Ears help the cat perceive sounds and keep balance. Thanks to the "locators" cats always land on four legs. But often sulfur accumulates in the ears of animals, which makes it impossible to perceive sounds normally.
What else can your pet's ears clog up with and what to do about it?
Why clean your kitten’s ears?
Any member of the Feline family is always thoroughly washed. But, unfortunately, he only paws out to the top of his ears. Meanwhile, dust and dirt, particles of old skin, dying hairs can accumulate inside. With a large number of them, sebaceous glands begin to work, which secrete sulfur. It becomes a barrier to dirt in the inner part of the ear.
When turning the ears inside out, the cat does not feel much discomfort, which facilitates the cleaning process. Therefore, you can clean the ears of a kitten at home without any problems.
If the owner notices the following troubles:
• dark spots or deposits,
• dirty drips,
• brown tubercles,
• combs,
you should find out the causes of ear problems. Perhaps this is a disease and the kitten should be shown to the veterinarian. for example, with a large accumulation of sulfur, ear plugs form. They press on the eardrum, cause irritation of the mucous membrane of the ear, which results in impaired hearing and coordination. Uncertain gait, nausea, and vomiting may be signs of sulfur cork.
Additional Information: Most dirt accumulates in the ears of rocks that have little or no hair (sphinxes, peterbolds, elves). When there are hairs on the inner surface of the ear, they help protect the inside from dust. And when they are not, it becomes a problem.
How to prepare a kitten for cleaning ears at home?
You need to train your kitten to clean ears from an early age. The sooner he becomes comfortable with the procedure, the calmer it will be to relate to it, since it causes a little unpleasant sensations.
The frequency of cleaning depends primarily on the breed of the animal. Age and temperament also play a role. The ears of the kitten should be checked once every 2 weeks, and cleaned - once a month. It is advisable to prepare a little for this procedure, as the kitten will scratch and try to escape:
1. Trim the furry pet's claws or wear anti-scratches.
2. It is better to keep the cat together, holding his head in a towel. It is important not to scare the animal, otherwise nothing will be done.
3. Prepare everything you need in advance: cotton pads and cotton buds, cat ear gel or saline. If none of this exists, then you can use vegetable oil or water.
Note: You can not clean the ears of a kitten at home with homemade sticks when cotton wool is wound on matches. They can scratch the ear or “lose” cotton wool inside the auricle. Suitable cotton buds on which there is a limiter.
The procedure for cleaning the ears of a kitten at home
Before cleaning, play with the kitten so that it is calm, and after it treat it with something tasty. Sharp movements, when the animal’s head is poorly fixed, can injure the “locators”. They are sensitive and must be handled with care. To check the contents of the auricle, it is better to use a small flashlight.
The procedure, which must be carried out carefully and slowly, involves the following actions:
• having fixed the kitten’s head with a towel so that it is motionless, wrap his ear to the limit, which will facilitate cleaning,
• first clean the internal contents with a cotton swab moistened with boiled water or saline,
• apply gel on a cotton swab and carefully, in several steps, remove dirt or sulfur (the gel is not squeezed out),
• you need to clean to a depth of about 1 cm, changing cotton buds as they become dirty.
It is difficult to pierce the eardrum due to its anatomical position. In order not to push dirt inward, all movements are directed outward. By scrubbing your ears, you help your pet not to lose hearing and reduce the risk of disease.
The sequence of actions for cleaning feline "locators" can be seen in the video:
Note: To clean the ears of a kitten at home do not use alcoholic liquids, hydrogen peroxide, soap, which cause drying of the skin. With irritation, sores form on the inner surface, itching and active production of sulfur are possible.
What diseases do cat ears suffer from?
When feline “locators” are contaminated, otitis media or ear mite infections often occur. In addition to pollution, the causes of bacterial inflammation (otitis media) are various infections, injuries, allergic reactions, and parasites. When otitis exacerbates, the kitten is aggressive and nervous due to pain in the ears. A neglected disease manifests itself in the form of hearing loss, meningitis, and even the death of a pet.
If when examining a cat's ear traces of dirt in half with sulfur are noticeable - this is the first sign of an ear tick that most often "torments" young cats. Signs of the presence of the parasite are visible to the naked eye:
• the animal combs its ear and shakes its head,
• combs to bloody scratches,
• the presence of purulent discharge, dark spots and crusts.
Itching and irritation are associated with the fact that the tick eats particles of the ear epithelium (skin). After examination, the veterinarian prescribes treatment. Usually, antifungal and antibacterial drugs are used. Before using them, it is necessary to clean the ears of the kitten at home, so that the effects of the funds are most effective. Ear washing with antiseptics, for example, chlorhexidine, works well. Within a month, you can completely get rid of the ear tick and undergo a second examination of the veterinarian.
Additional information: Before processing the auricle, you need to see its condition. It may be clean with a little sulfur. It is not necessary to achieve sterile cleanliness. Therefore, you need to clean the "locators" as they become dirty.
Ear cleaning is important for your pet. And if it is carried out regularly, then no problems will arise. Kitten go grown cat calmly reacts to the procedure when it becomes familiar. A healthy state of feline is well seen by the condition of the eyes, hair and ears.
