My cat's ear infection is worsening: discharge, odor, shaking head.

Ear infections are relatively common in both cats and dogs. Some are more persistent than others. As you said, your vet took a look at the contents of the ear to determine what course of treatment might be required. Without a true bacterial / fungal culture, I could only speculate as to what the exact organism might be. The majority of ear medications, tresaderm included, are traditionally quite broad spectrum in an attempt to cover as many bugs as possible. The reason Fatboy is shaking his head is likely a combination of both the drops and the discomfort associated with the infection. If after six days of effective treatment, you are not seeing any improvement at all, you might want to call you vet and let him know. He may want to obtain a new sample to see if any progress is being made. If not, a true culture could be sent out to better target his therapy and change medications if needed be.

Poor Spookette! It sounds like she may have a pretty bad ear infection. Ear infections can be due to mites, bacteria, or yeast in cats. I'd recommend scheduling an examination with a veterinarian so Spookette can have her ears checked out. A swab can be taken from the ears and evaluated under the microscope to determine if the cause is mites, bacteria, or yeast. She will likely need prescription ear medication to treat. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach and I hope Spookette's ear issue resolves quickly!

Poor guy. It sounds like his ear infection was bad enough to possibly cause a rupture of the ear drum if he is dizzy or ataxic. If this is the case, then it can take 2-3 weeks for resolution of clinical signs as the ear drum grows back. His symptoms should not get worse and he should be showing gradual improvement if you have been treating for over a week, so if this is not the case then a rechk appt should be scheduled with your vet. In additions, your vet can prescribe some motion sickness medication to help him with his dizziness as well, so ask about this if it wasn't already prescribed. I do hope that Apollo's ear infection resolves soon! Best wishes and take care.

Hi there! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This looks possibly consistent with ear mites. If not, an ear infection would be considered likely. I recommend you have him evaluated by your veterinarian so this suspicion can be confirmed and he can be treated for it. Treatment usually result in quick relief. Good luck!

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.

It sounds like Pojii could have ear mites. You usually can't see ear mites without a microscope but they could be moving ear wax around. Other types of mites, lice and fleas could also be near the ears. Ear mites usually cause a very dark, dry waxy debris in the ears and can cause secondary ear infections. I would recommend seeing a veterinarian for a diagnosis - they might take a swab from the ears and examine it under the microscope - and treatment options. Ear mites and ear infections are not particularly serious and are easily treatable, but if they are untreated they could lead to permanent damage to the ear.

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.