# Kitty foams at the mouth when I clean her ears.



## Auroraei (Jun 18, 2013)

I have to clean out my kitties ears with Epi-Otic Advanced twice a week and every time I manage to squirt it in her ear, she starts freaking out and foaming at the mouth. Even if I try and warm the bottle  I feel so bad. Bubbly saliva just starts flowing out of her mouth.

Has anyone's cat ever reacted this way?


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## Heather72754 (Nov 1, 2013)

Never to anything in his ears, but my cat definitely foamed at the mouth when I had to give him a course of Metronidazole treatment by syringe for diarrhea once. That stuff is just nasty and really bitter - I felt so bad for him.


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## emilyatl (Sep 9, 2013)

Aww, poor girl. I've never seen this from ear cleanings, just from bitter/bad tasting oral meds. I don't know if it could just be a reaction to the stress (I know she's been through a lot lately, so maybe that's it)? Have you asked your vet about it?

If you haven't already, I'd probably get her on Revolution (which is a flea preventative, but it also prevents ear mites, heartworm, roundworm, etc.).


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## Auroraei (Jun 18, 2013)

emilyatl said:


> Aww, poor girl. I've never seen this from ear cleanings, just from bitter/bad tasting oral meds. I don't know if it could just be a reaction to the stress (I know she's been through a lot lately, so maybe that's it)? Have you asked your vet about it?
> 
> If you haven't already, I'd probably get her on Revolution (which is a flea preventative, but it also prevents ear mites, heartworm, roundworm, etc.).



I think it's from the stress. She is very skittish (but so sweet!). She won't take oral meds or let me do ear cleanings without a fight. Anything that requires restraining her she won't have it.

I haven't asked the vet about it :\ She needs ear cleanings because of bad wax build up.


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## emilyatl (Sep 9, 2013)

If she goes back to normal after the cleaning, I'd guess it was stress, I've just never seen that sort of reaction. Some kitties really don't like to be restrained for anything. I had a foster I called Freddy Krueger because he flipped out if you tried to trim his nails, give him meds, etc. and I have the scars to prove it. :| It's amazing how strong a little 3 pound kitten can be! 

Poor girl. I know how stressful it can be to have to do that (it feels like we're torturing them). Hopefully she forgets all about it very quickly. 

For some reason, I was thinking it was ear mites, not wax. There's not much else you can do about that, unfortunately. Hopefully you can get it cleared up pretty soon.


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## Auroraei (Jun 18, 2013)

emilyatl said:


> If she goes back to normal after the cleaning, I'd guess it was stress, I've just never seen that sort of reaction. Some kitties really don't like to be restrained for anything. I had a foster I called Freddy Krueger because he flipped out if you tried to trim his nails, give him meds, etc. and I have the scars to prove it. :| It's amazing how strong a little 3 pound kitten can be!
> 
> Poor girl. I know how stressful it can be to have to do that (it feels like we're torturing them). Hopefully she forgets all about it very quickly.
> 
> For some reason, I was thinking it was ear mites, not wax. There's not much else you can do about that, unfortunately. Hopefully you can get it cleared up pretty soon.



Yeah she goes back to normal. It's just so sad! I wish she didn't have to go through this. She's had worms, ear mites, had to get spayed recently, and now she has this wax build up. There is a technical name for what she has in her ear, it's like a hard stone of wax that the vet said is "very difficult to remove", and I'm doing cleanings to hopefully loosen it up. Honestly don't even know if this is helping. She has to go back to the vet soon. This poor cat!


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## emilyatl (Sep 9, 2013)

Poor girl. They are so resilient at that age though, so I'm sure she'll just forget all about it. I hope you get some good news at the vet!


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## Auroraei (Jun 18, 2013)

emilyatl said:


> Poor girl. They are so resilient at that age though, so I'm sure she'll just forget all about it. I hope you get some good news at the vet!


Think she's like 8 months old. I hope the damage hasn't been done forever! She doesn't trust me at all. Runs from me. Won't come near me. She isn't aggressive though.


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## feralkit (Oct 20, 2013)

I would really ask the vet about that reaction and not assume it is just stress. Perhaps the vet has never heard of such a reaction? Just like a couple dentists looked at me like I was nuts after I told them that upper tooth extractions open to my sinus and cause water, mouthwash, drinks to come up through the opening and out of my nose, as well as severe pain in the mouth from any URI for a few months after until it closes, also ear pain. If I don't take precautions when irrigating my sinus, it will cause me some awful pain in the ears as well. Because of my unique issue, I would assume it is possible she could taste the fluid if she has some sort of connection between ears and sinus. 
That being said, I am a human and don't even know if cats have a sinus, but its all in the head. Hahaha!

A quick Google search said there are no known side effects from Epi-Optic Advanced.

I hope she feels better soon and that the stuff isn't harmful if swallowed. <3


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## Auroraei (Jun 18, 2013)

feralkit said:


> I would really ask the vet about that reaction and not assume it is just stress. Perhaps the vet has never heard of such a reaction? Just like a couple dentists looked at me like I was nuts after I told them that upper tooth extractions open to my sinus and cause water, mouthwash, drinks to come up through the opening and out of my nose, as well as severe pain in the mouth from any URI for a few months after until it closes, also ear pain. If I don't take precautions when irrigating my sinus, it will cause me some awful pain in the ears as well. Because of my unique issue, I would assume it is possible she could taste the fluid if she has some sort of connection between ears and sinus.
> That being said, I am a human and don't even know if cats have a sinus, but its all in the head. Hahaha!
> 
> A quick Google search said there are no known side effects from Epi-Optic Advanced.
> ...



OMG! Your situation is scary!

Now that you mention it, maybe some is somehow getting in her mouth when I squirt it? I mean she thrashes a lot and shakes her head while I'm trying to do it. I will still mention it to the vet. Chances are it's just stress but I'll make sure.


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## feralkit (Oct 20, 2013)

I really don't want to scare you, but tasting it was the first thing that came to my mind when I read your post. I would err on the side of caution. I really hope it is just a stress reaction, maybe to the smell. When I was a kid, one of the cats sniffed my nail after it was painted and foamed at the mouth. His nose touched my nail when it was still wet causing the reaction.

Here is a link to the MSDS, just in case. It says it is harmful if swallowed.
http://www.virbacvet.com/pdf/product_pdfs/EPI_OPTIC_ADVANCED_Ear_Cleanser_msds.pdf


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## 10cats2dogs (Jun 16, 2013)

I had a cat whose ears I'd have to clean quite regularly...when I ran out of the ear cleaner I had been using, I got something different...
That was a big mistake! Pusspuss reacted violently to the new stuff...
She immediately started foaming at the mouth...something she had never done with the first stuff...it terrified me! 
I thought I'd poisened her...
I irrigated her ears gently with warm water and washed her face off...
I tried this stuff on one of my other cats...
the same thing happened!!
That stuff went bye bye and I went back to the first stuff!!
Yeah, it can be very scary when the health of our pets are at stake!!


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## feralkit (Oct 20, 2013)

Thanks for posting that, 7cats2dogs! I was so worried for Auroraei's kitty, for my own strange reasons. :/

Perhaps it is that particular solution. It is weird that I didn't come up with any side effects when I searched the offending stuff. If it is something that happens, the company should state that so people won't be frightened for their pets.


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## 10cats2dogs (Jun 16, 2013)

Feralkit, what you had said made perfect sense to me and that's why I had to post what happened to me and my cat...

I was concerned for her cat too...

Now I've been known to 'try' something first...whether its eye drops, ear drops, etc
before I use it on my cats or dogs..
I want to know is it going to burn or taste terrible or hurt if its put on a wound....
If I have a reaction, I sure know my animals will!!


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## Marcia (Dec 26, 2010)

You might try to put her into a room with Feliway to help calm her down before the treatment. Is there a way to slowly let it drip or dribble into her ear rather than squirt?? Maybe it's the suddenness of the squirting that startles her and causes the reaction??


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## emilyatl (Sep 9, 2013)

feralkit said:


> I really don't want to scare you, but tasting it was the first thing that came to my mind when I read your post. I would err on the side of caution. I really hope it is just a stress reaction, maybe to the smell. When I was a kid, one of the cats sniffed my nail after it was painted and foamed at the mouth. His nose touched my nail when it was still wet causing the reaction.


That was the first thing that came to my mind too. I've only ever seen them foam/drool like that from bitter tasting meds. I read online on another forum where someone else had this same issue and everyone was making sure that they didn't put it in the cat's mouth, which the cat owner did verify. And 7Cats2Dogs said she had a similar issue. It makes me wonder if it's a known issue with this product? If you Google "cat foaming at mouth after ear mite treatment", you'll see a lot of people posting similar stories. 

I taste all meds before I give them to my cats just so know what to expect. I've never thought about trying the ear cleaner. I wonder if she has a scab or something in her ear causing it to burn?


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