Dirty Ears and Golden Arches

Discussion in 'Prozinc / PZI' started by FurballLover, Jun 8, 2010.

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  1. FurballLover

    FurballLover Member

    Joined:
    Jan 27, 2010
    So the latest in our home:

    At her last vet visit, my civie Molly was given a relatively clean bill of health-with two exceptions: her teeth and her ears. She's already had two teeth removed, and will probably need more work later this summer:(
    When Molly was a tiny kitten, she had ear mites--so we used the drops 2x a day for two weeks (with a lot of scratching, biting, and screaming) and they cleared up--fast forward 10+years--her ears are still a problem. They are always dirty, no mites, just a lot of buildup. So the vet told me that I have to clean her ears at a minimum of once a month.
    In typical tortie fashion, she doesn't like to be handled, so grooming has always been a HUGE battle in our house. Most of you probably remember her retaliation not too long ago after her vet checkup when she tried to puke on my head as I slept. This time was also a doozy.

    Last week I decided that along with the drooler and Charlie's routine ear cleanings, Molly would also have a turn. Now, the dog and C absolutely LOVE it when I clean their ears; Molly, however, has a polar opinion of the issue. I get all the supplies ready, q-tips, cotton balls torn into 3's to fit the little ears, and the dreaded ear solution. The towel is laid out on the bathroom floor, and I wait for the opportune moment to catch her in a 'calm' mood.
    Well, I got her in the burrito, and sat on her. Put the drops in the first ear, receive a shower of the drops, repeat the drops, massage them into the ear and start with the cotton balls. She flicked about a dozen around the bathroom---it was snowing in June!! I was even able to use 3 qtips before she escaped behind the toilet. At this point, I am satisfied that the left ear is mostly clean.... so in lieu of losing a finger, I opt to let her out to calm down for a while and apply neosporin to my wounds.
    About an hour later, HRH Miss Molly Muffin is slumbering on the couch, and I decide that if I can burrito her there, maybe I can get the right ear done as well.................yeah right.
    30 mins later DH comes home from work to find me chasing the Princess around the house with a blanket yelling that he has to help me because she has drops in her ear and I cannot just leave her like this. So we wrangle her into the blanket (at this point she's actually foaming at the mouth) so I can maybe get a couple swabs in her ear and be done with it. Dh holds her belly side up (she has less traction with her paws in the air) so I can 'do the deed'. I'm bleeding and nearly in tears trying to get an angle where I can get to her ear when all of a sudden---its now raining. Whaaaa?
    She peed all over poor Dh's leg, shoe, and our carpet. A golden arc of protest. Needless to say, only one ear got clean last week; and now I'm afraid to go to sleep :shock:

    I'm thinking that I should ask the vet for some mild sedative (for both of us, haha) I'm stopping by there tomorrow for frontline and revolution.
    Does anyone have advice, a med that's mild, or some trick to try--and please don't tell me about the clothspin method--it has no effect on the wild child. Or perhaps, you would like to join our betting pool on her retaliation. I bet 12 days, Dh took the over bet. At least we keep our sense of humor about it. :roll: Oh yeah, the next morning I awoke to find 3 poop nuggets on the floor right in front of my beloved washer and dryer; but I don't think that's the end of it. More devious tricks will surely follow.

    off topic:
    I posted on community about the tornadoes that hit our area sat night. There's a couple pics that my bro sent me that are awesome/frightening of the storms.
    Illinois Tornadoes
     
  2. JJ & Gwyn

    JJ & Gwyn Member

    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2009
    We ran across a cat muzzle at a store once and picked it up on spec. It worked really well for us when Gwyn was feeling less than cooperative with whatever-EVIL-thing we were doing. The muzzle slides on quickly and closes with velcro. She could breathe easily, but she couldn't open her mouth enough to snap or bite. Since her eyes were covered, even if she did escape, she'd just awkwardly stand there a foot or so away from us, because she couldn't see to get away. It didn't stop the claws, but it did make them much less accurate. Perhaps if you applied the muzzle, and then burrito'd Molly?

    The muzzle we used is here. I'll note that my vet had a similar muzzle, but it was home-made: she had a styrofoam coffee cup with a little breathing hole cut in the bottom., and there were gauze 'straps' taped to the side. If they needed a muzzle, they'd slide this one into place, then tie the straps to keep it on. Overall, I prefer the velcro version that I bought -- the velcro was easier to secure than trying to tie knots ;)
     
  3. Laurie and Mr Tinkles

    Laurie and Mr Tinkles Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 9, 2010
    ohmygod_smile Jen, it's a really good thing that you have a sense of humor! I have to say that I was LOL as I read your post. I haven't been here long enough to know about the vomiting incident, but it sounds like you need to sleep with one eye open for a while! How ever long you are able to be on guard, I'm betting HRH will wait one day longer than that to exact her revenge. :mrgreen:

    I don't have any experience with calming meds with cats, so I'm afraid I don't have any suggestions. The burrito restraint is always the go to method for us when we have to do something that our cats really hate, so I don't know any better method. I would use the same method including having DH do the holding....at least you share the pain that way! :lol:
     
  4. Karen & Angus(GA)

    Karen & Angus(GA) Member

    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2009
    Have you tried something like this?
    restraint bag

    It might be easier to keep her in than just a towel.
     
  5. FurballLover

    FurballLover Member

    Joined:
    Jan 27, 2010
    Thanks for the suggestions. I think I will try the muzzle first. Getting her into the 'bag' might be more of a challenge than we can handle with the fractious one.

    Oh, and she did retaliate again. Wed night around 3:30 am, I awoke to hear the telltale sounds of Molly regurgitating. I sat up to catch her just in time before she puked on my legs. Luckily, I was able to get her into the hallway, with the hard wood floors just in the nick of time. Of course, it was the first night in over a week that I was actually sleeping well (I suffer from occasional bouts of insomnia).

    Charlie gave me a lovely 71 this morning--yay! The last couple weeks were in the 80's and I much prefer the 60-70 range for him.
     
  6. Hope and Aria

    Hope and Aria Member

    Joined:
    Feb 25, 2010
    LOL!! Oh Jen, I was waiting to hear news of Ms. M's retaliatory purge as I scrolled the page. At least she wasn't shooting for your head this time!
     
  7. Sarah and Buzz

    Sarah and Buzz Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 31, 2009
    I will go with 8 days.

    Good luck. :D Seriously, this story made me laugh, although I know it wasn't funny at the time (or maybe not even now). Glad you at least got one clean. The only restraint method is know is the clothespins, so I can't help you out on that one.
     
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