Regular readers may recall the trouble Chris was having with his ears. His regular vet said the ear polyps in his ears were too extensive and refereed me to another vet. In a nutshell, they charged me almost $1000 and did nothing for him except give him a medication that helped somewhat. I will post a link to those posts below.
Since then I was able to get my regular vet to order that same medication compounded for a much cheaper price. It seemed to help for a while but I know an antibiotic won’t work forever and his ear polyps won’t just go away so the problem will just keep coming back.
I put the medication in his ears for a few weeks and then took a break for a little while and then continued with the medication. I needed to order more medication but since Chris is still shaking his head from time to time I decided it would be wise to have the vet check his ears again.
He had a 2:00 appointment today but I was not allowed to bring him inside. When I got there I had to call and someone would come out to get him. I arrived a little before 2:00 but nobody answered the phone. I assumed they were at lunch and sure enough someone pulled into the parking lot a few minutes later and went inside. A few minutes after that she came out, asked me a few questions, and then brought Chris inside while I waited in the car.
Some time passed and I got a call from the vet who said that his right ear was okay but his left ear had problems. She asked for permission to take a sample to determine what pathogen was invading his ear.
Of course I gave her permission and she called later to say that in addition to the bacterial infection that was already determined from the last vet, he picked up a fungus as well. She said that sometimes happens when an antibiotic is used. I learned years ago that the same thing happens when a woman gets a bladder infection.
While Chris was there I asked her to microchip him. None of our cats have been micro-chipped and I have felt uneasy about it for a long time but every time one of the cats is at the vet I either forget to mention it or I don’t want to add to their trauma.
When we got home I let Chris out of his carrier outside as a reward for handling himself well. In other words, he was good for me but perhaps not so good for the vet.
When I brought Chris inside Rose suggested I bring Floki to get his nails clipped and get him micro-chipped as well. I called the vet and asked if I could bring him with little notice because he is nearly impossible to catch so making an appointment would be hard to keep. She said that should be okay and they could just slip him in between appointments.
It was a long shot but I brought his carrier inside and set it on the kitchen chair. Floki did not see me bring in the carrier but his psychic abilities alerted him to danger and under the bed he went.
Frankie, on the other hand, was not alerted to danger and climbed inside the carrier.
Rose then suggested that I bring Frankie to be micro chipped because he needs it the most. I agreed and zipped the top shut. I then brought him to the car and called the vet. I told her I couldn’t get Flokie but I had Frankie. She put me on hold for a long time. I decided to start driving and was half way to the vet when she said that I would have to leave him there because it might take an hour or more before they could get to him. I said I didn’t want to leave him in that little carrier for that long and turned the car around and brought him home. Perhaps I will just make an appointment for Frankie since I know I can catch him.
If you want to read about Chris’s ear problems, check out the posts below.
Ear Polyps, Arthritis and 19 pounds
Bad Cat Chris 
We sure hope those ears are better soon, poor Chris and poor wallet.
You said it. 🙂
Hope his ears are better soon! We can’t catch Jiminy at all and he really needs to have his ears checked. He’s kind of feral so gets really wild when we try to catch or corner him. Guess I’ll try what you did. If we can’t catch Jinimy, Chewie is going. Chewie is overdue for a check up.
Good luck. May the farce be with you.
I hope Chris feels better soon.
Thanks.
We hope Chris’s ears get better.
Thank you.
Purrayers that Chris’s ears get better/ We have a couple cats we can’t always catch at an appointed time either. Our vet’s are letting one person come in with the cats now but they are still short-staffed and trying to catch up on appointments they couldn’t have earlier.
It actually wasn’t too bad waiting in the car but I do like to be there to help keep Chris from feeling abandoned.
Poor Chris. I had to use compounded medication for one of my cats and it was pretty expensive, so I’m happy to hear yours was cheaper. Cats and their psychic powers…..amazing. How do they know what we’re going to do??? I hope Chris gets some relief from the meds.
I am convinced Floki can read minds.
We kitties sure can be complicated when it comes to vet visits! I hope Chris has a treatment for his ears that’ll help lots.
I hope so too. Thanks.
Many hopes that Chris’s ears will soon get better.
Thanks so much.
I didn’t know cats could get polyps in the ears. 😱 How did you know he had them? What were the symptoms?
He has had ear problems since he was very young. The polyps reduce the air flow in the ears that can create pockets of bacterial overgroth. As they age the polyps get worse and so does the bacteria. The symptoms are shaking of the head and dirty and smelly ears.
One of my cats also kept shaking his head and had ear wax that kinda smelled. The vet diagnosed it as ear mites, and he got treated. But he still shakes his head sometimes and he still has ear wax, although it doesn’t stink anymore. 🙂
If it doesn’t stink, that’s good, but I would monitor it. If he starts shaking too often or if it starts to smell bad I would have it looked at again.
hugs to you and all the best for your ears…. we are with you it was a good idea to turn around…
Thanks. I do need to get Frankie in for a microchip, though.
Wishing Chris all the best! Mr. Bowie had also a lot of problems with his ears. It’s no fun for a cat and his human…
No, it is not. Thank you.
Poor Chris, I hope he will get rid of those ear problems. You wrote he is shaking his head and I remembered the two cats before Kosmo started to shake their heads and I was sure they have ear problems, but no, they had tooth problems.
He has had tooth problems too but the vet checked his mouth and that is okay.
I hope the problems will be solved for him.
Thanks, Dennis.
Poor Chris and Poor You! Trying to catch cats is like trying to swat a fly – sometimes you’re lucky but most often they elude capture. I just hope Chris’s ear issues can be resolved……I realize the polyps are one thing but the bacterial infection and fungus are another and hopefully whatever medication he’s getting will help. I’m sure they feel like we do about going to the doctor !!!
Hugs, Pam
Thanks. I hate to see Chris suffering and I too hope this works.
My pets are also good about knowing when to hide! Our thoughts of the veterinarian must be really loud – or they are very attuned.
I have tried to act normally but somehow Floki always knows.
Yes, I can only conclude they are psychically tuned into my veterinary thoughts.
🙂
dood….sorree bout de ear trubulls; they sure due seem ta pop up huh. we hope thiz time de izzue iz resolved….we noe dad hopez sew two….& chipz R knot sew bad; we got em N due knot even noe it !!! best fishez :)♥♥
Thanks. 🙂
Poor Chris! Did the anti-fungal help him?
It took a while to compound it and I just picked it up this morning.
Hello again, I’ve been reading more of your post and I apologize if I sounded a little flip. I can see your precious cat is having more problems then just ear mites. Our pets are like our children. I send my best wishes to you, your family, and your pets. =^..^=
Thanks so much and I saw nothing wrong with your first comment.