How to clean a cat’s ears?

At the same time, the epithelium of the external auditory canal is very thin and delicate and can easily be damaged by improper cleaning, especially with cotton swabs or tweezers wrapped in cotton. Damage to the epithelium leads to a violation of its migration, and sometimes to inflammation, accumulation of earwax, impaired ventilation of the ear canal, increased humidity and temperature in the lumen of the canal and, as a result, to a secondary fungal or bacterial infection, for which moisture, heat and inflammation are the most favorite conditions for “prosperity”.

A cat’s ears can indeed get dirty, but this will only affect the inner surface of the auricle: if you gently pull the ear back, you can see that the ear canal itself is clean and pale pink. In this case, you can moisten a cotton pad with any ear cleaning lotion (without drugs) and gently wipe the inside of the ear. Lotions perfectly dissolve earwax, and the problem will be solved. A gauze pad is not suitable for these purposes, as it can damage the surface of the skin in the auricle, and the skin there is very delicate.

If the cat has discharge from the ears and an unpleasant smell, then this is a disease, and not insufficient care. Do not try to clean the cat’s ears yourself, but go to the veterinary clinic. Diagnosis will require a general clinical examination, otoscopy (examination of the ear with a special device that allows you to look inside the ear canal, assess its condition and see the eardrum) and examine the contents of the ear canal under a microscope for mites, bacteria, or yeast-like fungi.

After the diagnosis is established, the doctor will prescribe treatment, and one of the auxiliary components of this treatment will be regular cleaning of the ear canal from secretions with a special lotion (in this case, the lotion may contain medications). At the clinic appointment, the cat’s ears will be washed and you will be shown how to do it correctly.

Typically, the procedure consists of gently infusing a few ml of the solution into the ear, gently massaging the ear canal at the base of the auricle, and removing excess lotion with a cotton ball or disc. After that, the cat should be given the opportunity to shake its head (usually the lotion is poured 2-3 times in each ear). In the future, you will be able to perform the procedure at home on your own until the next follow-up visit to the clinic. The frequency of cleaning the ears depends on the diagnosis and is determined by the veterinarian.

12 2017 June

Updated: July 6, 2018