Home Remedies for Cats With Ear Mites
Tiny, pinpoint-size ear mites live and breed in the ear canals of cats and dogs. They feed on skin debris and can gnaw on the tissue of the ear canal, using cell fluids and blood for food, too. Ear mite infestations usually itch, so cats with ear mites will scratch excessively at the backs or insides of their ears (sometimes to the point of producing raw patches), shake their heads, or hold their ears at an angle to their heads.Ear mites produce a black or brownish waxy debris in the ear canal, which looks very much like coffee grounds. Live mites can be seen in this debris with a magnifying glass or by spreading a small amount on dark paper and watching for tiny, moving white points.
Treatment of ear mites involves removing the debris from the ears and using a topical insecticide in the canal for a period of time to kill off the remaining mites and new mites that hatch out of eggs left behind. Since the mites can crawl out of the ear canal and onto the cat's fur -- or the fur of other animals -- all animals in the house should be dusted, sprayed, or dipped with an antiflea product. Ear mites are extremely common, and treatment is usually inexpensive and effective.
What to Do
To treat a cat with itchy ears or telltale debris in the ear canal, gently remove a little bit of the junk with a cotton ball and examine it under bright light with a magnifier or spread it on a piece of dark paper. Any movement -- including tiny white moving specks -- means mites. Sometimes, mite debris is located deep in the ear canal where you can't see it. If you suspect your cat has mites, gently massage the back of the ear at the base between your thumb and forefinger. A cat with no mites usually enjoys it or, at worst, will fuss and try to get away. A cat who has unwanted company living in her ear canal will usually start scratching vigorously so watch your hand because she won't.
Other ear problems can cause itchiness and debris in the ear canal, too, so don't start home remedies for ear mites until you're fairly certain that's the problem. Seeing live mites is real proof. When you have that proof, try to ease your cat's discomfort.
Clean them out. The first step toward clearing up an ear mite infestation is to get as many tiny critters (and their belongings) out of the ear canal as possible. Put several drops of mineral oil into the ear canal and massage gently. If the debris is particularly hard and crusty, you may have to let the oil work in for a few hours to soften things up. The massaging will help bring debris up to the outer part of the ear where it can be wiped away with a cotton ball or tissue. (Do not use cotton swabs, even though you may have seen your vet clean a cat's ears that way -- one slip could puncture an eardrum.) If you want to do a thorough cleaning job (and you're courageous enough), you can use lukewarm distilled water in an ear syringe to gently flush out the canal. Repeat the cleaning procedure until the debris is gone.
Hit them while they're down. While the mineral oil immobilizes any mites left behind, it won't kill them all. To do that, you need insecticide eardrops. Reliable products that contain pyrethrins (a natural insecticide found in flowers of the mum family) are widely available at pet supply stores. Follow directions carefully, making sure to massage the drops in well and wipe away any excess.
Where mites might be. By the time you notice your cat has ear mites, there are literally thousands of the itty-bitty things around. Smaller than the period at the end of this sentence, a single ear mite can crawl out of your cat's ear canal and hide out deep in her fur -- only to crawl back in after all the excitement of treatment is over and repopulate the colony. Therefore, cats with ear mites need regular treatment with flea products to knock out those adventurous mites that go exploring elsewhere on the cat's body.
Once is not enough. A single cleaning and treatment with eardrops won't do the trick. Just one surviving female mite with eggs can have your cat right back where you started from before you know it. You must be absolutely diligent about cleaning out cat's ears every day or two and using the medication exactly as directed. It's not enough to kill all the mites in your cat's ears, either. Microscopic mite eggs can hatch days after a treatment, starting the infestation all over again. It usually takes a few weeks of treatment before you can safely assume your cat and home are ear-mite-free.
When to Call the Vet
If your best home remedies don't knock out ear mites within a month, or the skin in or around the ear becomes raw or inflamed, you need professional help. Likewise, if your cat has itchy ears, shakes her head, flattens her ears, and has discharge from the ear canal -- but no mite debris or there are no live mites to be found -- check with your vet. It could be a yeast or bacterial infection or another type of ear problem.
DANGER LEVEL: Ear mites are annoying and sometimes painful to the cat but not dangerous. They're contagious to dogs and other cats, and untreated infestations may lead to excessive scratching and wounds behind the ears that may become infected.
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