Expert: Dr. Louis N. Gotthelf - 11/12/2007

Question
What would you recommend doing for a ferral cat with an ear infection.  She’s very skittish, hardly lets anyone around her, and would only give us one chance to treat her.  If she doesn’t like it, it  could be a month before we can get near her again.  To compound the problem, when she gets scared, she’s all claws, and it would be nearly impossible to take her anywhere.   The ear is swollen and smelly, and the cat seems to get dizzy when she walks, so we need to do something.

Thanks in advance.


Answer
The best thing you can do for this cat is to get a tranquilizer pill from a vet and put it in the food to sedate her.  Then put her in a cage and get her to the vet.  It may take some constant sedation or anesthesia, but the cat's ear needs to be properly treated with a deep flush and a determination of what is causing the ear problem.