Following are selected posts to Holisticat on the subject of ears. The posts are arranged in ascending chronological order. If there is a particular word you're looking for, it's probably best to utlize the "Find in Page" function in your edit menu!
Happy hunting :)
Date: Sun, 28 Feb 1999 10:27:39 -0500
Subject: Re: [HOL] Zachary - News is Good!
Hi Jillian
The only non-allopathic thing I could find were these long, somewhat daunting instructions from Anitra Frazier's book. Wish I could be of more help.
> Am to give it in his ear to dissolve the wax ball.
Anitra Frazier says:
-begin quote-
Ear Wax but No Mites
If your veterinarian determins that your cat's ear wax is not caused
by mites, the other possibilities are germs, some sort of waste discharge
or eruption inside the ear canal, an allergic reaction, or a yeast infection
of already damaged tissue. First make sure that the problem is only in
the outer ear canal and does not include the inner ear. If that is the
case, my own veterinarian recommends a cleansing flush with Betadyne solution
followed by the mild white vinegar solution which leaves the ear canal
with a desirable acid balance. I have found that it takes about three weeks
to completely clear up the problem.
I have found it important to clean the back claws and cuticles once a week. you can't look very far into the ear canal to see how well you're succeeding, but you will be able to monitor your progress by noting how much dirt has collected around the back cuticles. By the third week there should be almost nothing for you to clean off. Cleaning the cuticles also prevents reinfection of the ear when the cat scratches with the dirty claws.
Irrigation Formula I (for cleansing)
This formula will cleanse, kill germs and fungus, and reduce swelling.
1 cup distilled or spring water
1 teaspoon Betadyne solution OR 10 drops golden seal extgract
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Irrigation Formula II (to soothe and heal)
This formula will cleanse, soothe, reduce swelling, and promote healing.
1 cup distilled or spring water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon tincture of calendula
Irrigation Procedures
For ear flush: Use a rubber ear synringe.
1. Before using, heat the solution to 101 degrees (cat's body temp)
by standing a cup of the solution in a bowl of hot water.
2. Do therapeutic communication explaining to the cat what you intend
to do anda what you expect to accomplish....
3. warm the bathtub by running hot water into it and let it stand while
you go on to step 4.
4. Prepare one of the irrigation formulas given above. Let the cup
of formula stand in a bowl of hot water throughout the procedure to maintain
a "warm bath" temp of 101 degrees.
5. Drain the bathtub and dry it with a hand towel. A warm tub is more
pleasant for the cat to stand in than a cold tub.
6. Get the patient and bring him to the nice warm tub. Get into the
tub with the cat, take the pill-giving position, and go through the therapeutic
communication procedure again as you proceed stpe by step.
7. Fill a syringe with the irrigation formula. Stroke the cat's head,
neck and body lovingly; then lightly include the area you will irrigate.
8. The possible discomforts that could occur during an ear flush would
be if the solution is too hot or cold, if the inside of the ear has been
irritated during frequent cleanings with a cotton swab, or if the syringe
used is not filled completely and emits a hissing or bubbling sound as
air is permitted to rush in or out. This squishing sound so close to the
eardrum can be painful to a cat, so make sure the syringe is completely
full of solution by holding the syringe with the tip upward and slowly
squeezing the ball of the syringe until the liquid starts to come out the
tip. Then, holding the ball in the depressed position, quickly plunge the
tip back into the solution, release the ball, and allow the syringe to
fill alal the way.
9. Now, communicating as you go, grasp the ear at hte wid part near
the bottom. Inser thte tip of the rubber syringe into the ear, pointing
it downward toward the throat, and express the solution forcefully. Only
express about half the fluid. Pull the syringe out and away from the ear
*while still expressing fluid.* This prevents the sucking sound of air
going into the syringe from happening close to the cat's eardurfm.
10. Dry the patient, including wet paw pads. Tell her how well she's
done and carry her back to the perch where you found her.
-end quote-
--Jean, Saski Basket & Amber Sweet T'ing
Hi Heather, and everyone!
I found the article on ear mites in Whole Cat Journal - and it's really interesting.
Dr. Robert A Lopez, DVM, past president of the New York State Vet. Assooc.
and an SPCA consultant infected himself w/ ear mites to see if they would
survive in a human ear. He says that immediately he heard scratching
sounds, itiching sensations then started, and all three sensations merged
into a "weird cacophony of sound and pain that intensified from that moment
on". He says the activity continued for the next 5 hours and
then leveled off. When he went to bed the activity increased and
he said sleep was impossible. The activity again leveled off andd
then started over at about 7am. Evidently, nighttime is when they
really like to feed. He said at night he could feel them crawling
across his face, and by the second week his ear was filled with debris,
and he couldn't hear out of his left ear. After a month his ear was completely
full of debris and he could hear
nothing at all. He then flushed out his ear using only warm water
and mopping up w/ cotton swabs. Within a week his ear was free of
all debris and a month later his hearing had returned to normal.
He repeated this experiment two more times with similar results.
During the experiments he said he developed an inner ear infection and
that during the night when they really came alive it was like having a
megaphone over your head. They can cause infection, damage
and deafness. He said if your cat has black goo in it's ear, that
they've definately got it, and that they get it by contact with other animals.
He said the first step in treatment is to flea treat the entire cat as this will discourage the mites from escaping to the cat's coat. Following that a gentle ear cleaning is the first step to making the cat mite free. he recommends a cleaning of the ears followed up by a treatment of mineral oil. (I would use some other kind of oil, maybe the oil from a Vit. E. cap). He says to "clean out the ear w/ soap and water on a cotton swab thoroughly and frequently, several times a week. After that apply a drop or two of min. oil to a clean cotton swab and clean every few days. Don't push down and don't go too far down. There are scabs and blood clots down there, so be very very cautious."
Elaine Crews, N.D. suggests that in addition to cleaning the ears you
can use homeopathic remedies to treat the infesation. She recommends
Sepia 30C for cats with dirty and itchy ears. (Does anyone think
this is too high a potency to fool around with? I'm not at all expert
homeopathics, I'm just repeating the article.) As an
herbal, she also recommends yellow dock to
combat ear mites. To prepare the yellow dock she said you should
"make a cup of tea with one capsule of yellow dock. Stir and let
steep until it has reached a tolerable temp. Strain through a coffe
filter to remove all the bits and pieces of herbs. Using a dropper
put about .5cc into the ear canal. Gently massage the area before
you let go. Then take a cotton swab and clean out the debris."
She prefers to repeat the procedure daily for five days. She also
recommends colloidal silver. Using a dropper, squirt .5cc into the
ear canal and massage. If your animal is prone to infections (as
you said your d*g was), "combine white vinegar with water in a one-ounce
bottle. Use three drops of vinegar in purified water. Warm
to body temp. before using. Put six drops in each ear twice daily.
This can also be used after other ear treatments to maintain the proper
acid balance. If the ear is irritated, the cat may object.
Another alternative is saline wash. Vitamin E and Aloe Vera are good for
healing the injured tissue."
There are some other things you can do according to this article, so if none of these work, let me know and I'll be glad to tell you what else the article suggests.
Blessings,
Debbie and family
Hi Debbie,
I've had problems with some of my older kitties-seems like they have a lot more ear wax. I just bought some stuff at HFS called Natural Herbal Ear Wash from Halo. It contains Chamomile, Sage Oil, Clove Oil, Hore Hound Extract, Southern Wood extract, Calendula (Marigold), Penny Royal and St John's Wort in a Witch Hazel Base. I think someone on the list posted about this a while back and said it was good so I am going to give it a try. I think there was also a post, at least relating to older cats, related to how important it was to not only trim their claws as they get older and are less active, but to keep the hind ones clean. When they go to scratch their ears, if their hind claws are dirty, it re-introduces crud and bacteria into the ear.
Hope this helps.
Linda Moore
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