My cat hates his ear drops
How can I get my grumpy moggy to take his medicine?
QMy two-year-old neutered male cat has a brown discharge from the left ear. I have tried putting drops in there, which I bought from the pet shop, but he is really difficult to treat. Any suggestions?
AIt’s best to get a diagnosis first before deciding on treatment. For this you will need to make an appointment with your vet.
Common conditions at this age are ear mites, yeast and bacterial infections, and occasionally polyps in the ear canal.
Your vet will be able to see ear mites with an otoscope, and by staining a sample of the discharge may be able to identify yeast or bacterial organisms.
If your cat is equally uncooperative at the veterinary surgery, sedation or a short general anaesthetic may be required to get a proper look inside the ear. This will also provide an opportunity to flush the ear canal before any treatment.
If the problem is ear mites there are many preparations licensed to treat them, and with your cat a spot-on treatment might be useful.
If your vet decides to apply this at the surgery, no further treatment will be required by you.
For infections, ear drops containing antibacterial and anti-yeast drugs will be required. I would ask the veterinary nurse for the best way to administer these.
With my cat, who is also uncooperative, I wrap him in a blanket, with just his head out, and make sure he gets a treat straight afterwards.
My 12-year-old West Highland white spayed female dog has slowed down a bit on walks, and often seems to be puffed out. A friend has read that there is a chronic lung disease to which this breed is susceptible. Is this true?
AOften owners attribute slowing down in their dogs to old age. But it is always good to have a routine check, as there are many problems like this that tend to crop up in older dogs, and it may be possible to treat them.
Your friend is correct that there is a chronic lung disease seen occasionally in older West Highland white dogs. It had been recognised for some time but it wasn’t until 1999 that the first description of the disease was published by an Edinburgh University veterinary team.
It was called Westie lung, although its more academic name is idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, with normal lung tissue being replaced by fibrous tissue.
This is a disease of unknown cause (idiopathic) and which is seen less commonly in other terrier breeds.
There is a slow development over months or years until signs become apparent. These are poor exercise tolerance, a cough, an increased respiratory rate – even with mild exercise – and, eventually, difficulty in breathing.
A diagnosis can be made by a clinical examination, X-rays and, if available, CT scans. These will also diagnose other possible diseases.
There is currently no cure for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, but treatment aims to slow progression.