How to Clean a Cat's Ears

Being the owner or the caretaker of a cat is more than just making sure the cat has adequate food and water. There are other tasks that the person in the cat's life will have to know how to do and will need to do on a regular basis. Cleaning the cat's ears is one of these tasks, even though it will not be an easy one if it is not started when the cat is very young. The best time to start is when you get the cat, right when it is weaned. Eight weeks of age is a pretty good time to start.

Before grabbing your kitten and trying to decide how you are going to accomplish the task of ear cleaning, you will need to gather up a few items to make the task easier. You will need cotton balls, ear cleaner drops and some cat treats. You may also need extra hands, so make sure someone is available, especially the first few times you clean your cats ear.

After gathering the necessary items for the ear cleaning, gather up your cat. But, please be sure you are cleaning the cat's ears when the cat is not upset about some other task that may have already been done. Ear cleaning should not be done after the cat has had its bath or after its nails have been clipped. A happy cat is easier to deal with than one that is already upset.

Now that you are holding the cat, use your thumb and forefinger to get a hold of the cat's ear and slowly roll the ear back away from the cat's face so you can see inside as much as possible. This may take several tries to accomplish, especially if the cat is trying to get away from you. With practice you will learn what is the best way to hold your cat in order to get the ear in this position where you can clean it.

If you have the ear in the position where you can see into it, take a cotton ball and carefully wipe the ear inside. Removing wax inside the ear is done by putting five to ten drops of ear cleaner into the ear then massaging the ear base for about 20 seconds. After massaging the ear, use another cotton ball and wipe the cat's ear again. This may have to be repeated if there lots of stuff came out.

Cleaning a cat's ear may not be the easiest task a cat owner will do, but it give the owner the opportunity to inspect the ear and hopefully catch any problems the cat may have with its ear, such as an infection or an injury. The trick to this task is to start as early as possible so the cat is used to the procedure before it gets big enough to cause real damage to the person holding it.