sounds like ear mites;
the black matter is their...excrement.

When I've been "between vet appointments", I've had good luck with mineral oil;
squish a little of it around inside the ear, massaging the ear at the "root", & use a soft rag wrapped around your finger to wipe out the loosened material.

The vet will probably prescribe mitecide, but have him/her check for live mites before you pay for/use such a harsh chemical.

Best luck!

Thank you. I was afraid of that.

Ear mites aren't the worst-
just suffocate 'em!

In my experience, home remedies tend to be ineffective, and I ended up spending more than if I just bought good stuff from the vet.

I agree with the ear mite diagnosis. The good news is the vet has a one-dose solution for mites, ticks and fleas.

Never had a kitten, but had a cat eating like crazy. It was a tapeworm...vet can treat for that, too.

If you can swing it at all, I'd get the kitten to the vet sooner rather than later for a "vet check." This way you can get her ears checked (could be mites, could even be a yeast infection--our first cat had that), and you can also get a fecal check for worms and/or other parasites (bring a stool sample), ringworm check, flea check, gen'l health/check-up, etc. An ounce of prevention is often much better (safer and cheaper by far) than a pound of cure. You'll be doing your new little one and yourself a favor.

Best of luck to you and kitty!

Thanks for your answer.This little kitty came all the way from North Carolina and I live in NewwJersey and it's best I start out with a clean bill of health.As soon as I get over this holliday the first thing I will do is call the vet Monday and start her out right.I named her Hillary and I want her to have a better ending then her "namesake"Thanks again.

There's nothing wrong with home remedies, & they're almost always less toxic than chemical/pharmaceutical solutions.

Mites have to have oxygen;
oil will smother them, & mineral oil has no additives such as scent or color.

& whatever you squish around in the ear canal will loosen the dirt.

If you don't want to treat the mites with oil, just use a little soapy water, don't massage it deep into the canal, & be sure to get it all out of there.

By all means, get the vet to check her out, but if you use mineral oil to clean her ears beforehand, be sure he/she checks for *live* mites before you squirt mitecide in her ears.

If there are no live mites, all you have is dirt, & there's no reason to spend money on a chemical & subject your cat to the treatment;

She'll make a face & lick like she's trying to spit something out, & she will *not* want you to re-apply the mitecide...

so I use my home remedy, & I get perfect results.

No live mites.Found out my kitty was born to a "barnyard' cat and she could have picked up all of that dirt outside,Will use mineral oil as you said,Can't hurt,Thankyou,I'm a senior purr sone(smile] and don't have a lot of money and still have a love of animals but don't want to just throw it away.Thanks again,