Yeasty Cat Ears

[Clarice]

Does anyone have any suggestions for a remedy for yeast in cat ears? One of my boys has this, as diagnosed by his vet, but the prescription she prescribed did not do a thing. (ZYMOX Otic solution)

I have been searching natural remedies, and I have seen suggestions for the following:

flush ears with:

• weak boric acid solution
• weak apple cider vinegar solution

drop tea tree oil in ear

I must admit I did not appreciate the danger of cue tips and I may have managed to push some of the gunk down into his ears as i was cleaning (I have STOPPED doing this) but I may have exacerbated the problem - or at least spooked my baby out.

I make my own raw food, and I follow a recipe from a vet's blog. He and his brother ADORE brewer's yeast (like they will open cupboards and throw stuff out looking for it) but at the vet's advice I do not add that to their food any more - but it has not made one whit of difference - so I would really like to add back!

Any thoughts would be great! Thanks in advance

Hope this is OK as a "general chat"? If I am out of bounds, admins please feel free to delete and
send me to the corner!

Thank you all, Clarice

 

[dixiedragon]

DO NOT USE ESSENTIAL OILS ON YOUR CAT. They are very sensitive.

What does your vet think of your food? I have heard that it's much harder to make cat food than dog food, but I'm no expert on this.

Maybe something like this?

https://pets.thenest.com/home-remedies-ear-cleaning-cats-4544.html

I am also wondering if feeding some whole milk yogurt might help?

 

[Obsidian]

I can't help with ideas for the ears besides a oral anti fungal from the vet and a professional cleaning.

I do know however, that feeding yeast or yeasty foods do not cause yeast issues on the skin. This is discussed at length in a FB group I'm in that is ran by vets.
I'm really surprised the vet had you stop the brewers yeast.

 

[Clarice]

Hmmmmmmm I may need to switch vets

I questioned her about this and said - how could eating yeast contribute to yeast in ears? If anything I would think it would help balance his system.

I am not on FB so I can't access that. Now that I look at the RX the vet gave me - from my limited understanding of formulations it looks like this is just a steroid to perhaps help with inflammation and itching - there is no anti fungal component!

I think i need a new vet!

What does your vet think of your food? I have heard that it's much harder to make cat food than dog food, but I'm no expert on this.

My cats just up-voted your suggestion for yogurt and say thank you!

You are right - you have to be VERY careful making cat food. It is critical to balance vitamins and maintain taurine levels. The recipe I use was developed by a vet that has researched and made raw food for years. I follow it meticulously (especially the taurine part - critical for eyesight).

On a side note - AMAZING side benefits of raw food

• tiny poos that do not stink - there is so very little in the food that feline bodies cannot utilize, that their poo almost looks like elongated rabbit poo. And my guys are Bengals - which are known for stinky poo!!!!
• massive pees THAT DO NOT STINK

I kid you not!

And their coats are to die for!

 

[Obsidian]

I agree with finding a new vet. You should have gotten a anti fungal not a steroid.

Wonder if you could call your vet and get a different med without having to be seen again? Just tell them the steroid isn't helping and you want anti fungal drops.

 

[Clarice]

@Obsidian I am going to try that. if she says no, cutting ties!

I should also take the responsibility to say that I did NOT adequately read the box with the drops before I left the office and say - hey - how is this gonna get rid of the infection?????

Need to be a more engaged Mom!

 

[Terri E]

My cats just up-voted your suggestion for yogurt and say thank you!

You are right - you have to be VERY careful making cat food. It is critical to balance vitamins and maintain taurine levels. The recipe I use was developed by a vet that has researched and made raw food for years. I follow it meticulously (especially the taurine part - critical for eyesight).

On a side note - AMAZING side benefits of raw food

• tiny poos that do not stink - there is so very little in the food that feline bodies cannot utilize, that their poo almost looks like elongated rabbit poo. And my guys are Bengals - which are known for stinky poo!!!!
• massive pees THAT DO NOT STINK

I kid you not!

And their coats are to die for!

Definitely probiotics. Kefir would be good as it has many more strains of healthy bacteria which fight fungus. In dentistry we use Chlorhexidine (Peridex) for oral infections. It is used as a 2% solution and is also used for dogs teeth. Can be used on the skin by saturating a cotton ball or piece of cloth. It is very effective against microorganisms including fungus and bacteria. I saw it at a pet supply store but it could probably be bought online.

 

[Clarice]

@Terri E

I just found this on line - maybe this would be a help

http://clinell.com/product/chlorhexidine-wash-cloths/#overview

will continue search

THANK YOU!

 

[Terri E]

@Terri E

I just found this on line - maybe this would be a help

http://clinell.com/product/chlorhexidine-wash-cloths/#overview

will continue search

THANK YOU!

You are welcome! You could also try, after cleaning the ears with Chlorhexidine, wiping inside the ears with a VERY light coating of Monistat or lamisil cream.

 

[MGM]

We are blessed to live very close to one of only 3 vet schools in the English-speaking part of the country (ironically, I grew up only a few miles from one of the other ones), which means we have not just a research centre, but *so many vets* to choose from! Shop around until you get one you like!
But also, who KNOWS what'll work....when our lab puppy started eating enormous amounts of poop out on her forest walks, and then had terrible poops herself, I was appalled that the vet suggested putting her on an expensive probiotic...surely we should break the coprophagia habit first?? They said that maybe she eats feces because her tummy's upset and she needs those micronutrients/biotics (super gross to us, but common across the animal kingdom). I'm still balking at throwing expensive probiotics into her while she scarfs down poop, but at least it's a good example of "correlation does not imply causation" to use with the professors I work with. THAT'll stick in their minds!

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

I have been cleaning my dogs ears every week--this keeps the yeast at bay. she has had infections and a friend said she uses 1/2 distilled water and half white vinegar. I think the trick is to do it every week and stay on top of it

 

[Steve85569]

I have been cleaning my dogs ears every week--this keeps the yeast at bay. she has had infections and a friend said she uses 1/2 distilled water and half white vinegar. I think the trick is to do it every week and stay on top of it

Balances the ph down and prevents yeast growth.

 

[SaltedFig]

Definitely probiotics. Kefir would be good as it has many more strains of healthy bacteria which fight fungus. In dentistry we use Chlorhexidine (Peridex) for oral infections. It is used as a 2% solution and is also used for dogs teeth. Can be used on the skin by saturating a cotton ball or piece of cloth. It is very effective against microorganisms including fungus and bacteria. I saw it at a pet supply store but it could probably be bought online.

Sorry to be contradictory, but Chlorhexidine is ototoxic and is known to cause deafness (particularly if applied to a perforated eardrum) - it damages the nerves.
https://www.practiceupdate.com/content/chlorhexidine-is-contraindicated-as-a-facial-antiseptic/44253
(I did find animal studies, but I do not wish to link them - if you want to find them, search for "Chlorhexidine ototoxicity cats").

Hmmmmmmm I may need to switch vets

I questioned her about this and said - how could eating yeast contribute to yeast in ears? If anything I would think it would help balance his system.

I am not on FB so I can't access that. Now that I look at the RX the vet gave me - from my limited understanding of formulations it looks like this is just a steroid to perhaps help with inflammation and itching - there is no anti fungal component!

I think i need a new vet!



My cats just up-voted your suggestion for yogurt and say thank you!

You are right - you have to be VERY careful making cat food. It is critical to balance vitamins and maintain taurine levels. The recipe I use was developed by a vet that has researched and made raw food for years. I follow it meticulously (especially the taurine part - critical for eyesight).

On a side note - AMAZING side benefits of raw food

• tiny poos that do not stink - there is so very little in the food that feline bodies cannot utilize, that their poo almost looks like elongated rabbit poo. And my guys are Bengals - which are known for stinky poo!!!!
• massive pees THAT DO NOT STINK

I kid you not!

And their coats are to die for!

I found this article you might like (when looking for supporting documentation on using a saturated salt solution to clean the ears)

From: http://veterinarycalendar.dvm360.com/feline-otitis-proceedings

One of the most important, yet least discussed factors, is the allergic or irritant reaction that occurs after application of topical medications. Anti-inflammatory corticosteroids may be the cause of the reaction. This is counter intuitive considering that these should reduce the amount of inflammation, not be the cause of the problem.

 

[Clarice]

@SaltedFig thank you for this information. Based on my observation - my boy did indeed get worse after the steroid - more scratching, more head shaking. I will see if I can gently irrigate with a warm saline solution and see how that goes. I am sad that what the vet gave (and I did not read carefully enough) may have exacerbated this. I am also feeling a bit guilty about my use of QTips. I hope I did not damage his eardrum.

Thank you!

 

[dixiedragon]

I'm no Dr or vet, but a steroid would be to treat an allergic reaction, not a fungal infection. Because a steroid depresses the immune system. Right?

 

[Clarice]

I'm no Dr or vet, but a steroid would be to treat an allergic reaction, not a fungal infection. Because a steroid depresses the immune system. Right?

You are 100000% right! I talked with a friend who does vaccine research and has degrees after her name like alphabet soup and she said the same thing:

Steroids are meant to decrease inflammation and do so by suppressing the body's response - without accompanying antibiotics or antifungals - a steroid would actually give the infection the opportunity to grow.

Color me VEXED!