My kitten's ears are dirty. How to clean without liquid cleaner?

If Mau had ear mites or an infection, we would expect him to be scratching at his ears. Since his ears do not seem to bother him and there is no redness, swelling or odor, I would suspect that it is just debris that you are seeing in his ears. You can use a cotton ball (not a Q-tip) to gently wipe away the debris. You should not need to use any ear cleaner or medication. If the debris is getting worse or Mau starts scratching at his ears, I would certainly recommend having your veterinarian examine his ear canals. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I would purchase a pet ear cleaner and perhaps some ear medication from PetCo. Once you get all of the discharge out of the ear it should improve. This needs to be cleaned twice daily to start, then once a day until it is looking better. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for your kitty.

Use enough to fill the ear canal. Gently massage the base of the ear, then let her shake her head. You may want to do this outdoors in a secure area or in the tub. Use a cotton ball to dry the outer ear. Do not insert anything into her ear canal. Follow this link to the PetCoach library for an article on cleaning cat's ears. https://www.petcoach.co/article/how-to-clean-your-cat-s-ears-what-you-need-to-know

I am sorry to hear about your concern for your cat! You can try using some cotton balls or cotton rounds and placing them into the ears to absorb any excess water. Do not place anything down into the inside of the ear, such as a qtip, as this can cause more problems. In most cases, a little water in the ears will not cause an issue but occasionally may result in an ear infection from the increased moisture. You can pick up an ear cleaner at your vet or the pet store which have chemical properties that dry out the ear if she still seems to be shaking her ears tomorrow.

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.

Great question! There is an OTC ear cleanser called Epi-Otic that you can get from your vet's clinic. It helps break up wax and dirt, and it's easy to use. Just put the top of the bottle in Abby's ear, squirt a little in, and the massage the base of her ear. You should hear it squishing around in there. That will help clean her ears. That being said, if Abby is always scratching her ears and there's a lot of black in there, I would be concerned that she has an ear infection. I would have her seen by a vet to check her ears because an ear infection will require prescription medications to treat.

Yes you can use a small amount to remove the ear mite debris. Continue to use the medication as directed to make sure you get rid of all the mites. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Silver and Blackie.