Healthy ears are pink, clean and have a pleasant smell. An unpleasant odor, dark discharge or extremely red ears can be signs of ear mites or fungal infection. Dr. Campbell recommends taking a cat with these symptoms to the veterinarian. Ears should be cleaned prior to medication and care, and this is best done by a professional, she says. The most common ear problem in cats is ear mites, which cause large amounts of dark wax to build up in the ear canals.
Mites are eight-legged parasites that live in and around cats' ears.
Smaller than a pinhead, they can be very irritating to your cat. Imagine hundreds of little bugs crawling around in your ears and you'll quickly understand why your cat scratches and shakes his head. Scratching, however, can lead to inflammation and ear infections. Mites are most common in kittens but adult cats can suffer from them, too. Mites are generally transmitted through contact with other cats, dogs and rabbits.