Hi everyone! So I took my newly-adopted cat (7 months ish old) to the vet yesterday. They found that he has an ear infection for which I need to apply ear drops on both of his ears. I'm having a really hard time doing this because the second he feels something in his ear, he starts shaking his head... a LOT. By the time I'm done, he keeps shaking his head over and over again. He keeps trying to scratch the inside of his ears too. Both times I've tried applying drops (which all went inside his ears), he ended up with the outside of his ears being super wet as well as both sides of his head (I'm guessing from all the shaking). What should I do? I'm afraid the medicine isn't actually staying in since he's just shaking it all off.
I can try going in deeper with the dropper but it's going to be more difficult since he won't let me as he'll just start shaking his head right away. The whole experience is also very traumatizing for both of us (he has to get burrito-ed which he hates) and he ends up super scared after, so I'd like to minimize that if possible.
Hi!
Wow, poor you!
Firstly, it's completely normal for your cat to be shaking his head when you apply ear drops - it tickles! And, with an irritated ear, it tickles more! The good news is that, as the medication starts to work, it should improve. You need to put the top of the bottle in far enough that you can't see the tip of the nozzle - so hopefully you're doing that.
Here are some tips:
- Try to hold his head still for a few seconds after applying the drops, to let them get deeper
- Get a second pair of hands to help!
- Give him a cone of shame, so he can't scratch his ears
However, if this is that traumatic, call your vet. They may be able to provide another option, or something to help with the irritation. A steroid shot, for instance, may give your cat enough relief to let you have a go for a few days. I always say "if we don't know it's not working, we can't help" - and we'd much rather you reached out early than struggled along and came in a week later to find it's no better and you and the cat are at the end of your respective tethers!
Good luck 🙂
@julianhtc hey there Dr. Wooten here - I agree with every Dr. Woodnutt said, and I have a couple of additional thoughts of my own:
1. The medication could be painful if the infection is very severe, which could be why your cat is scratching and shaking. Talk to your vet about your struggles - they may want to prescribe something different to reduce inflammation and pain.
2. The cone of shame is indeed no fun, however, if your cat is further traumatizing the ears by scratching then it is important to prevent your cat from scratching and making it worse.
3. Another option for restraining your cat to be able to instill the ear drops is to make a purr-ito. Here is a good videothat can tell you how to do it.
4. You don't have to try and get the drops all the way down into the ear - just instill 2-3 drops at the opening of the ear so that it can run down inside. It helps to gently massage the base of the ears to spread the medication around if your cat will tolerate that.
You are right that you don't want your cat to get scared of you, so if you are really struggling don't hesitate to call your vet - they can definitely help you.