Ear care for your feline friend
Cats are obsessive self groomers who spend several hours in just keeping themselves clean. If you have one of the laid back self grooming cats who are not particularly keen on grooming then you need to step in and ensure they are well groomed and have clean ears to ward of any grave infection or disease.
The signs you need to look out for are the presence of wax, dirt and other debris in the ears. Periodic cleaning of your cat’s ears and regular examination of their ears will go a long way in ensuring your cat is protected from ear infections and early onset of any grave diseases can be detected.
The following are the signs of ear infection in cats:
- Ear discharge
- Bad odor from ears
- Scratching or rubbing around the ear area
- Ear swelling
- Masses around the ears
- Pain in ears
- Redness in ear canal
To clean your cat’s ears you need to use a mild ear cleaner, the kind that suits your cat and is recommended by your vet. Squirt some solution to the ear and massage gently at the base area of the ear so that the solution moves deeply to the ear canal. After massaging, step back to let your pet shake their head. This brings out the softened wax from the ear canal. Use cotton balls to wipe out the wax. Using cotton swabs is risky as your pet need to be still, which is not easy. Also, if is placed deeply and roughly it can damage your cat’s ear drum causing a lot of pain and even hear loss.
It is always a good idea to consult with your vet and take their professional advice. Alternatively, you can also get your cat’s ears professionally groomed at the salon or medically groomed at your vets’.
Happy parenting!
