My cat's ear is swollen, red, and itchy. What OTC medicine helps?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Temari! She is cute! The only way I could see the Oti pack being the cause of the swelling would be if she was having an allergic reaction to the medications. Other causes of facial swelling are a tooth root abscess, an abscess or mass behind the eye or if she goes outside an abscess from a cat bite. I highly recommend having Temari seen today by your Vet before the weekend. If it is the Oti pack then the Vet may want to rinse it out. I would at least call your Vet to discuss what you are seeing. I do not recommend giving cats any OTC or human medications, they can not metabolize human drugs and tend to react significantly. I hope this helps and I wish Temari a speedy recovery!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! The best medicine to treat an ear infection will depend on which type of infection is affecting Pepper. In general a good ear cleanser just to start by cleaning the ears is epi-otic advanced which you may obtain online. That is just to clean the ears though generally further therapy is needed dependent on what type of infection it is. This is something that can be easily determined by sampling the exudate and looking at it under the microscope. The good news is that most of the time it does respond to the right therapy. I recommend that you have Pepper evaluated by your veterinarian for this assessment and to start therapy. Good luck!

Poor Luna. It looks like she may have created a skin infection behind her right ear. We will commonly see cats create wounds from scratching at areas. I would recommend having her evaluated for an ear infection and to evaluate for any secondary skin infections. If there is an underlying cause for her to scratch that area (ear or other skin problem), you will need to treat that underlying cause first in order to allow that area to heal. I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

The black, hard stuff needs to come out. Warm oil and compresses can help soften it, then you can use a wash cloth or cotton ball to remove the hard material. It is important to get this out of the way so that medications can reach the bacteria underneath. It appears that Dexoryl contains both an antibiotic and an anti-inflammatory, and should be able to treat the infection. However, some bacteria can be particularly nasty and occasionally pets need oral or injectable antibiotics to get over it. Cats also commonly get ear mites that can cause an infection, so Melcho should be treated for mites. Another potential cause for the infection is polyps that grow deep down in the ear. The swelling under the cheek should definitely be checked by a vet if it does not go down in the next 24-48 hours.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! The treatment will depend on what exactly is causing the itchiness. For example, if it turns out to be ear mites then the treatment would be to treat the mites. I recommend you have Stellet evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. Mites for example are very easy to treat. Good luck and have a good night.

At 4 months of age, it seems unlikely that Zeena has allergies, but that's kind of what this looks like. I would be suspicious of a contact allergy, and investigate changing laundry detergent, if you've recently washed her bedding. You can try an over-the-counter anti-inflammatory cream made for pets like this one: https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/cardinal-hydrocortisone-lotion-05 If the lotion doesn't help, I'd recommend a vet visit to see if oral anti-inflammatory medication improves this condition.

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Itchy ears and eyes can be caused by allergic reaction, eye infection, ear canal infection, skin mites and more. If there was no improvement to the antibiotics Peri was prescribed, you should take her back to your vets for re-assessment. She probably will be prescribed a short course of steroids to stop itching.