Treatment using natural remedies for chronic ear condition
Posted By Winterhawke (Spokane, Washington) on 02/25/2011
Greetings to All
I need your help and so ask the members, readers, of this valuable website, to contibute their expertise in order to help me to provide comfort for my aging feline friend during her last days (months, or years, I hope). Please read further and help me to accomplish that.
The problem:A chronic ear condition that seems untreatable by various medications prescribe by 3 veterinarians, my treatment using a few natural remedies (such as vinegar solutions) The condition has been in existence almost 2 years. She is in great discomfort and I must help her but am clueless as to where to turn to next.
Details and her med. History:
She is a 15 year old calico female in her autumn years, inside only, diet of superior grade cat food, and nothing that is not cat safe to ingest. She has a normal appetite no other signs or symptoms and seems content except for the constant discomfort caused by her ear condition. Her vaccinations up to date and she has always been cared for excellently. She is also my certified therapeutic animal by the state of Washington whose role is to improve my mental well-being and she does that immeasurably and more.
Her left ear (only)has had a chronic ear "infection", or condition for nearly two years.
What she has been treated with etc:
I am very low income, but since she has been my beloved companion for 15 years, I have scraped up the funds to see 3 different vets in 2 years. Each vet prescribed a different ear medication. None have addressed her malady at all. In fact, the last vet prescribed a very effective (in most cases)broad spectrum medication, Gentamicin. It had no effect. This is worrisome as Gent is effective against all of the ear pathogens that I have ever heard of. By the way, I was a vet tech for years, and so have greater knowledge of cats and ear conditions. I have never seen anything like this in a cat.
The last vet, a knowledgeable man, told me that some cats can will develop chronic ear and untreatable ear conditions. Thus, there is no cure known.
There is a very expensive lab test called a culture and sensitivity test that finds the identity of the organism and also what drugs kill it. However, that vet told me that I could go to the expense of that test and still come up with an unknown organism or one having no drug effective against it.
I must find something that works because hers is causing her great discomfort as she flicks her ear constantly, shakes her head, and does all of those behaviors that we cat owners know mean that our cat is in distress/pain such as hiding, etc. So, her ear condition is detracting from her, previous, positive quality of life as well as mine.
Details about the condition:
There is constant fluid coming out of her ear that is very wet and is dark brown in color. There is no odor. The exudate does not resemble ear mite debris that I quite familiar with seeing it so often in my vet tech years. The last vet examine her ear canal with an otoscope and saw no evidence of ear mites. The condition has remained only in her left year, has not spread to her right and has not spread to my two other cats who come in close contact with her.
What I have tried:
2 prescription medication for 2 other vets.
Gentamicin, a broad spectrum antibiotic/anti everything including yeasts, etc. prescribed by the 3rd vet.
A white vinegar solution AND then an apple cider vinegar solution that I instilled into that ear with no change in its severity.
An OTC solution containing 2 natural enzymes along with .5 % hydrocortisone. This solution comes with reputable recommendations as a when all else fails treatment. I think that that this treatment may have made her condition worse. I say this as I have been told by doctors/vets that hydrocortisone is contraindicated when there is a pathogen involved as hydrocotisone, an anti-inflammatory drug impairs the body's natural inflammatory response which is the same mechanism that kills foreign invaders and so the microbes flourish unchecked.
The final treatment that I have tried:
Praying to the universe that this thing goes away as seeing her in discomfort and being powerless to help her during a time when she so deserves her days to be warm and contented is painful for me to witness. I am at the end of my rope and so ask for assistance from anyone out therewho has an idea to try, etc.
Any info that you can provide me to improve her quality of life would be more appreciated than you will ever know.
Thank you for reading my plea and for including pet information on your wonderful website.
