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My cat occasionally shakes her head, sort of like a tremor. She has been to the vet and gotten full bloodwork (thankfully everything is okay) and her ears were cleaned. There was a lot of wax in one of them and once it was cleaned out the head shaking stopped for a few weeks until today. I attempted to clean her ears myself using a moistened q tip. I don't believe I went too deep as I was trying to be careful but now she is twitching her ears around. Is this a bad thing? And also what else could be causing the head tremor if her ears seemed to be reasonably clean. Again she had full bloodwork and everything came back normal.
Optional Information: Pet's Gender: Female Pet's Age: >12 Name of Cat: Asterix Already Tried: Cleaning ears with q tip
Hi, I am an experienced veterinarian and happy to help.
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hello thank you for answering so quickly. Do I need to use a special type of ear cleaning solution? She is not a big fan of the vet (who also takes great joy in overcharging). I had a cat pass away last summer and it has upset me so greatly that I'm afraid I've become paranoid about every little thing and I take great care of this wonderful cat. I looked in her ears with a flashlight and I see that the canal deep inside is crusted. I obviously didn't care going in that deep myself but is there a solution that I can buy without going to the vet? Although I know my cat won't like it she's very smart and once she realizes I'm just trying to help she's unbelievably patient so I think I would be able to do it myself. Just insert a little bit into the ear and then give it a rub around at the base (stand back in anticipation of the inevitable head shake) and then remove the debris gently from the ear using some cotton wool. Is that right? I can tell her ears are bothering her because she keeps scratching them :(
Any ear cleaner that is formulated for cats should assist with wax. My favorite is the Paw ear cleaner. It is nice and mild. You should be able to get this from your local pet shop.I would be just putting the nozzle into the ear a little bit and then squeezing it in. After that then massage underneath the ear canal to hear squelching and then your cat will shake and clear out the muck.Please stop using the q tips - they do more damage than good in owners hands - lol
Okay I will lay off with the q tips haha , how much of the stuff do I squeeze in?
No set amount. Just put a squeeze in and when you massage underneath it should make a 'squelching' noise and you should see that the ear canal is moist/wet.Please don't go online and use olive oil or any other odd remedy that is often recommended too!! Just a cleaner like Paw. If it doesn't improve in 3-5 days then you will need to get to your vet again.
Experience: Veterinarian with further qualifications in Animal Behavior. Knowledgable on cat behavior and health.