Vet says a number of irritants could cause cat’s ear wax
Buddy is introducing a new feature called “Ask The Vet.” Our guest vet, Dr. Scott Petereit, graduated from the University of Illinois, College of Veterinary Medicine in 1991, and has more than two years of clinical small animal medical experience.
He practices at Camp McDonald Animal Hospital in Mount Prospect and Wolf Merrick Animal Hospital in Kenosha, Wis. His interests include soft tissue surgery and internal medicine, and employing diagnostic tools such as ultrasound and endoscopy.
Petereit is a member of the American Animal Hospital Association, the American Veterinary Medical Association and the Illinois State Veterinary Medical Association. He volunteers his time providing veterinary care to homeless pets at The Buddy Foundation.
Q: My cat Pandora has excessive ear wax. I have tried prescription medication for ear mites, then a bacterial infection, and now her veterinarian has me trying to find diet ZD food for allergies.
She has been on this food for five weeks and it doesn’t seem to be helping. The ear wax is dark brown and moist. The only time she seems bothered by it is if I wait a day and don’t clean out the ears, then she will start to scratch.
I am at a loss as to what to try next. Please help.
Dr. Scott: Your frustration with Pandora’s ongoing ear issues are understandable. Ear infections have multiple potential underlying causes and identifying and treating or managing these issues can be challenging and take time.
The examination already performed by your veterinarian served to identify if there were any polyps, cysts or tumors causing Pandora’s issues. The excessive waxy debris in Pandora’s ears could be caused by ear mites, yeast, or bacteria. For this reason, your veterinarian started therapy by treating for these organisms.
However, there are additional other factors that can cause the ears to create excessive wax, including food allergies and allergies to environmental allergens such as house dust, mold spores and pollen. Your vet is logically attempting to rule out the possibility of a good allergy being responsible for this problem with the trial of Z/D food (a hypoallergenic diet).
Most veterinarians recommend a food allergy trial for at least 8 to 12 weeks before assessing if the diet is helping the ear issues, so please continue this food trial and communicate the results to your vet.
Sometimes excessive waxy debris continually develops in the ears due to what is referred to as a keratinization disorder. This is a problem whereby the lining of the ear canal produces excessive amounts of dead skin cells, oils, and wax for which there is no cure and can only be managed with continued routine cleanings.
Be patient and continue your Z/D food trial and follow-up with your vet in order to work toward a proper diagnosis and best option for therapy.
Q: I rescued a cat about four weeks ago, who was coming to my back door. When I took him to my vet he was diagnosed with AIDS. What exactly is AIDS, and can my other cat of five years contact it?
Dr. Scott: Cat AIDS is a disease that causes suppression of normal immune function in a cat, similar to AIDS in humans.
Feline AIDS is caused by a virus, namely the Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV). The FIV is transmitted from cat to cat mainly from deep bites and scratches that often result from fighting between cats and less commonly from a mother to her kittens, sexual contact, or infected blood transfusions.
Sharing the same household, food bowls, and litter boxes are not likely to spread this virus between cats. The risk of transmission of FIV to your other cat is low as long as your household cats do not fight.
There is a vaccine available designed to protect against FIV but its use is controversial since many veterinarians question its ability to provide protection against infection. It is important to know that FIV is not transmissible to humans.
Q: My cat continually gets mammary tumors, just had her third one removed. I noticed another small lump which could be another tumor. Where do these tumors come from and why is she getting them?
Dr. Scott: Mammary tumors are the third most common form of cancer in cats. Up to 90 percent of mammary tumors in cats are malignant, and it is not uncommon for this tumor to spread to adjacent mammary glands, lymph nodes and other distant sites in the body like the lungs.
The new tumor you found in your cat may be a new separate tumor site, but it is very possible this other tumor developed by spreading from the original tumor previously removed.
There is not a known specific cause for feline mammary tumors, but we do know that spaying a female at a young age (less than 12 months) significantly reduces the risk of mammary cancer.
Ÿ Email your questions to “Ask The Vet” at Buddyfoundation@att.net.
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