There is another cat celebrity on the internet, Otitis. He’s white and he has no ears. He has no ears because of human neglect. He developed a condition called otitis externa. This is either a bacterial, yeast or fungal infection of the ear canal. The causes for bacterial otitis externa are as follows:
- scratches or cat bites
- ear mites
- sometimes it begins with an ear canal bunged up with wax, foreign material and debris.
For fungal or yeast otitis externa, the cause can be a long standing bacterial or ear mite infection or food allergy which ends up being treated with antibiotics which in turn alters the natural bacterial flora in the ear canal which in turn allows the growth of yeast and fungi.
They are obviously treatable diseases but due to neglect it got worse to the point where his ears needed to be removed and the owners could not afford the surgery so he was relinquished. The surgery was paid by Feline Rescue Association of Baltimore.
The photos are large thumbnails. You can see a larger version by clicking on the image.
Otitis now has a wonderful new home with a young lady, Molly Lichtenwalner, who says that Otitis has rescued her because he provides her with comfort as she had become anxious after a serious road traffic accident.
So the ending is good. Otitis has lost some of his hearing. He has gained celebrity status because of his appearance.
I like the story for its ending. I am uncomfortable with some moral aspects of the story: celebrity status arising out of an odd appearance. That would not happen for humans. Not today. And the neglect of the previous owners. This must have caused a lot of distress and discomfort if not downright long term pain to the cat. Another example of a cat owner being unable to afford to keep a cat.
There is another good aspect to the story. Molly Lichtenwalner says that she wants to raise awareness of the need to adopt less adoptable cats. This desire accounts for her publicising Otitis on Istagram where he has 16,000 followers. However, I think Otitis is very adoptable. He looks interesting and handsome.
The video (these sometimes disappear as they are beyond my control):
