My cat has ear discharge, pain, and scratching. What can I do at home?

Unfortunately there are no over the counter medications that I would recommend starting until you can see your vet. I also don't typically recommend cleaning a cat's ears with any washes or solutions unless your vet instructs you to - cats have very sensitive ears and can develop vertigo from vigorous ear cleaning. Your best bet is to see your vet as soon as you can.

I'm very sorry Manoo has an ear infection. Ear infections can be caused by ear mites, antibiotics, or yeast, which means they cannot be treated properly unless the cause is diagnosed and that does require a trip to the vet. In addition, the medications used to treat ear infections in cats are available by prescription only. It is illegal for the experts at PetCoach to prescribe any medications for an animal without seeing them in person first. That's because we can't say for certain if it is safe to give Manoo a specific drug, and prescribing drugs requires a veterinary client patient relationship which is impossible to achieve over an internet forum. There are no home remedies for ear infections either. Manoo really has to see a vet, even if it means a trip for you to take him in. Leaving an ear infection untreated can lead to hearing loss, so I would find the closest vet to your area to have him seen. I've included a link that lists low cost clinics, and you may find one in your area: https://www.rspca.org.uk/whatwedo/vetcare

Ear infections in cats can be caused by ear mites, yeast, or bacteria. Unfortunately without seeing Notie in person, I can't diagnose what is causing it and can't say what treatment is needed. She does have to see a vet for this, as leaving it untreated can lead to hearing loss. Vets are seeing pets now for illnesses, and this counts. Please call around to find a vet to see her today. Best of luck.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am sorry to hear Piper isn’t feeling well. If you have a pet ear cleaner you can use it once until you can get her to a vet. Ear infections are not an emergency per se, but do need to be addressed when your vet is open. If you don’t have a pet ear cleaner, I would leave it alone until you see your vet. Good luck and kisses to Piper!

It is difficult to diagnose an ear infection without examining the discharge under a microscope to see if there are any bacteria, yeast, or mites. Based on the pictures, it does not appear to be a large amount of discharge. There aren't any OTC ear medications for infections but you could clean the ear with just an ear cleaner labeled for cats and see if that helps. Clean three times a week for now and then once weekly and see if that gets rid of all the discharge. If not, he really needs to go to a vet for treatment.

I would recommend taking grandma kitty back to the vet if you are getting this much discharge still. It appears the medication they gave you is an ear cleaner with an antifungal in it. It is possible she needs stronger antibiotic drops. Typically animals do not need oral antibiotics for outer ear infections just topical. I also would request they check for ear mites to make sure none are seen. Hope that helps

It could be an injury from another cat but it could also be self inflicted due to an ear infection. unfortunately ear infections require a treatment that is prescription only, you will need to take Charlie to the vet for that ASAP.