I just cleaned the ears of all of my 4 cats, so they really hate me right now. Miggy and Petal have had ear mites for a while now, but Jaden never got them. Now that we have Zoie, I have decided to be diligent about treating all their ears w/ mite medicine. Jaden saw me coming w/ the bottle and hid under the bed for the first time (and she's never had ear drops, as far as I know...)

I'm making this post so I can keep tabs on their progress, so expect regular updates, hopefully! Schedule is Ear Drop Day, 3 days off, and Ear Drop Day again, for 4 weeks.

I just cleaned the ears of all of my 4 cats, so they really hate me right now. Miggy and Petal have had ear mites for a while now, but Jaden never got them. Now that we have Zoie, I have decided to be diligent about treating all their ears w/ mite medicine. Jaden saw me coming w/ the bottle and hid under the bed for the first time (and she's never had ear drops, as far as I know...)

I'm making this post so I can keep tabs on their progress, so expect regular updates, hopefully! Schedule is Ear Drop Day, 3 days off, and Ear Drop Day again, for 4 weeks.

Aww, I really don't think they hate you!:) Persi and Alley act like they hate me when I do their nails but they are soon back to their normal loving self.:nod:

Well today was Ear Drop Day #3 and it was the smoothest so far. I sat on/straddled Jaden so her ears were actually the easiest to do. If only I could have done the same w/ Zoie as she is very squirmy-wormy. The three girls are doing great: Jaden still has no signs or symptoms, and Zoie and Petal seemed to have less wax than last time, thankfully.

Miggy, on the other hand. Oh, boy. His ears were caked w/ brown wax and grains and the ear skin was red and swollen. He seemed so miserable he didn't even fight me or hiss like normal when I cleaned them out. I hope this means the medicine is drawing out the mites from the inner ear (especially since I've been massaging the drops into the ear canal) and they will get better w/ future treatments. After the cleaning, Miggy actually seemed grateful and started marking everything w/ his head. Then he quickly ate a few nibbles. I hope there's good things to come!

Awwwh, poor kids! :vibes: For clean ears!

I had a small outbreak about a year ago, Jinx has just finally forgiven me in the last few months I think, and Shellbie still runs for her life if she thinks I'm going to pick her up :lol3:

Good Luck!!!

MK had mites around the time I had him neutered. He was still thin then, so I thought it'd be easy. Yeah...not so much.

This time, Burger had them, or looked like she did, so I had the vet get her a treatment when they spayed her.

Sending some sympathy vibes your way ;) I have two kittens and an adult cat and I've had to treat all their ears for ear infections.

One of mine was on meds for 2 weeks..didn't clear up, so vet said wait a week and see...waited, still infected, so they had to put him under and do a deep clean, and, at present, I've been putting drops in his ear (twice a day) for 1 week and vet said keep going for 2 more. No rest for the weary lol.

Hopefully you can learn a technique that works for you. Personally, I always take the cat to the drops and have a tissue handy to wipe drop residue off of the outside ear before letting them go (so they don't sling it everywhere). I would say that if at all possible, put a good amount in the ear and take the time to massage the ear thuroughly to get the drops down deep.

Art

I am mean too and clean ears every week

I started cleaning ears when I got Hennessy...


We've gotten to the point where he just gives me mildly annoyed looks. :lol:

I've been putting drops in his ear (twice a day) for 1 week and vet said keep going for 2 more. No rest for the weary lol.

OMG! You have my sympathies!

Today was another Ear Drop Day and it was successful and the shortest so far. :clap: Miggy's ears were again icky and gross, but he barely put up a protest when I grabbed him and took him to the bathroom. I was able to straddle Zoie and it worked much better for us and quicker too. The position allowed me more range of motion to massage the drops into the ear canal too. :)

This was the first day I felt comfortable using cotton swabs (like the vets do) in Jaden's ears and I actually got out a tiny amount of wax: from the look of it it was pretty old, so her ears haven't been this clean in years ;)

I'll continue my diligence. Thanks for your support, everyone! We're going to beat these mites, I feel positive about getting rid of the suckers for good!

sounds like it's working well for you, lucky!

my cats run when they see the ear drops. I have to grab them by their scruff to get the drops in and then they hate me until treat time. :)

Saturday was supposed to be ear drop day yet again, but I held off until Sunday and combined it w/ soft claw day. I also brush their teeth and Miggy has acne, so he gets a chin wipe. So Sunday, all the cats were holding a grudge.

Petal and Jaden had no change from last time, Zoie's ears looked excellent, though. Miggy isn't making much progress but his was the worst infection of all. I actually did an extra cleaning for him Thursday cause his ears were so gross. I hope it starts getting better, there's only supposed to be 2 weeks left in the process. He's becoming a champ though. He only hissed once when I applied his soft claw (he's very sensitive) and started getting squirmy when I tried to go after his second ear. But overall he was compliant.

Since it's becoming such a feature of our lives, the cats are forgiving me sooner and sooner. Zoie was even affectionate this time after her soft claws. Usually she just sits in the corner and grooms and bites until she gets them off. This time she rolled around to get pets and had some food (emotional eater).

Until next time!

Wow, I think you are doing well with the ear cleanings:nod:

Trout would NOT let me clean her ears..I pray that I never have too (they looks clean to me:dk:)

they should be clean unless they've got ear mites...

they should be clean unless they've got ear mites...

Thats good to know..I thought I was a bad mother because I wasn't cleaning Trouts ears :anon: They are clean already!:nod:

Yes, Trout's Mom! I'm only putting everyone (including myself) through this torture because of ear mites! I hate them, for sure!

To clarify, Miggy and Petal have them for sure, Zoie may have them and Jaden doesn't have them. Everyone is getting a cleaning and drops.

Today (Fri) was the special day yet again. I put it off a day cause I felt discouraged. Miggy's ears don't seem to be getting better yet, though the other's are. I should have timed myself to see how long it actually took me this time, cause it felt quick. One right after another got swept up and into the bathroom. Miggy always goes first cause he hides. I grabbed Jaden next as she was heading under the bed. Petal cowers in fear but is too afraid to hide, and Zoie always thinks it won't happen to her :lol3:

I'm only supposed to go another week, technically, so if I still don't feel Miggy's getting better I'll go back to the vet for alternative treatments. I MUST beat these mites! I've been putting it off for too long so I'm not stopping now.

Thank you everyone for the encouragement. I hope to keep updating until these mites are dead and gone!

Love, Carolyn :)

you may want to try advantage multi on them instead of their regular flea medicine.
The vet recommended it because it defends against Heartworm, flea, intestinal parasites and ear mites...

My girls have been treated four times so far for ear mites (with different meds) and they keep coming back. So far since I've started the multi they haven't been back.

you may want to try advantage multi on them instead of their regular flea medicine.
The vet recommended it because it defends against Heartworm, flea, intestinal parasites and ear mites...

My girls have been treated four times so far for ear mites (with different meds) and they keep coming back. So far since I've started the multi they haven't been back.

That's a great idea! I'll finish out this treatment and ask about that for sure!

Another ear drop day. Went smoothly again, thankfully. Zoie's and Jaden's ears were excellently clean. No sign of wax at all. Petal had modest wax and Miggy's ears were still gross and yucky. My guess is that the medicine is actually working but is more effective against a mild-moderate infestation of mites rather than Miggy's moderate-severe case.

I've got only one more treatment to go, but it seems Petal and Miggy need something stronger so I'll go back to the vet to weigh my options. With Miggy's ears being red and inflamed as well, I want to get something that will kill the mites without being so irritating to his delicate ear lining.

I'm sorry to hear that you'll have to go back to the vet's office... I'm still working on dosing frazier with the second antibiotics the vet gave us (day 6 of 10) but his ears are looking better, so hopefully this will be it.

Art

I'm wondering what you're treating with?

I had to give my girls ear drops twice a day for 14 days each run.