How often do you clean your cat's ears? Why is her ears so dirty?

Hoboforeternity

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During her first vaccination a month ago i asked the vet to clean her ears, which resulted in tons of black booger being cleaned out. She said there was no ear mites, but might be leftovers from her being on the street before adoption. After that, i cleaned her ears using q-tips every 2 weeks more or less, always resulted in very dirty ears. Is this normal or she might have ear mites? She's on revolution 2 months in a row and 100% indoor but her ears get dirty so fast (at least compared to my human ears)
 

GoldyCat

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Some cats just produce more ear wax than others, abd yes it can turn black. I have 2 cats who need their ears cleaned frequently (weekly) and a couple that almost never need it. The others are somewhere in between.
 
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Hoboforeternity

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Some cats just produce more ear wax than others, abd yes it can turn black. I have 2 cats who need their ears cleaned frequently (weekly) and a couple that almost never need it. The others are somewhere in between.
So it's normal and just continue her bi-monthly cleaning schedule? I thought the doctor misdiagnosed the earmites, which is improbable because she's 100% indoor and on revolution for 2 consecutive months.
 

minish

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I used to wipe inside of minish's ears as deep as my wet towel wrapped finger went, afraid to cause damage. Then I realized she does a better job than I do. Nı discharge I can see. She never shows any irritation in her ears (shaking head etc) either. If I see wax (dark yellowish) I clean (maybe once in a year) . Otherwise I don't meddle. I don't know if this is right, though.. :dunno:
 
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Hoboforeternity

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I used to wipe inside of minish's ears as deep as my wet towel wrapped finger went, afraid to cause damage. Then I realized she does a better job than I do. Nı discharge I can see. She never shows any irritation in her ears (shaking head etc) either. If I see wax (dark yellowish) I clean (maybe once in a year) . Otherwise I don't meddle. I don't know if this is right, though.. :dunno:
Mine seem to be struggling cleaning her ears. Even with just tissue + finger i can reach. She keeps scratching her ears if i don't clean it for a long time.
 

minish

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Mine seem to be struggling cleaning her ears. Even with just tissue + finger i can reach. She keeps scratching her ears if i don't clean it for a long time.
Minish gets runny eyes in the spring. doesn't clean her right eye but keeps blinking. She does the left I do the right..
 

klunick

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Not sure if it's because I use Revolution Plus and not Revolution but Boone and Gracie have spotless ears. First cats I have owned that do. I hope it stays thar way because cleaning ears sucked.
 
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Hoboforeternity

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Not sure if it's because I use Revolution Plus and not Revolution but Boone and Gracie have spotless ears. First cats I have owned that do. I hope it stays thar way because cleaning ears sucked.
She kinda tolerate me cleaning her ears thankfully. Teeth is where the challenge is.
 

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Gypsy's ears stay pretty clean. Have never had to clean them out before and they always look fine during vet exams. Other cats I've had in the past got dirty ears or wax buildup and had to be cleaned periodically. A good indicator is scratching the ears a lot or shaking the head and tilting it then them trying to wash their ears.

Guess I am lucky Gypsy is doing okay. But that could change as she gets older. I find it happens more frequently with cats that stop grooming in their geriatric years.
 

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Our Maine Coon Luna has problems with her ears being dirty, a lot. Absolutely not mites although it looks similar. She's been on Revolution Plus for months - plus she was tested.

There's a yeast infection some cats get in their ears, which is her diagnosis. She was on a couple of rounds of an anti-fungal which helped but we still need to keep on top of it so it doesn't grow back. She gets her ears cleaned about monthly by the vet (we bring her for nail clipping because it's just easier for them than for me to battle her). In between, I'm now using a solution I bought through the vet. I squirt some of it on cotton balls, insert in each ear and wipe out best as I can. Then a dry one to mop up extra exterior wetness. It usually picks up at least a little bit of the "dirt" but not as good as the vet does.

Luna's ears are enormous being a Maine Coon so I think that may have something to do with it. All I know is it causes her to scratch her ears, and neck area right at the base of her ears so clearly it's an uncomfortable feeling for her. It could be allergy related (environmental or food) but I'm not rushing in to test her on that yet.

EDIT: our other cat, an almost 12 year old domestic long hair never has had a single ear issue.
 

sivyaleah

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During her first vaccination a month ago i asked the vet to clean her ears, which resulted in tons of black booger being cleaned out. She said there was no ear mites, but might be leftovers from her being on the street before adoption. After that, i cleaned her ears using q-tips every 2 weeks more or less, always resulted in very dirty ears. Is this normal or she might have ear mites? She's on revolution 2 months in a row and 100% indoor but her ears get dirty so fast (at least compared to my human ears)
FYI, Qtips are not really a recommended way to clean cat ears as they could potentially snap and break. I'd hate to lose one in the ear canal! Cotton balls or those cotton pads are a lot safer.
 
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Hoboforeternity

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FYI, Qtips are not really a recommended way to clean cat ears as they could potentially snap and break. I'd hate to lose one in the ear canal! Cotton balls or those cotton pads are a lot safer.
Thank you. I will look for those instead.
 

She's a witch

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Mine seem to be struggling cleaning her ears. Even with just tissue + finger i can reach. She keeps scratching her ears if i don't clean it for a long time.
If she keeps scratching them, I doubt it’s wax as it’s not necessarily irritating on its own. I’d be afraid it’s bacterial overgrowth or yeast infection. I’d definitely would want to rule them out.
The allergy also manifests this way.
Edit: Cats really are self cleaning creatures, if the ears are dirty, there’s a big chance something is not ok.
 

AmandaRox

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I've had success with qtips and coconut oil. Not a swab-full but just lightly coated. This has worked for me on strays with insane mites as well as the little couch princesses I've owned. I'm not a vet. Coconut oil is not a researched or official treatment. I'm just writing on my own experience.
 
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Hoboforeternity

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If she keeps scratching them, I doubt it’s wax as it’s not necessarily irritating on its own. I’d be afraid it’s bacterial overgrowth or yeast infection. I’d definitely would want to rule them out.
The allergy also manifests this way.
Edit: Cats really are self cleaning creatures, if the ears are dirty, there’s a big chance something is not ok.
thanks, if this continue i will bring her to the vet, maybe get her something to ease the itching. might be some leftover condition from being a street cat.
 

Bobsk8

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My adopted cat on her first vet visit, had black gunk in her ears. The vet discovered it, I never noticed it. The vet spent about 10 minutes cleaning her ears, and then gave me a prescription that I had to put in her ears for around a week to 10 days ( can't remember now exactly how many days) The vet reexamined her after the meds were finished, and her ears were fine. The vet said that it is common when cats are in a shelter, to get these ear infections.
 

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I've found that black gunk in my cat's ears as well, and had it treated with some sort of drops. I think it was a yeast infection, if I remember correctly.

In the meantime, I would put a tissue over my knuckle, and use it to give some good headscritches. It was an easy way to clean out some of it, while treating it, and they loved it too.
 
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Hoboforeternity

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I've found that black gunk in my cat's ears as well, and had it treated with some sort of drops. I think it was a yeast infection, if I remember correctly.

In the meantime, I would put a tissue over my knuckle, and use it to give some good headscritches. It was an easy way to clean out some of it, while treating it, and they loved it too.
i got it examined by the vet few weeks ago, she said it's just regular gunk and she found no trace of mites/yeast but it always come back weekly.
 
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