How often do you clean your kitty's ears?

[luvreggae]

I'm a new cat owner, and I know that keeping their ears clean is important. 1st question - is this something I should be doing myself or should I only trust a groomer or vet to clean her ears?
and 2nd question- how often should I be cleaning her ears?

 

[yayi]

The vet was the first to clean my cats' ears. He taught me how to do it you see. Since my kitties are outdoor, I inspect their ears once a week and see if it needs cleaning. So, I don't have a regular ear cleaning session, I just clean if it needs to be cleaned. Maybe the other cat owners have different answers. Well, I hope I helped!

 

[tuxedokitties]

It really depends on the individual cat - I have two that need their ears cleaned once every week or two, and three whose ears I've never had to clean at all.

Take a look inside the ears - if they look clean, leave them alone, but if they look dirty or very waxy inside, go to your vet - the vet will check for possible infection, explain how to tell if the ears need cleaning, and show you how to clean the ears properly. Just a note - NEVER use Q-tips for ear cleaning, you could rupture kitty's eardrum.

Hope this helps.

 

[squirtle]

I have never cleaned my kitty's ears, the vet checked them once when I brought her in. I thought she had an earache because she was shaking her head alot. The vet said they looked clean and didn't see any infection, she gave me antibiotics to be on the safe side though. I guess she must clean her ears herself, I check them occasionally because I also heard that it was important to keep them clean, but they always look spotless.

 

[a_loveless_gem]

I clean Esper's ears once every two weeks. Russell's ears are always clean.