Clinical Case 8

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Courtesy of C. Antonczyk

Signalment

"Jamie", a 6 month old, male DSH cat has been admitted for routine castration.

History

Jamie's owner has no particular concerns about him but does tell you that he occasionally sees Jamie scratching at his ears.

Clinical Examination

The vet performs a clinical exam and finds the following:

• There are moderate amounts of dark crumbly wax in both ears and when examining these with an otoscope, Jamie makes vigorous attempts to scratch at them.

A picture of one of the ears is shown.

(Courtesy of C. Antonczyk)

What is the most common cause for pruritic ears of this appearance in a young cat?

What might you expect to see on otoscopic examination?

• Click here to view some of the wax under the microscope.