Why isn't my cat's ear infection improving with prescribed medicine?

If medication did not help then I would recommend looking for ear mites under a microscope at your veterinarian's office. If this is negative I would then send out a culture to see what type of bacteria is growing since the medication that was previously prescribed may not be the right medication for that type of bacteria. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Although you aren’t seeing any improvement yet, continue giving the medication as previously prescribed. Sometimes it can take 2 weeks to get the infection under control. Keep in mind also that the infection may be getting better but there is still some exudate/debris in the ear. If, by the time you return from your trip, there is still no improvement, make an appointment for a recheck examination with your vet. Occasionally there are resistant infections that need special medication. Hopefully this will not be the case for Lulu. Also, if it makes you feel better, judging by the picture you provided Lulu’s ear looks pretty good! I hope the helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

If the antibiotics are helping, it's probably a middle ear infection indeed. a sample needs to be taken from the ear and sent for culture and sensitivity, then the best antibiotic can be chosen according to the result. the course of treatment must be longer next time, at least 4 weeks as these infections take a long time to resolve.

Hello, sorry to hear about Sugarplum. It sounds like she may have a persistent ear infection. She may need to have her ears cultured to make sure she is on appropriate antibiotics. In addition to a longer course of oral antibiotics, she may need to have antibiotic ear drops prescribed as well. This could be associated with foreign bodies in her ears or a middle or deep ear infection. She may need to have a sedated ear examination. Hope this helps and best of luck.

Ear mites and underlying allergic disease (that can predispose to recurrent ear infections) are possible and should be ruled out. A physical and otoscopic examination of the ear canal are enough to rule them out. Bacterial swabs and culture can be used as well to rule out resistant infections. I would recommend to discuss all these options with your veterinarian. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation (where you can post pictures ) if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

If the infection goes that far, we often use antibiotics tablets (sometimes two different types at the same time, as Melcho is having now) and strong anti-inflammatory medications, usually steroids. You should get in touch with your vets again, as it sounds that your Melcho is struggling at the moment and he may benefit from more aggressive therapy.

It looks like your kitty has a skin and ear infection. The medications he was on likely did not treat the problems. He needs a difference antibiotic for the skin and a medication that goes into the ear. A vet needs to determine what kind of ear infection that is before prescribing medications. I would then discuss the underlying cause and I would highly suspect a food or environmental allergy. Kisses to your kitty!