Cat Ears Turned Sideways

Spend enough time with your cat and you ll start to notice some rather odd behaviors and movements that don t seem to have an explanation.

Cat ears turned sideways.

Head tilt is a medical condition that may be indicative of a serious underlying disorder usually of the vestibular system. A head tilt is a persistent tilt or turn of the head along the cat s central axis to one side or the other and is usually described according to the side of the head that turns down. A head tilt usually indicates vestibular signs that may be a problem in the animal s middle or inner ear. You can gauge how scared or anxious your cat is by how flat her ears are more flat more scared.

Some of these. Sideways facing ears also are more protected. They look a bit like airplane wings jutting from each side of kitty s head. Your cat rsquo s recovery period will depend upon your veterinarian rsquo s diagnosis of the underlying cause of the head tilt.

Ear infections often cause a cat s ears to become more red and swollen than do mite infestations and the discharge from an infected ear tends to have a distinctly foul odor. Fluffing up his tail arching his back and jumping sideways. The good old sideways jump makes him look like a halloween decoration and. This may help buffer any upsetting sounds.

Learn more about the symptoms causes and treatment of this condition. These clinical signs usually appear suddenly many times in less than an hour. Consider airplane ears to be an early warning to back off and stop whatever has prompted the cat to feel. If a cat is tilting its head frequently to either side of the body away from its orientation with the trunk and limbs this is an indication that the cat feels imbalanced.

You may see this position if your cat is being harassed by a neighborhood cat outside the window or if a submissive cat is being bullied by a more dominant cat in a multi cat home. There are many causes for head tilt. Even a simple ear infection will need follow up appointments to ensure the infection is under control and that no additional damage has occurred within the cat rsquo s ear. Vestibular disease in cats is a condition in which a cat suddenly develops incoordination falling or circling to one side involuntary darting of the eyes back and forth nystagmus a head tilt and often nausea or vomiting.

To appropriately treat an ear infection a veterinarian first has to microscopically examine a sample taken from the ears to determine whether yeast or bacteria and. Many conditions can cause the disease and the vast majority of cases are diagnosed as.