Kitty issue

[Littleum]

One of our cats is 13 years old and has a history of ear infections (unusual for kitties, I know)

I noticed last week she was picking at the worse of the 2 ears, cocking her head, shaking her head. THOUGHT I saw her take a few bad steps- kind of wobbly stumbly (she really shakes her head, I know I don't walk straight after doing that!), but couldn't be sure. Her ears tend to flare up this time of year- as does her dander, shedding, lots of grooming herself and sniffles (allergies) Took her to vet next day. Ears are fine, nothing out of the ordinary. Gave her an allergy shot to try to help.

Night before last she was really picking at the ear, shaking her head, holding the ear flat. Didn't notice any bad steps. But was realllly picking at that ear. Decide to keep an eye on it. She is otherwise her normal high-energy-you'd-never-think-I-was-a-day-over-2 self.

This afternoon the other cat and her had a bit of a tussle (they hate each other) About 5 minutes later I'm in my office and hear her mew- it sounded kind of odd, so I go check on her. She's in the living room spinning counterclockwise and her hind end is wobbly, and she mews a few times. It looked to me like MAYBE she was trying to pick at that ear while talking to me ("DINNER!") but... it also looked funky.

Pick her up to quiet her, call vet's office to say I'm on my way. Put her down and she scampers off, totally normal, heads towards the foodbowl (it's dinner time) Jumps up and down on some chairs. In other words: TOTALLY normal.

Take her to vet anyway. They go over her carefully. Nothing obvious- pupils normal, knows where her legs are, can right herself when her tail gets pulled ect. Shakes her head a few times. Ears are still clear. Advises me to take her home and watch her- suggests a few potential causes, but all just speculation since she is otherwise in good shape with no symptoms. At this point: wait and see. #1 suspect is a minor infection deep in her ear. Maybe.

Any suggestions? I'm trying to decide if I want to put her through the stress of going to see our other vet (30 minutes away), but she does NOT act like a cat who is the least bit in distress and I can appreciate that the vets don't have much to go on when bloodwork is normal, vitals are normal and the cat is basically healthy. I'm not even sure if what I saw in the living room is what I saw- maybe it was just her trying to pick at that ear while "dancing" for her supper (which she does, and it was time for food). She's always been one of those cats that doesn't STOP to scratch or groom, tries to do it on the go and usually fails.

ETA: she is also sniffly, and has a history of sinus problems (backing up into her ears) Maybe it's sinus pressure?

 

[uwharrie]

Our soon to be 14 yr old cat went through a simular problem a couple of years ago. the vet finally diagnosed it as a middle ear infection. It took over 6 months of antibiotics and steroids ( pred) to finally get it cleared up. Seems the middle ear is a hard place for antibiotics to "get" to. Our last resort would have been surgery to access the area but thank goodness the meds finally worked.

 

[mininik]

What do you feed her? What sorts of cleaning, air freshener, and other sorts of products do you use around your home?

 

[Matt73]

I'm assuming the vet checked/ruled out mites?

 

[Littleum]

What do you feed her? What sorts of cleaning, air freshener, and other sorts of products do you use around your home?

Feeding her is an adventure- horribly picky eater (always has been) Normally she gets Authority kibble (it is much smaller, this is a 6lb cat) with Authority/Science Diet rat in a can. Right now she's eating Friskies pate (ghetto but she loves it). We've long suspected her itchies were due to food allergies and I've tried several times to wean her onto something home cooked, and she just won't have it. The whole "they'll eat when they're hungry enough" doesn't apply to this cat. She won't even eat if she's hungry if she doesn't want the flavor! "Tough love" normally results in her going on a hunger strike. We've found rotating her brands seems to help the itchy and keeping her eating. I've NEVER met a critter who is so obnoxious about eating.

Her teeth are fine- were just cleaned actually.

No air freshner or candles of any kind. Cleaning is the usual 409 and Mr Clean, "green" Windex, "sensative" skin laundry detergent. We're very careful to keep the cats away during cleaning. Low dust kitty litter.

 

[Maxi'sMinis]

I have a kitty that had an inner ear infection also that lasted for almost a year. Antibiotics and steriods finally cleared it up. No mites and just a little discharge sometimes pus like, sometimes dark discharge. Took routine cleaning with antifungle and drying spray. Had to do the cleaning on schedule and stick with the antibiotics to clear it up. It would come right back even worse if any were missed more than a couple days. Lots of head shaking and sneezing. It finally cleared up and all symptoms cleared including the sinus. I think it all started with a rhino virus even though she was vaccinated.

 

[mininik]

I have to wonder, with all of these animals I hear about who "won't eat anything else," what happens if they run away? Chances are that whoever might find them isn't going to pick the "right" food or flavor for them, so what if they never get back to you? What if those companies stop producing that certain food? These animals are either going to have to starve to death, or eat something else. If they're in decent health, I bet I know what they'll do.

It sounds like you already have an idea that food allergies may be a source of your cat's problems. If this were my cat, since I'm not at all into turning to pharmaceuticals except as a last resort, I would keep trying to switch her over to a rotation of high quality (mostly) canned cat food with unusual protein and carbohydrate sources (ex. rabbit). I've turned many picky eaters into animals who will eat darn near anything I put in front of them by putting food down for 15 minutes morning and night, and that's it.