need help now, plz

[chicks rule]

Oh man, I don't know if I can do this, I got four more maggots out of her poor little ear, she has been eating good, and when I wiped her bum, no poo, but she P'd like a Russian race horse. I just feel so bad for her, I mean really how many more can there be???? She is sleeping again, so I better get the chickens up while I got a minute.

Thank you all for your help, and Lord grant me the strength to see this through!!!

 

[linda_0517]

awww i'm sorry chicks. i just spent $350 on a kitten who was run over (not my kitten)and then spent a whole weekend holding her on her back to keep her broken leg elevated. you have my sympathy! did you flush the ear? you can mix water alcohol and vinegar in equal amounts and put it in a bulb syringe (the kind you use for sucking out babies noses). if you have a betadine, you can mix it with water till it's the color of tea and flush with that as well. the flushing should wash all of the maggots out. I used to work in a vets office and we flushed ears all the time. Just make sure that you're gentle, and don't let the syringe suck in air while it's in the ear canal, as this is painful. I'm sure you can't get to a vet tonight, but i flushing is a good measure till you can.

 

[hatty]

I would also tell you to take the kitten to a vet if at all possible. maggots are gross in a wound but not always a terrible thing. they only eat dead tissue so they can help "clean out" all the bad tissue. they have used maggots on people. the only problem with regular maggots is that they carry alot of germs on them. definately get her/him on an oral antibiotic if possible and you can buy tripleantibiotic wound cleaners at the drugstore, some of them even have something in them to help with pain, just check with a vet first to make sure it is safe.
one thing that is most definatly safe to use is saline. and it is amazing what can be done just irrigating the wound with saline. they sell that at the drug store too it comes in a metal can usually it's called just wound wash saline. come out kinda like a spray so it's easier to get into the wound. and if it gets into her ear it would probably annoy her but not hurt her. just try not to touch the tip of the sprayer to anything that way it stays clean.
hope some of this helped. good luck

 

[rooster-red]

Quote:
It needs to be fed every 4 hours.
Keep flushing and swabing out the ear for a few days to make sure the maggots are gone.
apply some neosporin ointment and pray that none of the maggots work their way through the ear canal to the brain.

 

[chicks rule]

Thanks Linda, I will give those a try as well, do you hava any idea what kind of damage might occur as a result of them being in her ear? I can't exactly afford to take her to a vet, so doing what I can to help her pull through.

I just spent an hour hauling chickens off the top of the roost and putting them in the coop, one by one there was 15 out and I waited a little later to shut them in thinking they would be in the coop, what I didn't realize was the coop door was shut, geez

 

[chicks rule]

Thanks Hatty and Rooster, That is the one thing I am worried about is the damage they could be doing. She is eating regularly that is not a problem, thank goodness.

 

[rooster-red]

Quote:
Needs to be a warm damp cloth to be effective.

 

[linda_0517]

I think the worst thing would be that the maggots are really deep in the ear in close proximity to the brain but i really don't know the likelyhood of that. you would already be noticing signs of neurological damage such as a head tilt or seizures, i would think. barring that, if the kitten makes it through the infection (there is most certainly an infection) and the maggot problem is resolved, there could be damage to the ear drum, possible deafness, but that's not soooo bad. the flushing would be very important no matter which solution you use, since that will wash all of the maggots to the surface. Oh, when you flush, put the kitten on a towel on a table or counter top with the bad ear DOWN, not facing up at you. you want the solution to run into the ear and back out, not stay in the ear. think of the ear canal as L shaped, insert the tip straight down into the canal and do not turn the corner of the L. you can't damage the ear drum this way. i really hope this helps! praying for you and baby kitten!

 

[hatty]

the maggots will not tunnel through to her brain unless the tissues are already necrotic. in which case it doesn't make a difference. maggots only eat dead or necrotic tissue.

 

[linda_0517]

good info hatty. i don't know as much about maggots as i do about cats and ears