Otitis media refers to inflammation of the outer, middle or inner ear. How to treat this disease depends on which part is inflamed and to what extent. Your veterinarian can determine this.
Otitis reasons
Otitis media in cats can occur for several reasons. Among which are the accumulation of earwax and its subsequent decomposition; getting into the ear of a foreign body; overgrowth of hair inside the auricle; various injuries of the auricle. Otitis media can also be caused by the presence of ear mites (otodectosis).
Types of otitis media and symptoms
Outer ear inflammation is most common. This is otitis externa. Common symptoms of otitis media in cats are redness or discharge, odor from the ears. The animal becomes restless, shakes its head, scratches its ear and reacts very aggressively to touching a sore spot. With purulent otitis media, pus, fluid, or blood may be released.
With middle ear infections, your pet may experience pain when opening its mouth. In this case, he refuses to eat, since he cannot chew food. If your cat has middle ear otitis media, other symptoms such as squint or discharge from the eyes are possible. The animal can tilt its head towards the affected ear.
Otitis media appears with an advanced form of inflammation of the outer and middle ear. The inner ear contains the organs of hearing and balance. This is a severe form of the disease, the treatment of which often ends with surgery.
As soon as you notice the corresponding symptoms in a cat, you should immediately consult a doctor. Before that, it is necessary to rinse the animal's ear with saline so that the doctor can determine the degree of the disease.
How to treat otitis media
For a mild form of external ear inflammation, special drops and ear ointment are usually prescribed. In difficult cases, antiseptic drugs. There are usually several of them: some are designed to combat the cause, others ─ with inflammation. Fluid from the ear is removed with a 3% alcohol solution of salicylic or boric acid.
For the treatment of otitis media in cats, the doctor can prescribe a number of drugs: Dexamezaton, Sofradex, Propolis, Protargol, Trypsin, Tsiprinol. Antibiotics and medicated drops are prescribed to treat otitis media.
In order to drip the drops, it is necessary to remove the hair from the auricle. Then, with a cotton swab, clean the ear canal of wax and secretions. Cotton wool should be moistened in a solution of hydrogen peroxide, boric acid (2%) or in a solution of furacilin. Then blot the remaining moisture with a gauze pad.
If the doctor does not suggest, ask him to take the scraping from the ear for analysis. This is necessary in order to exclude the type of otitis media caused by ticks. Because in this case, the treatment can be completely different.
It is strictly not recommended to treat otitis media on your own! It must be remembered that as a result of untimely and improper treatment of otitis media, a cat may remain deaf for life. And if the inflammation goes to the meninges, then the pet may die.
