Repeat Ear Infection - What to do?

[2azwildcats]

My cat currently has an ear infection and is being treated with Orbax antibiotic and gentizol.    I have been giving her the medication for the past 11 days.  She seemed to get better after a few days.  I always know when she feels better as her appetite is good.  But these past few days her appetite is not as good and she started shaking her head again.   It is really frustrating as this has been a problem for the past year.  Her last infection was in April.  The vet is not sure what is causing the infection.  When it first came up last year,  the vet took an X-ray to see if there was a polyp but did not see anything.  The vet kind of mentioned having an MRI done if this continues.   I am really hesitant to do this as it will be very expensive and we still might not know what the problem is.

I will be taking her back later this week for a check up.  Any suggestions as to what to ask the vet would be appreciated.  Her infections always start with her shaking her head and a stinky ear.  In addition,  she has clear nasal discharge (which gets flung everywhere when she shakes her head - yuck!).   The vet says that it is a middle ear infection and that the ear drum is swollen.

I feel bad for my little baby and just want her to get better.  

 

[catlover73]

Is she scratching at her ears at all?  When my Starbuck had a bad case of ear mites and an ear infection she was shaking her head and scratching at her ears.

Did your vet check to make sure there are no ear mites?

I hope your baby gets better soon too.

 

[2azwildcats]

She only shakes her head.  I very rarely see her scratch at her ears.   She does not have mites.  Also,  she and my other cat never go outside.    I wonder if it could be allergy related.  I am really hoping it is not a polyp or other issue within her ear. 

 

[2azwildcats]

So I took my kitty back to the vet and her ear had cleared up.  The vet said that she could now see clearly into the ear and she could see little white bumps/nodules inside the ear canal close to her ear drum and she said the ear drum was thickened (supposed to be translucent?) .   So next week,  I take my cat back for a biopsy to see what the nodules are.  The vet said it could be inflammatory, fungal plaque or possible cancerous.   I am hoping it is not the last one  

 

[stephanietx]

When she does all that, ask the vet to culture some of the ear gunk.  She could have a yeast infection. 

 

[2azwildcats]

@stephanietx  

So the vet did not do a biopsy but rather did a culture and it was yeast.  She said it is Malassezia Pachydermatitis and put her on an anti fungal oral medication called Fluconazole for 2 weeks.  I also have to flush out her ears 3 times/week (not loving that).   Hopefully this will help!

She also gave me some SD allergy cat food to try but I am not sure how a dry cat food with the number one ingredient is Brewers rice is going to help.

 

[stephanietx]

What I did when my kitty had a yeast infection was ask the vet to sedate her and flush her ears out.  Then, the vet used BNT ear ointment, which is a thick goopy medicated ointment that he put way down in her ear canal.  It is slowly absorbed into the body and treated the infection.  We had her ears flushed annually when she had her dental cleaning, too.  Additionally, we switched to a grain-free diet and started her on a daily antihistamine.  That combination seemed to be most effective for Callie.

 

[pnwcatlady]

Hi @stepahinetx, your Callie sounds very similar to my Cassie. May I ask which antihistamine you put her on? I am researching and would love to hear what works for you.

 

[pnwcatlady]

Sorry, I meant @stephanietx! I think I am too new to edit posts yet Don't have the option.

 

[lilliann]

Try Zymox - it's the ONLY medication that cleared up my himalayan's reoccurring ear infections! It's also over the counter and CHEAP. I buy mine on Amazon for about $12! 

 

[2azwildcats]

I just wanted to give an update.  After the anti-fungal treatment, there was no improvement.  So I asked the vet to do a complete blood workup and asked her to include a test for Felv as I had read that continuous skin infections could be a sign of feline leukemia.  Unfortunately,  the test came back positive for Felv.    When I got her as a kitten I was told that she initially tested positive for Felv but a second test a month later came back negative (she is currently 8 y/o).  I was assured that she was negative and the vet I took her to at the time said she was negative.  Well,  it seems that she really was not negative.   I am very sad as she is my little princess.    So far she is doing OK and has actually gained a bit,  so we shall see how it goes and try to keep her as healthy as possible.