My cat is scratching her ears..

Question
I have three cats and they are indoors, the third one came from a shelter recently and she has a funny habit of shaking her head every now and then but sometimes at night for a long period of time she will scratch them. There is no odor, no obscene build up (the last cat I got had earmites and you could tell) and she only scratches every now an then at night. What do you recommned I do until I am free to take her to the vet this weekend? I would have taken her this past weekend but she was not scratching..like I said before it is off and on for what ever reason. I have only had her two weeks. I used an over the counter astringent also to try to clean them, which I guess did not work.

Answer
Andie -

I do not recommend any over the counter medication for treatment of any cat ailment.  Over the counter meds can be dangerous or even  fatal to any animal, especially cats.  You also should not use any medication for your cat's ears until you have diagnosed the problem.  

Wait until you have visited the vet before you try to treat your cat.  You can avoid making the ears worse and really causing a problem.

Best Regards,

Charlotte Sherrell, DVM