Black Build Up In My Kitten's Ear

My kitten (5 months old) has a lot of black/brown build up in her ear. I don't know, is this cats's version of ear wax. If so how, can I clean her ears at home without taking her to a vet.

Elaine from Atlanta, GA

Answers:

Black Build Up In My Kitten's Ear

Sounds like a mixture of ear wax and ear mites. Mineral Oil on a Q-tip, will take care of it. Just enough to wet the Q-tip, not dripping. Sweep the inside of the ear and repeat several times with a clean Q-tip each time. Be very careful not to go too deep inside the ear. This saved me several trips to the vet with my kittens. (10/23/2006)

By Jennifer

Black Build Up In My Kitten's Ear

Yup. I agree. You want to clean up this mess and keep it clean before an infection sets in. (Infection is a costly vet visit.) Mineral oil (at the Dollar store) cleans the ears and helps keep the ear mites away. So coat the ear inside with it after you've cleaned out the gunk (a veterinary term for wax, mites, blood and such).

However, I use Q-tips only to get at any nook or cranny I can actually see. Just like human ears, tread softly. For big jobs like this, I use gauze, real cotton balls or cotton make-up sponges. (Which would you rather have in your ear, cotton or wood(paper)?

After this time, clean the ears out and coat with mineral oil at regular intervals. You will have a happy cat, and the vet will just have to collect elsewhere. (10/23/2006)

By Carrie

Black Build Up In My Kitten's Ear

These are ear mites and very common. Your local pet store has ear mite drops, or check the animal department in your local "Mart". It's inexpensive and just takes a couple of drops. Good Luck. (10/23/2006)

By BJ-Houghton Lake, MI

Black Build Up In My Kitten's Ear

I agree with the ear mites and the mineral oil except for one thing. Just soak a cotton ball with the mineral oil and squeeze it out, then swab the ear out. You may need to do a couple of cotton balls, but it is much easier than a Q-tip. (10/24/2006)

By Mary

Black Build Up In My Kitten's Ear

Ear mites, ear mites. I found a great and wonderful way to take care of this. It is called Thornit. You can buy it from England and little goes a long way. Look it up on Google. I have a dog and one cat with chronic ear problems for years and years and neither has had any ear problems since we started the Thornit. It has been amazing. People I can't tell you how great it is. They have been using this over there for over 100 years on their pets and it is all good. The pet smells a bit like a dentist office then, but that is livable.

I buy mine from a lady named Mary. I think I paid like 14 USA dollars and it was well worth every penny. I am getting ready to buy another bottle now.

What it does is it smothers the ear mites and kills them. Then you just maintain the ears with a bit either once a week or once a month, my hubby does the once a month on the cat and once a week on the dog. The dog has heavy ear flaps.

Check it out.

Laura (10/26/2006)

Black Build Up In My Kitten's Ear

You should never, never use a Q-tip on a cat's ear. You could puncture their ear drum when they are shaking their head. My kitten had a bad case of ear mites when I got him and I used the Hartz Ear Mite Medicine they have at Walmart or just about anywhere. It worked in about 7-10 days, a few drops a day. The mineral oil will help loosen the buildup in the ears after the treatment if it is necessary. Mine was not. They cleaned out on their own with the drops I was putting in them. Now he's happy and healthy and ear mite free.! (08/10/2007)

By kylkat

Black Build Up In My Kitten's Ear

Go to the vet. Don't sacrifice your cats health and comfort to save a few bucks. And don't stick a Q-tip in your cats ear. The vet will give you medicine to put in the cats ears that will clear it right up. My cat had the same problem and a $15 bottle of medicine did the trick. (08/22/2007)

By CandyCane

Black Build Up In My Kitten's Ear

I will have to try the mineral oil in the ears. I also found on a Google search, that you can use a small amount of dish washing liquid in warm water and an old cloth, to gently wipe the ears off to get the build up off the outer part of the ears. (09/09/2007)

By marvins owner

Black Build Up In My Kitten's Ear

I cleaned my BeffieKat's ears with cotton-wool dipped in Johnson's Baby Oil. It cleaned his ears beautifully. (09/09/2007)

By Carol Churchill

Black Build Up In My Kitten's Ear

Q-tips are okay to use on cats. Just don't go any further than you can see and be ready to pull it out of your cat starts shaking his head or tries to scratch it's ears. (11/13/2007)

By Bones