they could have also surgically repaired it, which entails cutting open the ear and cauterizing broken blood vessel and stitching the separated skin, but at his age it was not worth it. Our vet suggested we simply let it do it's thing. And that is what we did.
You could tell he was uncomfortable in the beginning, so to ease the discomfort we would apply cool compresses on his ear every so often and we also moisturized the stretched skin, as it did seem to be dry, which made it itchy.
He came out of it just fine although it does take a while for it to go away completely. The uncomfortable period only lasted MAYBE 2 weeks, and I'm being generous.
You will however end up having a kitty with cauliflower ear, it shrivels up and wrinkles as the fluid reabsorbs. I personally think it added character.
You could get him some pain medication for the first week or so, but as someone who went thru this, it really didn't seem that bad, and I knew my kitty very well.
The way I think about it is, what's the difference between a week or so of discomfort from the hematoma or a week or so of discomfort healing from a cauterized blood vessel and stitches from surgery, which also presents with recovering from anesthesia, possible infection, using a cone, having to keep it clean...etc.

 

[Jem]

close eye on him and see if he is okay or getting worse.

One more thing...If it's already been a few days, it has probably filled to it's max that it would have. It most likely will not get worse at this point. I'm not saying to not keep an eye on him, but just to ease your mind a bit.

 

[les26]

My Chewy had an aural hematoma when he was 17. We brought him to the vet and they said that they could drain it, but that usually it would just fill back up again. They said they could have also surgically repaired it, which entails cutting open the ear and cauterizing broken blood vessel and stitching the separated skin, but at his age it was not worth it. Our vet suggested we simply let it do it's thing. And that is what we did.
You could tell he was uncomfortable in the beginning, so to ease the discomfort we would apply cool compresses on his ear every so often and we also moisturized the stretched skin, as it did seem to be dry, which made it itchy.
He came out of it just fine although it does take a while for it to go away completely. The uncomfortable period only lasted MAYBE 2 weeks, and I'm being generous.
You will however end up having a kitty with cauliflower ear, it shrivels up and wrinkles as the fluid reabsorbs. I personally think it added character.
You could get him some pain medication for the first week or so, but as someone who went thru this, it really didn't seem that bad, and I knew my kitty very well.
The way I think about it is, what's the difference between a week or so of discomfort from the hematoma or a week or so of discomfort healing from a cauterized blood vessel and stitches from surgery, which also presents with recovering from anesthesia, possible infection, using a cone, having to keep it clean...etc.

This is basically what the vet on Youtube said, that he used to always operate but found over the years that it more times than not actually was worse when he did do something to them, that he found it to be better if they just left it alone and let it reabsorb, and like I said he is NOT a cat that we can get near to administer any medicine to, he had to be netted years ago to have some dental work done and that was a helluva battle and we really don't want to put him through that again if we don't have to; we certainly want to help him but believe me he goes absolutely berserk when we try to do anything to him, he's a sweetheart but try to pick him up or catch him and put him in a carrier, no way!!! When we caught him outside I had to finally lunge at him and push him in the carrier and we put him in a cage to hold him overnight and he tore it up, even the vet said "well, he might become a good indoor cat" because he was so wild but he became a sweetie, he is everyone's friend and thanks us daily with bonks and rubs for taking him in, this is a tough situation!!!

 

[jen]

That ear will start to bother him and he will shake and scratch and damage the ear. I can't believe a vet would say to just leave it alone. That ear needs drained. Someone else suggested Gabapentin and I agree 100%. Ask your vet for some so you can get him in to be looked at. While you are there you can have a whole routine check up and bloodwork done as well so you don't have to bring him in again. I mean, if he is 16 years old what have you been doing all this time for his yearly check ups?

 

[les26]

That ear will start to bother him and he will shake and scratch and damage the ear. I can't believe a vet would say to just leave it alone. That ear needs drained. Someone else suggested Gabapentin and I agree 100%. Ask your vet for some so you can get him in to be looked at. While you are there you can have a whole routine check up and bloodwork done as well so you don't have to bring him in again. I mean, if he is 16 years old what have you been doing all this time for his yearly check ups?

In researching this I have found many instances where vets and others recommend to leave it alone and reabsorb on it's own UNLESS it really becomes an obvious need to do something to it; they state, like Jem said above who has experienced this, that it will heal on it's own and sometimes the trauma of bringing them in and having it surgically worked on can lead to complications, so they recommend leaving it be and it will reabsorb into the body. I am sure that this must be the case otherwise I wouldn't see article after article and video after video saying so. We will monitor him and go from there, and again I cannot state strongly enough how hard it is to catch him, and we tried that Gabapentin before and it didn't sedate the cat it made them more anxious and jittery!

 

[di and bob]

My Casper had one of those, the vet said it would not go away and needed surgery. Well we let it go and after a few months it was gone. The vet did also say they usually filled up again even with the surgery, so that is why we didn't do anything. I guess what I'm trying tosay is it takes a while, but it does go away. He acted like it bothered him fro maybe a week or two, but after that he was fine.

 

[les26]

My Casper had one of those, the vet said it would not go away and needed surgery. Well we let it go and after a few months it was gone. The vet did also say they usually filled up again even with the surgery, so that is why we didn't do anything. I guess what I'm trying tosay is it takes a while, but it does go away. He acted like it bothered him fro maybe a week or two, but after that he was fine.

See that's where we're at with this, a woman I work with who has 30 plus cats inside and outside on her farm said she had young cats that were easy to handle that had this and she took to the vet and they drained it years ago, but she said at his age and the fact that he is so crazy about getting caught and taken she said she would let it go, she said "it's six of one and half a dozen of another" as far as it goes, so we will watch him very closely and go from there. If he needs help of course he gets it, hell we spent $12,000 on Sugar 14 months ago so we certainly would help him if this becomes an issue! But you cannot just get him and put him in a carrier, it's like fighting Mike Tyson!

 

[Jem]

How much of his ear has filled up? Have you noticed any changes since yesterday?
When Chewy has his, the ENTIRE triangle part of his ear was like a balloon. It looked like one of those foil balloons that you can get filled with helium for special occasions. It was heavy and flopped over, forward.
When discussing what to do with my vet, she assured me that although it is uncomfortable and MAY cause pain, newer research into aural hematomas really does discourage surgery in MOST cases. And also in most cases, it is more "uncomfortable" than "painful". Just picture if you have something that is swollen, not from severe trauma but heavy fluid build up. It feels hot, and heavy and will throb (you fell pressure and a pulse, but necessarily "pain"). Your skin will stretch making it feel itchy or it might feel almost like a mild burning sensation, although it is not constant.
With Chewy, (I know I said this already, but...) the cold compresses and moisturizing his skin really helped. The only thing that was different about him was he was slightly less active during that first week, and he did scratch at it a bit, until we started moisturizing the skin.

I hope things work out. Good luck.

 

[les26]

How much of his ear has filled up? Have you noticed any changes since yesterday?
When Chewy has his, the ENTIRE triangle part of his ear was like a balloon. It looked like one of those foil balloons that you can get filled with helium for special occasions. It was heavy and flopped over, forward.
When discussing what to do with my vet, she assured me that although it is uncomfortable and MAY cause pain, newer research into aural hematomas really does discourage surgery in MOST cases. And also in most cases, it is more "uncomfortable" than "painful". Just picture if you have something that is swollen, not from severe trauma but heavy fluid build up. It feels hot, and heavy and will throb (you fell pressure and a pulse, but necessarily "pain"). Your skin will stretch making it feel itchy or it might feel almost like a mild burning sensation, although it is not constant.
With Chewy, (I know I said this already, but...) the cold compresses and moisturizing his skin really helped. The only thing that was different about him was he was slightly less active during that first week, and he did scratch at it a bit, until we started moisturizing the skin.

I hope things work out. Good luck.

It's about the size of a quarter, and it is about the same size as yesterday. He's active as usual, doesn't seem in distress, eats, eats treats, jumped up and looked out the window, so we are going to watch him and wait. I played phone tag with the woman who trapped him in a net years ago for his teeth, said that while she is not a vet the decision is up to us what to do, she really doesn't look forward to it but will do it if needed so that tells you of the "rumble" that that was years ago, and we don't want to stress him out and maybe he has a heart attack or stroke over it or what if he has a bad reaction to the anesthesia or even dies over something that if we would just leave it alone will resolve itself? Of course if it gets worse we will tend to it but right now we are going to watch him closely.

Thank you for the replies, and also Di & Bob as you two have had actual experience in dealing with this in an older cat!

 

[Jem]

(you fell pressure and a pulse, but necessarily "pain")

oops!
"you feel pressure and a pulse, but NOT necessarily "pain"

 

[les26]

I also wanted to say that this reminds me of an issue that I was having a little over a year ago, I developed a cyst on my upper back many years ago and was told "if it gets bigger I'd have it checked", well it finally did get bigger and itched and drove me nuts so I went to the dermatologist who said "that'll have to be cut and drained and stitched up, no heavy lifting for two weeks" and I do shipping and receiving so that would've been a problem! But one day it just drained itself somewhat, I called them and they said I could come over, they said sometimes they will do that, they tried to get something out of it but couldn't, told me how to tell my wife to squeeze it and it drained a few days, drained blood as well as a little pus, I put Manuka Honey on it and it went away. I went in for the follow up visit and the doctor asked me "where was it?" as he couldn't even tell, told me sometimes they reabsorb themselves and said "go home" and it hasn't bothered me since, so let's hope that lightning can strike twice with Simba!

 

[les26]

Just updating this thread, his ear is about the same, he is not in any distress in fact since we started giving him L-Lysine to boost his immune system he is actually friendlier than ever and that is saying a lot! He acts no differently than before, but also his eyes have cleared up markedly, he has always had reddish-black spots around his eyes but they look much better, so we are just waiting like some have said that in time the fluid reabsorbs which could be awhile yet but he is fine, and I even talked to the woman who netted him years ago to get dental work done and she even suggested letting it go and seeing what happened, she said she really didn't want to go through that again as it was very stressful but said she would if we needed to. But he seems fine right now.....

 

[FeebysOwner]

Thanks for the update. So far so good! Keep an eye on him, and keep us posted!

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Thanks for telling us how he is! If it isn't bothering him, by all means, wait and see! You'll know if you need to intervene...pawing at it, excessive head-shaking, and the like. It certainly isn't anything to send you screaming to the vet over.

 

[les26]

He's just the sweetest cat, has to be at least 16 or more, we can't really tell as he just showed up in our backyard years ago, we used to have cat houses out there for the strays and one Easter morning Deb was outside and she heard crying coming from one that was out by itself, she saw him and asked "who are you?", and she came in and told me. I looked out the window at him, he is a burnt orange and looks like Morris the cat although his face has gotten thinner over the years as he aged, and I saw him run and his ribs were showing and he was running very low to the ground and I said "oh, that's a very sick cat" but thankfully I was very wrong! He just needed some food and attention, and the little "colony" that were living in our cat condos accepted him as they are sweet cats, not mean, way too nice to be feral, and after a bit with them outside we decided to work them into our house, we figured we were feeding them anyway and we worried about them outside so we took them all in, he was the last one to come in but there hasn't been a day that he doesn't say "thank you" for taking him in with bonks or rubs against your legs, he is everybody's friend, loves all the others, just so so happy and friendly but don't try to pick him up he'll kill you lol!!! So we are just watching and seeing and with time this should reabsorb, but we really, really, really did not want to have to try to catch him and take him but if need be we would, but the stress might kill him so we are closely watching him and he is in no distress, eats, comes out for treats, looks out the window, walks around like normal, but we want to make sure that he is okay, he is a real sweetie and we dread the day when he passes, that will be a very dark day but hopefully he still has some sand left in his hourglass!!!

 

[Furballsmom]

hopefully he still has some sand left in his hourglass!!!

I don't remember exactly how this phrase goes, but my hope and prayer is "your words to God's ear"

 

[les26]

Today we noticed it looks like the "lump" inside his ear is smaller, he is pawing at it and scratching a bit but we think that it is healing and itchy like when we humans have something healing it itches, but we can't put anything on it he wouldn't stay still for us plus he would just scratch or wash it off, but it does like like it has decreased in size thank God! Still has a ways to go but it is starting to shrink!