Cat with ear wound

[Doc Jones]

Just got this question. Thought we could discuss it here.

Hi Dr. Jones,

Can you give me some help? My 18 year-old cat got beat up the other day by "meany cat" of the neighborhood, and I just discovered that he seems to have a strange thing inside his ear that smells awful and has green around it -- an abscess, perhaps? Could you tell me a good herbal formula for making a poultice for inside his ear. I've looked through all my notes from you, and I see that a lobelia leaf poultice should work on an abscess, and calendula is anti-microbial. He doesn't feel feverish, oddly, but I notice that he was shaking his head a lot and I could tell his ear was bothering him and so I looked inside it -- eek!

Thanks

Kisi


My response was:

I don't know that a poultice is going to stay on very well on a cat ear. You'd probably do better with a wash made from a tea.

I would try making a tea with calendula, garlic and echinacea and cleaning it out with a cotton ball several times a day. Goldenseal or barberry would be good choices as well.

If he will eat a 1/8 of a teaspoon of echinacea several times a day with some canned food that would be good too.

Cats are tough because they are very resistant to eating the herbs.

Patrick

Would it be okay to use a spray bottle to apply the tea in the ears? My cat has bilateral ear infections, with an abrasion behind his right ear from scratching; and he is very resistant to any efforts to clean the ears or put any topical treatments. He is usually quite the cuddle-bug but he seems to grow extra claws and paws when it comes to anything like this, and I have nobody to help me.

I would: 1) determine if cat's food has any grain in it, particularly corn. A lot of dogs are sensitive to corn; why wouldn't a cat-the obligatory carnivore?

2) Have the cat seen by a veterinarian, to be sure the problem does not require surgery or a prescription.

3). I would definitely spritzer the cat's ear with an infusion ( fancy word for tea) of either calendula or golden seal several times a day.

4) if the cat will allow it, dab the ear with hydrogen peroxide several times a day.

[IdahoHerbalist]

Fundog wrote:

I would: 3). I would definitely spritzer the cat's ear with an infusion ( fancy word for tea) of either calendula or golden seal several times a day.

I would avoid using goldenseal unless you already have it on hand. I would use barberry or Oregon Grape instead since goldenseal is in critical condition in the wild.

If possible, I would also try to get the herbs into the the cat. Yeah, I know what Doc says about that!