Cat Ear Mites

Cat Ear Mites and Other Ear Problems

Ever noticed your cat shaking it's head or scratching madly at its ear? Well it might be time to check your pet's ear to make sure that they don't have any unwanted visitors like the ear mite.

It is very important to make sure that your cat is free from ear motes as they are not only contagious to other cats in the home but can also infect other animals who live in the same environment. It is also important to keep your cats ears healthy as they rely on their hearing to listen out for their prey and to be able to protect them selves from being crept up upon and being attacked by other cats. Their ears also help them with balance when climbing trees etc. that if not functioning properly could cause all sorts of nasty accidents.

Ear mites are small spider like insects that love to make the inside of a cat ear their home. Unfortunately they cause infections and can cause damage to the eardrum causing a permanent loss of hearing. They are passed from one cat to another, this could be simply sharing the same sleeping places to close contact with other cats whilst grooming or playing together. The mites can also live for a while in the general environment so even if your cat hasn't come directly in contact with another cat, there is still a possibility of them being passed on by your cat simply passing through a place where another cat with mites has been previously.

It is therefore wise to check your cat's ears on a regular basis for any signs of infection of the mite itself. It is possible to see them with the naked eye and they look like small white dots against dark earwax. You may even get some indication that your cat has a problem in the ear by noticing vigorous head shaking or excessive ear scratching by your cat or you may notice a build up of excessive earwax that is very dark in colour and has a strong odour. It is always wise to make sure that these symptoms are caused by ear mites and not some other medical condition, so always get a vet to check the ears if you do suspect something is wrong.

If ear mites are correctly diagnosed it is important to kill them off before the infection becomes any worse or that it spreads to other animals. The vet will wipe away a lot of the earwax along with some of the mites that can be seen, he will then administer some eardrops that will be able to get deep into the ear canal. These drops will have to be administered for a three-week period to ensure the total eradication of the ear mites.

It is also important that you treat the cats fur at the same time with a flea powder, this will kill off any dormant eggs which may have lodged themselves in the fur. All the cats bedding and usual sleeping places need to be thoroughly washed and cleaned and the home should also be treated with a flea powder for the home. This will prevent any further re-infecting of your cat after treatments stops.

Other general care for your cat's ears should include:

Protecting them during the summer months from sunburn with a non-toxic sun cream. This is very important for cats with light coloured ears. These areas are very prone to skin cancers and many cats in hotter climates end up having to have their ears amputated.

Make sure the ears are clear of any debris such as grass seed. If debris is left in the ear it can cause fungal or bacterial infections

Watching for any signs of imbalance or apparent dizziness in your cat. This could indicate an inner ear problem that will need urgent treatment by a vet.

Kate and her partner co-write http://www.our-happy-cat.com a site full of further cat care and cat health topics. As well as being a feline friendly community site for happy cat and a happy owner. Their second site http://www.frugal-living-tips.com is a site about how to lead a less wasteful lifestyle.

I think my fancy mice have ear mites/mites, what should I do?
I got 2 female fancy mice in February this year. About a month or 2 ago, one mouse had a bald red spot on its side. we put neosropin on it for a few weeks and its looking better. Now, a week or so ago, we noticed the other mouse's ear was red and irretatated. Now its very red and sometimes bleeds (on the outside of the inside of her ear). She scratches it and is almost always shaking her head. Also, the side of her face opposite her bad ear is looking a little irretated (little hair loss [maybe] and a bit red, kinda mangey looking). We changed bedding, and cleaned cage thoroughly. I also took her into PetSmart and they gave me cat ear mite drops (i read about it on internet) and we clean the ear with a Q-tip with some hydrogen peroxide and put some of the ear mite meds in a clean Q-tip and "work it into"/rub into her ear. Its only been a few days, and (obvoiously since its only been 3 days) isnt yet better. My mom refuses to take a $5 mouse to an expensive vet. What should we do? HELP!

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Is there any harm in giving a cat ear mite drops if he doesn't have ear mites?
I'm fairly sure one of my kittens (obviously i'll need to treat both) has ear mites. There isn't much dark coloured wax in the ear but he is scratching quite a bit and his ears smell a little (not too severe but not as they should). When I got them both as kittens they had ear mites and I gave them drops from the vets so we've been here before. I'd rather not go to the Vet's (will be at least mid next week before i'd manage it anyway) with a simple problem like this. I was going to buy some Johnson's ear drops (i'm in the UK and this is a over-the-counter pet shop minor pet ailments brand) and give those a go. If it turns out he doesn't actually have ear mites is there any issue with doing this or do you think it's worth trying? Has anyone used these drops before? It's a very common brand name and I can imagine there's a chance it won't be very effective but I think it's highly unlikely it will harm them! I've used the wormer and flea treatments from this brand for years as well. I was just wondering can you give a cat ear drops even if you aren't sure it has got ear mites?

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Can you use ivermectin on goats?
I had to get a bottle of 1% ivermectin today or my cats ear mites. And I was wondering if you could use it for anything on goats. I have pygmy goats. I know you can use for different things on different animals. Can you use it for anything for goats?

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My cat has ear mites, but the medication is causing clear brown crust throughout his ears? is this bad?
I got my cat ear mite drops over a week ago and have been cleaning and applying drops daily. Now his ear each morning are covered with a light brown clear crust? Whats wrong with him!!! Is this a way of flushing the mites out?

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Cat Ear mites?
i recently gotten a kitten about 6-8weeks old and we've taken her to the vet and found out she has ear mites. how do you know if the treatment is working, she never lets me massage it in but i always get the drops deep in the ear, so will it still cure it if i dont massage it in, ive only given her two treatments so far.

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