Dirty Kitty Ears

[Bailey_]

Just wondering if it is normal for kittens to have a medium brown colored buildup in the ears? (Not deep, just inside.) Teeka has a little bit, but I've really noticed that our new kitten Raisins has it badly. Both kittens were at the vets for various reasons, but nothing was ever said - nor was it cleaned.

What is this? Should we clean it, or take them to the vet to have it done?

Our older cat Moo doesn't have this, and I don't recall ever dealing or seeing this with her.

[lUvMyLaB<3]

Although mites are usually black i would not rule that out, especiall because both have it. A kitten indoors should have sparkly clean ears, so i would have it looked at, could be an infection, or yeast, does it smell funky? You can usually tell with ears by the smell. . It is safe to gently wipe the outer ear with something soft like gauze, but dont use qtips or go in the ear, you will just shove it down more. Are they itchy?

[Bailey_]

It's kind of like a paste, more noticeable with Raisins, and they don't seem itchy. Check out their pictures in this thread: http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=65503, and you can see it if you look closely at their inner ear.

[Jim Hall]

some kits ears get like that its probaly wax and then some dirt gets on them a soft clothe with a warm dilute sulotion of green tea helps

[growler~GateKeeper]

Looks like a bit of wax, if it were mites you would notice what looks like black coffee grounds & the ears would be quite itchy

[ancientgirl]

When I first got Vlad his ears were kind of like that. He had a combination of mites and waxy build up. It took me a couple of months to get them all cleaned up after some medication and a few visits to the vet to have her clean them properly, but after the he was fine.