Jeeves's ears: good and bad news.

Jeeves went to the vet today.

If you are squeamish, or eating, or both, skip the next para.

His right ear is improving. His left ear is worse, as we suspected--the eardrum is ruptured and the ear canal is, as the vet put it after a look through the otoscope, “a lake of goo.” It’s a combo bacterial and yeast infection.

He is back on his first, injectable antibiotic because it looks like that one may have helped the most. He was on it for his abscess, but his ear did improve during that time, so he has it plus another week on ear drops (both antibiotic and antifungal included in the drops, plus a steroid). Then he will have two more weeks of the injectable and another vet appointment after that because there is still one last antibiotic we can try if this doesn’t work.

Things look pretty bad in his ears, but we have reduced the general stress on his body--he is no longer outdoors, parasite-ridden, or sporting big abscesses. We just have to hope that good food, warmth, and love will help the antibiotics fight off the infection in his ears.

He was a complete sweetie in the appointment. Took his shots and coped with having his ears messed about, not a murmur of complaint (though his tail was expressive). Only growled when I put him back in his carrier. Never unsheathed a claw. He is a prince among cats.