Updated
Cat health
Head shaking or one-sided ear scratching is worth tracking, even when the ear looks clean from the outside.
This is not a diagnosis page. It helps you organize what changed so your vet conversation is clearer.
Look for odor, redness, discharge, head tilt, sensitivity, pawing, skin scratches, balance changes, and whether grooming or touch suddenly bothers your cat.
Treat symptom pages as triage support, not a diagnosis. Appetite, water, urine, stool, breathing, mobility, gums, pain signs, and energy matter more than one isolated symptom word.
Do not dig into the ear canal or use random drops. Keep notes and call your vet if the pattern repeats, worsens, or seems painful.
Write down timing, frequency, appetite, litter use, breathing, movement, and any trigger you saw. A short video is often more useful to your veterinarian than a long description.
Note which ear, scratching frequency, head shaking, odor, redness, discharge, head tilt, balance changes, product use, and whether touch around the ear seems painful.
Start by deciding whether this can wait. Breathing trouble, urine changes, appetite loss, severe pain, collapse, toxin exposure, or sudden decline means the next step is a vet call.
Call your veterinarian for head tilt, balance trouble, strong odor, discharge, swelling, repeated scratching, bleeding, pain, or a cat who seems unwell.
Do not monitor at home when breathing is hard, gums look pale or blue, the cat cannot stand, pain is obvious, appetite stops, urination changes, or symptoms escalate.
Head shaking or one-sided ear scratching is worth tracking, even when the ear looks clean from the outside.
Call your veterinarian for head tilt, balance trouble, strong odor, discharge, swelling, repeated scratching, bleeding, pain, or a cat who seems unwell.
