I rescued a stray 2 wks ago & she still wont eat on her own & has debris coming from her ear, help??

Question

This sweet cat has been sorely abused, i have taken her to the vet and have spent several hundred on her now and still see no major improvment. She seems to eat only if i spoon it down her throat or syrgine feed her, which is the only way she gets any water, and if she jumps she has to shake her head hard. It looks very painful. The vet seemed very sure she did not have ear mites or fleas. I know she dosent have fleas but the stuff coming out her ears is not only gross but I am very concerend she does have the ear mites and the debris was so much the vet didnt see it. Has anyone seen something like this before? Or know what i can do to help her? I am out of money and do not want a shelter to put her down. Please help. Thanks!

Answer 1

The stuff coming out of her ears, is it black? Does it smell really bad? Ear mites produce lots of wax that is black but does not smell, ear infections smell and the wax can be black.....I would call that vet and ask for some kind of meds for the ears, explaining that the stuff is still there and bothering the cat a lot, they have meds that treat both infection and mites at the same time, called Tresederm. As to the not eating, did they test her for the cat diseases, like feluk, Fiv, do a fecal to be sure no worms? There is something wrong with a cat that refuses to eat and the vet says is fine! I would call the vet, say you have already spend x dollars but the cat is no different and ask what they suggest, and explain you can not bring her back in due to lack of funds. They may have some ideas for you.

Answer 2

I'm surprised your vet did not see anything wrong with her ear.
It sound like she has an inner ear infection and this might explain why she shakes her head and does not want to swallow. The pressure caused from the "debris" trapped in her inner ear could be causing her a lot of pain. I have not had this problem in a cat, but I have had a similar problem in a rabbit and the only thing to do is to try to clean -GENTLY- out the ear and apply ear drops, followed by an oral antibiotic. Unfortunately, you need a vet to give you those.
I don't know what color the gunk in her ear is but if it is yellow or green, or even crusty brown and had an unpleasant odor, this is sign of an infection.
It could quite possibly be a terrible ear mite infection, the vet should have looked at a sample under the microscope.
It's sad most vets only care about money and not the animals well being.
I would suggest calling a shelter or the ASPCA and telling them you want to help the cat but have no funds for her treatment. Maybe they can suggest a vet who would give you low cost options or let you make payments. I would not go back to the other vet. These things are hard to treat on your own, especially when you do not know the underlying cause.
Good luck, I hope you can get the ASPCA or shelter to give you some help. You are a good person for rescuing her. Don't give up.

Answer 3

Start treating her for ear mites anyway. I had the same thing happen and after we went to a different vet he found the mites and showe them to me with the odoscope. If you do not have ear mite medicine use baby oil. Put in several drops one ear at a time. Massage the ear until it makes a squishy sound. Keep massaging a while. She is not going to like it and will try to scratch her hear but keep doing it for a little while. It's best to wrap a towel around her body with loose towel to put over her head when you let go. She will shake her head and the debris will go everywhere. The next day take some Q-tips and clean out excess debris. In another day or two do it again with the baby oil. If you use an earmite medication follow the directions on the bottle. Now about the eating...there are pills the vet can give to stimulate appetite. I don't know what all your vet did but several things can cause them not to eat, most are fatal but not all. Was bloodwork done? You might also want to contact a no kill shelter for advice. They see abuse all the time and if you persist, they might even take a look at her for free. E-mail me if you want to talk further on this. Good luck. Maybe you need just one more trip to a different vet. Is there an Anti Cruelty Society near you? I have used the one in Chicago before. They are cheap and they will help to maybe figure out what is wrong with her.

Answer 4

The vet should have cleaned all that debris out of her ears and determined what it was and what is causing it.

I would take her to another vet, but since you say you are out of money, I would call up the vet that has been treating hr and ask what his diagnosis is, and if he doesn't have a diagnosis, what is he doing towards arriving at one? Has he examined the stuff from her ears under a microscope, has he cultured it, has he sent a specimen to a lab? Did he have lab work done on a blood sample, which could reveal infection.

Has he asked another vet for an opinion? (Usually if a vet calls another vet to talk about a challenging case, you don't have to pay, but if you ask for a second opinion and take the cat to another vet, you do.)

Ask your vet why the cat has shown no improvement and still has to be hand-fed. You have spent a lot of money with him, and you are entitled to some answers.

She has debris coming out of only one ear, not both? I am worried that there is something far down in her ear, perhaps penetrating the eardrum, perhaps even into the membranes surrounding the brain. I have seen a cat with a fox tail grass awn (the barbed seed head) that had similar symptoms. Once a grass awn penetrates the skin, it only moves forward due to the backward-pointing barbs on it, so it just digs in deeper and deeper as the animal moves. And unfortunately those awns don't show up on an x-ray.

Since you say the cat has been abused, there is the possibility that someone put something down her ear, either in deliberate cruelty or, if a child, because they didn't know better.

Ask your vet about that possibility. He should be able to clean the debris out of her ear (under anesthesia) and see way down into it with an otoscope. At least he should be able to see if the source of the debris is deeper down.

Don't put anything in her ear. If there is a hole in her eardrum, putting water, baby oil, or anything else in her ear could be very dangerous.

In short, you need more information, and you paid a vet for his help and expertise.

Let us know what happens.

Answer 5

If the 'debris' coming from her ears is russet or brown, and she is shaking her head, she has ear mites. And if you have spent hundreds on her to a vet that can't treat ear mites, you need another vet.

Call around, and find someone who can give you a second opinion, and some ear mite meds. I hope this vet hasn't just taken you to the cleaners, and you spent all that money for nothing.

You can help her a little by getting some Q-Tips, dipping them in baby oil (not until sopping), and cleaning the gup out of her ears. The amount of Q-Tips you are going to use will amaze you, so do be prepared for that. This will provide her some symptomatic relief.

She also need to be evaluated. Her unwillingness to eat or inability to eat is very unusual and very troubling. It could be a very bad sign, but I would not know. Still, to my mind, this is of much more concern than the ear mite problem. Maybe -- I hope -- she is just being a baby, but you really do need her evaluated professionally to be sure.

Answer 6

If it's green, yellow or brownish and a soft liquid type, that's an ear infection and yes it's painful for the cat but antibiotics help it.

If it's dry, crusty brown, red or black and dry, that's pretty much ear mites.

A few drops of canola oil warmed and put into the ear, smushed around from outside, and then a kleenex dabbed inside the ear (wrapped around your finger) will help get loose bits out. Don't poke in with a Q-Tip, you can rupture the eardrum or mush stuff tighter down.

However, ask your vet if there's an off chance that a piece of burr or sticktite could be jammed down in there causing the problem. Cats don't get those much (dogs sure do!) but it's possible and it should be removed.

Answer 7

I really feel for you. You are trying to do your best, but I feel the vet you are seeing is not serving your nor your cat very well.

Depending on how old the cat is, the stuff coming out of her ears could be from ear mites, or from the damage that ear mites did to her ears earlier in life.

My suggestion is to check the link I posted in the source as if you are seeking a cat, and then call around to the various rescue groups that have cats and explain your situation. Often, they have the ability to refer you to a capable vet who can reduce the costs and provide effective treatments.

The abuse she received could have resulted in neurological damage, which could explain her head shaking.

Answer 8

First, good for you for rescuing this poor cat. If that's the only way she'll eat, I'd continue doing that until she starts eating on her own. Watch her pooping to see if her digestive tract is working. If your vet missed the ear problem, I think I'd find a new vet. It certainly sounds like an infection of some sort. I'm not a vet, though, so don't know for sure. I think I'd try to keep the ears clean until you can get her in to a vet again. Not much help, I know. Best of luck with your cat.

Answer 9

I do under stand I collect strays or they collect me or show at my door.I have gone through 900000000000000 vets to find one good one what you can try Monday call vets in you're area and ask the same question rite it down on paper so you don' miss any thing. When you think you found the right one by the way they ask you questions and there first thing bring it in or I can't Don's over the phone they give you a couple it could be. then take it in and don't say any thing about money let them check it out and if they say its this or that we can fix or it needs to be put down then you tell them money problem they want call the cops but they may keep the cat make it well and find it a home and you will be out what you spent and the cat lives. good vets will do that

Answer 10

Is your vet blind perhaps? He would have at the very least cleaned her ears to be sure that she didn't have "mites". So, I would go to a different vet but, in the meantime you can cean her ears a bit with some feline ear cleaner, some cotton pads and some mineral oil... Just moisten the cotton pad with some feline ear cleaner and swab her ears gently and then put some mineral oil in there and massage the outside of the ears.. That should ease out some of the debris..... You can even use a bit of peroxide/water and use a dropper to put in the ears just not too much.... good luck