Chris has been having ear problems again. His right ear is okay but his left ear smells bad and he has been shaking his head occasionally. I had some left over ear medicine that I used for about a week but the problem persisted so I scheduled a vet visit.
You may remember he had this problem a couple of years ago. Our vet recommended surgery for about $400 to remove the ear polyps that have been a problem his whole life, but when we scheduled a time to have it done he changed his mind and said the pollyps went too deep and referred me to a specialist.
We went to the specialist a couple of times, spent about $1,000, and in return we got some medicine and a recommendation to remove Chris’s ear canal and make him deaf. I told my vet how unhappy I was with the specialist and since then we have been just controlling the problem with ear medication.
Since I started working full-time, I have been going in a half hour early everyday so I could leave at 2:00 on Fridays. So I made an appointment for 3:00 on Friday. I forgot I had a chiropractor appointment Friday morning and I was late so I had to work until 2:30, which was still fine except I got last minute things that had to be done so I left at 2:45.
I raced home and got the small crate out of the shed. Chris has gotten too big to fit in the smallish carriers that we have. So I put him in the crate and we left for the vet.
We got to the vet four minutes late which was pretty incredible, especially since I really didn’t break any speeding laws to get there.
We waited in the lobby for a short time and then we were led into an exam room. It was the first time I was allowed back there since before Covid.
I opened the crate so Chris could get out and explore while we waited but he was in no hurry to leave the crate. Young Chris would have been investigating ever nook and cranny of the room but old Chris doesn’t want to have anything to do with the vet’s office.
I eventually coaxed him out.
Instead of exploring he got on my lap.
That lasted about three minutes before he got down and went back into his crate.
When the vet came in with the vet tech we debated how we were going to get Chris out. I decided to grab the pad and pull Chris out with it. That worked well and I put Chris on the table where the tech held him down while the vet tried to look in his ears.
I sat down and watched Chris give them both a hard time. He struggled quite a bit while meowing very loudly. I soon felt the need to help so I got up and let him smell my hand so he would know I was there. That didn’t work out so well because Chris broke free and tried to climb up on my shoulders. That hurt because his claws needed to be clipped. I put him back on the table and suggested they clip his claws while he was there.
When the vet was done the tech needed to take him in the back to weigh him, clip his nails and I don’t know what else. But before that we had some time to wait.
When it was time, I offered to help bring him back there and I put a towel over my shoulders and hoisted Chris up. I then put him down on the table in the next room where two techs clipped his nails and weighed him. I went back to the first room before they were done and one of the techs went over what I owed, which was two hundred and something. I thought it was reasonable because it included a new ear medication as well as three doses of flea medication.
When we got home my wife suggested we leave the crate in the house so I put it in the cats’ room. You would think that Chris would not want to have anything to do with it after his ordeal but he almost immediately went back inside the crate.
Since then he has been napping in the crate. I guess he is smart enough to not blame the crate for his vet visit.
Bad Cat Chris 
What is it with specialists? When my older cat Teemu’s seizures were happening more frequently even though he was on medication, our vet suggested a neuro specialist because she was not in favor of doing an MRI on him. First thing the specialist said was she wanted to do an MRI ‘so see what’s going on in his little brain.’ That sounded like her own personal science experiment, so we left and never went back. What did the doc say about Chris’ ear?
The polyps are causing poor ear flow and thus easy infections. He didn’t really say anything except to clean his ear and put in antibiotic drops.
Hope that Chris gets some relief from the new ear meds. Purrs to him. Glad the vet staff seemed so understanding.
Thank you.
We hope the new meds do the trick.
Thanks so much.
Crates are nice. I have a portable crate, and whenever Mom puts it up for me, I rush right in there. Chris is a perfect fit in that little crate. He is a smart boy.
Love and licks,
Cupcake
I guess it is like a box and cats love boxes.
Poor Chris. I hope his new meds take care of it.
I hope so too. Thanks.
I have been blessed that my two cats have not had any health problems. Years ago one cat was constipated and needed cleaning out which cost just $100.00. I looked into pet insurance as vets are charging top dollar these days and even that was more than I could afford. Sounds like Chris is a brave fellow and we wish you all the best. =^..^=
You are lucky. Some people spend thousands of dollars on their pets.
I agree and I know I’m blessed.
Dang, we hope the ear meds work too, it doesn’t sound like Chris had a fun time at the Vet place.
Thanks. I think vets are to cats what dentists are to people. No fun at all.
kitten, yoo r berry berry hansum
🙂
Poor Chris. We all know how traumatic those vet visits can be. Even our round-ups at home are traumatic. We are sending prayers and POTP to Chris that his new meds work for him and his ear improves. XOCK, angel Lily Olivia, angel Mauricio, Misty May, angel Giulietta, angel Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth, Calista Jo, Cooper Murphy, Sawyer & Kizmet
Thanks so much.
You could contact Shelly Roche from Tinykittens – she had one of her rescue cases with an ear polyp and went to a specialist near Vancouver (sorry, Shelly lives in Canada, but she might still answer your mails). Mitch can hear still! They removed the polyp and found out he had a serious infection lower down in his ear canal. Once that was removed, Mitch was much better. His head is slightly stilted, now, but not in a bad way. You can see him on Mircalous Mirok – facebook – where he lives now with three other cats and slowly gets used to having a home (he was from a feral colony). Mirok was another patient with ear problems, but not a polyp, an infection, a burst ear drum. So was North from Harvey, Nyx and North. All have recovered well.
I will check them out. Thanks.
Chris probably thinks of that crate as a box! Ted has polyps too but our vet says he doesn’t think they need to be addressed. He has had a lot of yeast infections and the medications take care of that for a while at least. The presence of polyps and the frequency of infections are definitely related. Hope Chris’ new meds work for him!!!
Hugs, Pam
I guess those are pretty common. I wonder why.
Sounds like Chris knows too much about the vet to relax there. Hope the medication works. (Chris is a beautiful kitty)
Thanks.
I’m hoping the meds work too!! Chris HAS filled out quite a bit!! (kinda like ME and this is the Mom talking lol)
I know the feeling. 🙂
I hope the new meds work for Chris. My cats will occasionaly spend time inside their carrier. It’s hideaway of sorts. It’s the last place you’d expect them to take a nap.
Thank you. Maybe it feels safe in there.
Oh, goodness. Poor baby. So far, my Ollie doesn’t have ear problems.
I’m glad Ollie is okay.
I hope the new ear meds work out for Chris!
Thank you. I hope so too.
Aww, his little face looking out of the crate! Poor Chris. How is he now?
He still has stinky ear but I am sure it will take time.