My kitty has been scratching at his ear and it’s not often he lets me touch his ear, which is normal as you have to desensitize them to touching their ear but when i was able to touch it, it seems its very makes him itch at it or pin it down and flick it. I see no apparent signs of ear mites(he is my only cat and stays strictly inside and doesnt meet other cats) and i am thinking its possible ear wax buildup or just dirty-or perhaps he scratched it too hard and has a cut?

His behavior otherwise seems pretty normal. I know cats hide their pain but he still plays and isn’t isolating himself more than a normal cat might. I admit that these past two weeks he has been on and off with laying with me at night. I had him for a few months now, close to a year and except for maybe three times, he sleeps with me every night. He is bonded to me and follows me everywhere.

He is eating and drinking normally and lays with me as usual for the most part. I can’t afford $200 to get him checked at the vet. I will if i have to but i am not good financially so if i could get at home remedies that would be amazing as not being able to pay rent and loosing my apartment would not be good for him.

He usually lays like this since ive had him but im worried its him grimacing bc he had a bad itching spell last night where he itched it, flicked his ear/head. There isnt any discharge or scabbing either. I will check after work if there is any odor signaling infection.

Also he was sleepy here in the pic bc he just got done playing