What is this?

[u/No_Syrup_4129]

Hello all,

This is my cat Louie

My boy here has this black goo in his ear. I’ll clean it out maybe once every few weeks with my finger and a tissue, it’s consistent with ear wax but obviously very dark in color. I’ll know it’s bothering him again because he will shake his head or itch his ears more than usual, or walk around with one of his ears kind of lopsided. He’s a rescue, got him when he was a kitten but he’s indoor exclusively. He’s had this problem for a some time now. Also on the same side of this ear he has an eye that tears up and leaks, also pretty consistent with this earwax build up. Any ideas as to what this could be? I wanted to start some sort of treatment in hopes of giving him some relief sooner, as I’m worried he’s been suffering from this for some time. He’s got a date with the vet soon but just was curious what you’re thinking as well.

Thanks for your help!

[u/famous_zebra28]

I'd recommend a vet visit. It could be a sign of environmental allergies which there are treatments for but often they do a feeding trial with a prescription diet to rule out food allergies (can only be done with a prescription diet for 8-12 weeks) first/at the same time.

There may also be a secondary infection in there which can rupture his ear drum so it's important that you get his gunk tested for infection.

Edit: my cat had this one time and after we got it cleaned with veterinary ear cleaner it didn't come back. So the vet stuff works great. You may need to buy some of what the vet uses and clean his ear with it on a regular basis if you can't narrow down a cause.

[u/Upvote-300-blkout → u/famous_zebra28]

Looks like it could be mites.