Ask questions and share about your pet's health to help others.
Hi Dr. Mag, I noticed one of our dogs shaking and scratching at their ear tonight. I looked in the ear and it is red and has dark brown ear wax on the outer ear and smells a little musty and sour. The other ear is normal, no smell and no redness. I removed the wax with cotton but do not have ear cleaner. Would I be able to purchase some cleaner from the vet? Or could you recommend one for purchase? This is for Zoey. Thank you!
My dog has blood like discharge coming from his ear when he shakes his head which he is doing continual. It is also all swollen. Apart from phoning the vet in the morning is there anything I can do in meantime?
Unfortunately there is not much you can do except try to keep him from hitting it on anything. It sounds like he might have what is called an ear hematoma which is when dogs get a collection of blood in the outer portion of the ear. Usually if this is hit on something before the vet can drain it blood and bloody serum can be thrown around while the dog is shaking it’s head. It really isn’t dangerous to the dog’s health but it can make a horrible mess. Good luck, wish there was more I could do!
My dog has a dark green discharge in both of his ears.
your dog needs a vet. he’ll need an antibiotic and probably prescription ear drops. while there, talk with your vet about preventative measures you can take to avoid this in the future.
Me and my husband rescued Grizz from the local SPCA on Friday, November 27, 2015. The next day, he began to have diarrhea which cleared up by early Sunday morning. As Sunday progressed he became extremely lethargic and would not eat. We took him to the local vet, a VCA, on Monday Nov 30 and he was diagnosed with a yeast infection in both ears and GI parasites (roundworms and hookworms). Was given Panacur to deworm and drops for his ears. The following day, Tuesday, his lethargy continued and worsened to the point in which he would not move his head. We took him to the hospital at the VCA and found out he had a 104.9 fever. During the time of examination, his face and lymph nodes instantly began to swell and there was purulent discharge from his mouth. He was admitted for IV fluids and antibiotics. After no improvements and an onset of swollen painful joins on Wednesday, the Vets suspected Grizz had juvenile lymphadenitis. On December 3, he started on steroids, dexamethasone, but he only slightly improved. On Friday, Dec 4, we decided to care for Grizz at home and was given Clavamox (1ml/2xday) Enrofloxacin (0.8ml/day), Metronidazole (0.3 ml/2xday), Predisone (10mg/day), and Bupreorphine (0.1 ml as needed 3x a day) to administer to him. By the next day his fever had broken and each day he was becoming stronger where he was able to stand and eventually walk and play. The swelling had just about fully gone down by Tuesday Dec 8. After an initial check up on Monday, Dec 7, we were told to begin to taper the Predisone by 2.5 mg weekly beginning Dec 11. He was responding well to the initial taper dose until yesterday, Thursday Dec 17. Upon waking up Thursday morning we noticed he did not want to put pressure on his front left paw and was shaking. We took him to the VCA at 10am and he remained in hospital to be monitored and was administered his antibiotics, and an additional 5 mg of Prednisone (had already received his 7.5mg dose at 8am) and IV fluids. During his stay his fever reached as high as 104 but began to decrease upon us taking him home at 6:30pm. Throughout last night his fever increased again to 103.9 (temp taken by me by his rear leg pit). His continues to favor his front left paw and his shaking has persisted. Through his entire experience his appetite as remained strong and continues to do so. The most recent treatment plan is to increase Predinisone again back to 10 mg/day for 7 days where another visit will take place on Dec 24.
take him to another vet and get a second opinion. increase of predisone to 10mg is not good
Why is that not good? That is what he started with before the initial taper and significantly improved. From my research it is 2mg of Pred per every 1 kg of weight. He currently weighs over 9 lbs which would put him at just above 8 mg of Pred and so 10 mg of Pred isn’t that far off, espeically since he is currently in his first relapse after the initial taper dose. What is your experience with Pred?.
just as in cortisone in humans you retain fluid so also animals.keep an eye and if anything give you doubt before 24 th dec get a second opinion
Update: grizz’s fever broke by Saturday and has remained normal. He stopped shivering by Saturday completely. He is putting pressure on his front paw and no longer favoring or lifting it, despite the swollen weist joint that became inflammed on Friday and has not decreased since. I cancelled his vet appointment due his signs of improvement and will reschedule in another week or so incase the wrist joint does not change or decrease in swelling.
Note: it also looks like one back leg joint is also swollen. He did have swollen painful joints during his first hospital visit so I’m thinking this is just a flare up from the relapse? He doesn’t seem to be in pain at all
The skin on her muzzle under the fur seems pinker than normal, too. Also, her nose seems to itch (she rubs her nose area vigorously against my fingers, not just normal face rubbing) and gets a little dark crust around the edges. I noticed her nose running with a little clear discharge while I was petting her, but I read that it’s common for a cat’s nose to run when it purrs, so I didn’t think that was part of this. Her ears itch, as well. They don’t have an odor and I don’t see anything in them. Sometimes the fur on her chin will be discolored with a reddish/orangish tint and I noticed an area of dried liquid with a light tinge of brown around the border where she’d been sleeping this morning. Is this an allergy? I have more pictures I can post that show the crustiness on her nose and her upper lip from below.
Hello,
I’m not sure if it’s the angle of the photo or not, but your kitty looks like it’s upper mouth and general face area is swollen and really distorted and does not look typical.
The brown/reddish color you describe reminds me of exactly how dried flea dirt (blood) looks. So make sure that you examine her carefully with a flea comb to see if that is an issue for her.
If she was an outside “feral” cat, be sure to get her tested for Felv/Fiv as well as a vet checkup to rule out upper respiratory infections, a rabies vaccine and distemper vaccine and spay would be good too–if you haven’t already done that. I’d take a trip to the vet to have her mouth/face examined.
Good luck!
~kelly
Thank you, Kelly! It’s the angle of the picture. I had a normal looking one to post, but this one shows her mouth better. She does have fleas. I gave her an Rx oral med from the vet a month ago and it didn’t work. So I gave her a combo of Capstar and Program last night and have a spray to spray what I can’t wash to get any remaining eggs & larva. Maybe she has a flea allergy and this will be what she needs.
I’ve done TNR with 8 feral cats over the past year. She was about 5 months old when I took her, but has been very much untamed and fearful of the sight of me until about 3 months ago when I discovered the power of fish. In that time she has begun sleeping and spending much of her days in the house (I put in a cat door and she still insists on using the big “litter box” outside instead of the one I got her. Just this week she started climbing up on me when I’m lying down and using me for her bed. =) I can pet her just about any way I want to without getting injured now, but I can’t pick her up or do anything that seems threatening to her without her running and hiding (i.e. walking fast, carrying the mail, any attempt to use anything on her except my hand). So catching her to take to the vet has had me in a quandary. The humane trap is too traumatic for her AND me. I stopped by the vet’s office today and they said they could give me a sedative to give her so she would be sleeping and I could bring her in. She had a rabies shot when she was spayed, but she’ll need another one in November. And she hasn’t been tested for FeLV/Fiv.
That’s TMI, I know. I tend to get wordy, but thank you so much for your response! I will definitely take your advice now that I know there’s a way to get her to the vet without trauma, and hopefully we’ll get this taken care of quickly.
My rescue cat- who we’ve had for about 6 months- just had some white discharge come from her ear. Otherwise, she seems relatively fine. She’s eating/drinking normally. She had a sinus infection when we first got her and then again about a month later. Since then she’s been okay. Any thoughts? This has never been a problem for my other cat, nor any other cat I’ve had.
As far as I can tell. It was only a little bit and was sort of dripped along the side of her head. I’ll take her to the vet tomorrow. I just wanted to be sure it wasn’t anything too serious or maybe just a build-up of ear-wax, etc.
Hello,
Is there anyway you could have her seen? The reason I ask is that we always want to differentiate between inflammation (red ears can be a sign) and infection as they take different treatments. I am at the clinic tomorrow. For now you can give Benadryl (50 mg) by mouth to see if it helps the redness. If you prefer to not leave your home we can start with an ear cleaner you can pick up here and see if this helps. If there is pain or a foul odor coming from the ears you really should have her seen ASAP. Be safe. Krista.
Hi. Thank you. I can bring her for an exam tomorrow. I will call the clinic in the morning to see what time is best. Thanks again!
Hope you are all well. Please stay safe!