Criminal Sentence 215: Puss in Boots and in Ears?

I've been dealing with a painful ear infection and ruptured eardrum, so I did some reading online. Found this lovely sentence:

"If the infection builds up, the eardrum may rupture to allow the puss to flow out."

This seems to have happened to me, except for the part about the cat.

"Pus": icky stuff
"Puss": fluffy animal