Yeast in ears?

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Marvie and Tugger

Marvie and Tugger

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OK, so I've asked every vet I have ever seen with my babies about this and never have I gotten a solution. We have ear issues in this house. I do not know what is causing the problem, but nearly all of my 6 have yeasty ears. Tux is the only one who doesn't, and for all I know he might but he never acts like his ears itch and he doesn't let me mess with them to look. I'm not sure about Bella tbh I think her itchies are from her ear infection. The meds didn't clear it up so we'll be heading back to the vet soon, she's still very difficult to treat and groom so I can't get her to hold still for the cleaning. I can just barely get her drops in without loosing buckets of blood (tried it all, burrito-towel and everything.)

I know it's yeast, every single one of them have had multiple smears or whatever it is they do in the back and it's never been mites. They've always said it's yeast. They give me ear wash, which does not clear it up completely no matter how anal I am about following the directions I'm given. We've tried drops in the past (I have no idea what they were, was a few years ago) to no avail.

I had hoped the food change would help, but it hasn't (yet?). I'm not seeing any improvement in anyone, in fact, with warmer weather it tends to get worse.

I clean them out with cotton balls and qtips. They love it, mostly. The rest all come running when I get the ear cleaning basket out, from the smallest kitty up to the giant dog. They all but line up and wait their turn and it's not for treats because they don't get treats for this (except Bella) because they enjoy it so I don't figure they need treats for it.

Does anyone have any thoughts or ideas? It was one thing when it was just Tugger, but then we got the dog who had the same issue. Then Echo came and he's had it from day one. Now BB has it going on too for the first time (she's 10 yrs old) and I'm afraid that Bella and Tux will come down with it too and there is just not enough Marvie to go around. It takes me an hour and a half to get everyone cleaned out and now that warmer weather is here I'll have to do this every couple of days if I can't get it cleared up. Help?
 
You need to treat the ears with an anti-fungal medicine to kill the yeast. Some vets will use Animax since it covers both yeast and bacteria. However, it also contains a steroid as do a lot of other ear meds. A good only anti-fungal medicine is Conifite. My Twiggie has had yeast and bacteria. First we used Animax but that really caused her BGs to skyrocket. We then went to oral antibiotics and Conifite. The bacteria is gone but the yeast remained. I now keep the yeast under control with weekly cleaning/application of Conifite.
 
Weekly I can handle, it's the summertime when it's almost daily that I've been dreading. I'll ask about the Conifite. Sounds like just what we need! Thank you!
 
Both mine have the same problem. I'm convinced that Tim got it from Amy when I adopted her. The vets say no..but I disagree. Anyway, recently I bought some stuff for Tim from the holistic Pet Store. It's just Herbal ear rinse.
http://search.onlynaturalpet.com/search ... 5Qod01j_HA

I think this is the link to it. It has cider vinegar, witch hazel, aloe, golden seal. I have only just started to use it so I
can't say long term how it will work but so far it's OK.
 
Tim, please keep us advised on how well this product works. I too am facing the same problem with the majority of my cats, and so far all I can do is try to keep cleaning their ears every 3 or 4 days. Vet has looked at them and done ear smears, nothing really shows up......hard to treat when there isn't anything showing up TO treat! Thanks!
 
Debra, you said nothing shows up on the ear cytology. If there are no yeast or bacteria then it is probably just wax and debris. SOme cats just have dirty ears and the only solution is to periodically clean them. My Bailey has dirty ears and I just clean them about twice weekly.

Debra & CB (GA) & Gang said:
Tim, please keep us advised on how well this product works. I too am facing the same problem with the majority of my cats, and so far all I can do is try to keep cleaning their ears every 3 or 4 days. Vet has looked at them and done ear smears, nothing really shows up......hard to treat when there isn't anything showing up TO treat! Thanks!
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Hi Marvie

Marvie and Tugger said:
I clean them out with cotton balls and qtips. They love it, mostly. The rest all come running when I get the ear cleaning basket out, from the smallest kitty up to the giant dog. They all but line up and wait their turn and it's not for treats because they don't get treats for this (except Bella) because they enjoy it so I don't figure they need treats for it.
Click to expand...

This makes me suspicious, not that you're not telling the truth, but that the cleaning program is not rigorous enough. The best way to flush out the ear is to put a squirt of ear flush in, hold the ear closed while rubbing the base of the ear for a few seconds, and then release the ear while you flee for cover. The cat will shake and shake and glare at you angrily. You compound the insult by then gently wiping inside the ear with cotton to take out excess flush and wipe out any clumps that were loosened by shaking. I'm sure your vet explained that the ear canal is actually somewhat "L" shaped so you need to dislodge and get rid of the junk that's packed down deep before you can truly get rid of an infection. After a few flushes, you'll see recently-loosened chunks of black goo come up out of badly infected ears -- pretty gross. Once this stuff is out, the medication can get down into the ear and treat the whole outer ear canal like it needs to.

On a related note, my favorite ear flush or ears that are NOT wounded (no open skin) is MalAcetic. It acidifies the ear and makes it an unfriendly environment for bugs. I have used just warm water and a DROP of vinegar to wipe out ear wax in my own cats' ears. Earl used to get one gunky ear and I'd wipe it out occasionally with this solution. (I don't flush the ears except in case of infection as it is somewhat unpleasant for them.)

Finally, on a few occasions I have had foundling cats who had persistent ear gunk despite no spectacular results on cytology, and in these few cases Tresaderm has worked to cure the Whatever-It-Is. It works for ear mites, yeast, and bacteria, so it makes a clean sweep and is somewhat soothing. I don't use it unless I'm stuck, though, because it needs to be refrigerated (and therefore you have to put cold drops in the ear, they don't like it), you need to use it daily, and it does have a steroid, if you have a diabetic.
 
We've tried washes. I've been through bottles and bottles of the stuff. It's not the same brand you mentioned. Not sure if they work on the same principle, no vet ever explained that... but reading the bottle now yes, it's the same principle.

This stuff is Epi-Otic Advanced ear cleanser for dogs, cats, kittens and puppies (with anti-adhesive technology) and has salicylic acid 0.2%. The most recent vet (Boomer, Tugger Echo and BB's) had me do it daily for a week, then three times a week, then two times a week, then once a week to maintain. It hasn't worked either. I admit, I have not tortured the cats with it on that schedule... but only because it didn't work on the less dangerous to my life and limb dog first. I do cats twice a week in the summer and once a week or every ten days in the winter with wiping out as needed in between. Tugger and the rest hate it a lot more than Tugger minds getting his ear poked all the time that's for sure.

In the winter the discharge of wax slows, but with warmer weather and more sunbeams to chill out in, I guess the wax warms up and gets to flowing or something. I've gotten to the point now where I stalk them in sunbeams so I can catch them while their ears are nice and warm. I go through a lot of qtips and cotton balls in the warmer months. I use cotton balls to swipe out as much as I can, then I thin out qtips by plucking a pinch of cotton off to make the fat ends smaller for the kitty ears to get the gunk out of the cracks and lumps in the outer ear, I don't go poking around farther than I can see inside. I swear their heads are nothing but wax inside. There cannot be room for brains with as much wax as they produce.

Bella's vet didn't give us a wash because I told him I already had the Epi-Otic, he gave me drops for inflammation (Synotic) because she was so inflamed he couldn't even see inside. I have to wash her ear out with the EO and then track her down 30 mins later to put the Synotic in. It's time to get her back in because the second step is sometimes impossible so it's just not clearing up. I've never had a cat that I couldn't follow through with before. But I've raised mine from kittens and she was 4 years or so when I adopted her. I doubt her ears were ever cleaned before. Her problem is not the same as Tugger (FD), Boomer, Echo and BB (civvies) though. I've never seen the dark wax in her ears... yet *knock wood* but that could just be because her ears are too busy being infected to make wax.

I'm just trying to get some ideas and thoughts together before their next appointments, because I am rapidly learning that the combined minds here will get me honest, educated answers or at least thoughts to follow up on if not answers. So I hoped to save myself more headaches of money spent with no fix =) I'm trying to write a list of questions to ask. I just don't have experience in dealing with vets who will actually work with me... I hear stories on here of vets who listen and work with people but my experiences have mostly been of vets who are too busy to take the time to really listen so they rush you in and out without properly explaining anything so they can get to the next patient in the over-booked waiting rooms. Other than this recurring ear problem, these cats were ridiculously healthy till recently. We'd go in once a year for checkups and shots, so really, it was no big deal. There wasn't much need to communicate and work together.

Suddenly, I'm faced with urinary tract issues, FD, a blind kitten, a cat with chronic ear infections and a distinct lack of trust in humans and I have no experience with any of it so I'm just full of confused_cat questions. I want to get them healthy on every level and be as knowledgeable as possible before I walk into the vet's office. I'm open to every idea at this point, simply because the warm weather has only just begun and at the moment I feel like cleaning ears and testing Tug is all I do every day ;)
 
Hmmm weird. I always had to clean Cuddles' ears out for some reason. Every 2-3 days though.. she'd just get massive wax buildup. Had her checked out.. nothing showed up. So I just kept up with her ears & q-tips. I would swipe just inside the ear though.. kind of dig a little of it out right there at the front of the ear canal. You'd be surprised with what would come out of there. :shock: And then she was fine.. maybe it was even every week I'd do it. BUT.. it wasn't all of my cats, it was just her. So that makes me wonder if nearly all your cats are the same way. Have you ever used Revolution on them? Not sure if it would help, but it's kind of a 'catch all' for the shelter.. they use it on every dog & cat that comes in. It kind of covers most everything you'd need to cover.. including ear mites & heartworms! I even just bought 4 doses at my vet recently for all 4 of my cats. I had a few strays in the house lately (locked in bathrooms, but ya never know.) I see lots of scratching at necks & ears.. and I start to wonder. So as a precaution, I bought 4 doses for my 4 cats. Figured 1 month would be good to possibly knock anything out that they may (or may have not) gotten from the strays. If anything, it's extra money to put my mind at ease. :razz:

Sometimes I think they can get a little itchy because it's so dry here (Phoenix). Are you in a humid climate? Maybe it's too humid, hence more wax or something?
 
Humidity might play a part, it's less of an issue in the drier winters. Humidity is only just beginning out here, it's possible.

It's not mites or fleas, we know that. I've used Revolution in the past. We don't really use it on the cats regularly anymore though because we don't seem to have issues. I keep the dog treated because he goes out and lays in the sunny grass and it seems to keep him from passing any fleas on to the kitties (so far!)

I do about the same with the qtips, I don't go farther than I can see because one vet years ago said that I could pack the wax into the canal if i go poking around in there, so I don't do that. I just get what I can see in all those valleys in the outer ear.

I'm experimenting with removing beef right now. I'm noticing that Bella's infection flares up when she eats beef and the kitten has exorcist type pukes when he eats it so I've removed it and we'll see if it makes any difference at all. Not sure how long to give it before I decide if it's working or not, but I figured at least a month should give me something to go on.
 
Hi
I've got a non diabetic with serious ear problems. She had a horrible yeast infection that just wouldn't go away, UNTIL!
I had the vet flush her ear out while she was under anesthesia for her dental, then I was told to do the following:
wash her ear out first with the Epi-Otic Advanced ear cleanser, then put in the Tresaderm (which does have a steroid in it, Dexamethasone, I think)
you do need to refrigerate it, but I was told to let it sit out and come to room temp before putting it in her ears.

I was also told it could take up to 6 mos to clear up her infection! Thankfully it did not take that long, but it did take well over 2 mos.

Also I bought some of those long qTips that the vet has (from the vet) that are much much easier to use in a cat's ear, and work a lot better to get the gunk out. They are called Q tips single tip applicators. Ask your vet if they'll sell you a bag of em.
They are so much easier to use!

Also my girl's ears get waxy if she eats any kind of fish! if you think your cat may have food allergies or food issues, you might want to try eliminating the stuff that's most likely to cause allergy symptoms like fish and beef.

once you get the yeast under control, you can probably get by with just doing periodic cleanings.

We tried Oti calm, we tried Zymox and I forget what else, the only combination that worked was the Epi Otic advanced and the Tresaderm

I hope we never have to go back to that, because it really increased my girls' appetite and she put on over a pound in a couple of months!

good luck!!
 
I realized the other day, looking back at Tug's records while I was organizing paperwork, the vet did give us Tresederm. In December, the day Tug was diagnosed. For ten days, twice a day with the Epi-Otic wash. I'm terrible about remembering medicine names which is why the Tresederm didn't sound familiar when you mentioned it before Larry. Thinking back, I do remember doing it. I did his ears after his shot for those ten days and had to fight with him over the cold drops because my vet didn't tell me it could be warmed to room temp before using it (or that it was a steroid).

The vet dug some clumps out of Tugger's ears with those long single tip qtips that day, but when I asked about them he said no I could not have any for home use because it's bad to poke around in their ears, you can pack the wax in worse than it is he said. I guess he didn't trust that I'm not stupid enough to go digging around like he did (I don't know what the inside looks like so I only clean the parts I can see with the qtips), I wanted them simply because I only use one end of the qtips I buy because I don't want to get the gunk on my hand using both ends. The long ones do look easier but the vet thinks I'm too stupid to use them. Which is fine because I'm not all that impressed with him either so we're moving to a new guy. Who hopefully will work with me to solve this problem and work with me on the FD and not treat me like I'm stoopid.

I'm thinking I may use the ears as an interview tool for the new place I want to try. I had an appointment today to meet this new vet but Tugger has been doing so well I didn't want to stress him with the car ride so I canceled and will reschedule once we figure out what Tugger's plan is. Silly boy is acting like he's done with da joose, or he's thinking about being done with it lol. So I'm not trying to mess up his plans if I can help it :smile: When we do eventually go in though, this might be a good way to see how this new guy is and feel him out on his experience and willingness to work with Team Tugger (as Hillary and Maui put it to me yesterday) on the FD etc.

Also, I am experimenting with the allergen theory. I've noticed the kitten spews every time he eats beef, then I noticed that Bella's ear acts up when she eats it, so I removed all the beef flavors from our current rotation and I'm going to see if that makes any difference. It's only been a few days, so we'll see. Echo seems to have stopped 99% of his spewing already though, so even if it doesn't help the ears... it will be nice for me to not have to scrub puke stains after every other meal.
 
Marvie and Tugger said:
OK, so I've asked every vet I have ever seen with my babies about this and never have I gotten a solution. We have ear issues in this house. I do not know what is causing the problem, but nearly all of my 6 have yeasty ears. Tux is the only one who doesn't, and for all I know he might but he never acts like his ears itch and he doesn't let me mess with them to look. I'm not sure about Bella tbh I think her itchies are from her ear infection. The meds didn't clear it up so we'll be heading back to the vet soon, she's still very difficult to treat and groom so I can't get her to hold still for the cleaning. I can just barely get her drops in without loosing buckets of blood (tried it all, burrito-towel and everything.)

I know it's yeast, every single one of them have had multiple smears or whatever it is they do in the back and it's never been mites. They've always said it's yeast. They give me ear wash, which does not clear it up completely no matter how anal I am about following the directions I'm given. We've tried drops in the past (I have no idea what they were, was a few years ago) to no avail.

I had hoped the food change would help, but it hasn't (yet?). I'm not seeing any improvement in anyone, in fact, with warmer weather it tends to get worse.

I clean them out with cotton balls and qtips. They love it, mostly. The rest all come running when I get the ear cleaning basket out, from the smallest kitty up to the giant dog. They all but line up and wait their turn and it's not for treats because they don't get treats for this (except Bella) because they enjoy it so I don't figure they need treats for it.

Does anyone have any thoughts or ideas? It was one thing when it was just Tugger, but then we got the dog who had the same issue. Then Echo came and he's had it from day one. Now BB has it going on too for the first time (she's 10 yrs old) and I'm afraid that Bella and Tux will come down with it too and there is just not enough Marvie to go around. It takes me an hour and a half to get everyone cleaned out and now that warmer weather is here I'll have to do this every couple of days if I can't get it cleared up. Help?
Click to expand...
have your ever tried using tresaderm ear drops for this I also have this same problem in 4 of my abys Do Lou is one of them and tresaderm ear drops are the only thing we have found that somehow cure it which is strange but it works and even my vets find it odd that it works since I tried it once on a whim but tresaderm also has a type of steroid in it with other ingredients I would have to go get my bottle I have also used panalog but tresaderm is what has worked for us the best
 
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