Any tips for self treatment of ear mites?

Harley's ears are full of brown/black icky wax I've diagnosed as ear mites. I've used 3 treatments of an OTC product called Four Paws ear mite remedy but still the black/brown stuff keeps coming up and he's scratching and shaking his head every day. I also have 2 other cats and the oldest girl is starting to scratch her ears. I would like to treat Harley at home, he is an ex feral who's only bonded to me and my dh. He was trapped, anesthetized and neutered, vaccinated last year. I did some great work with him and now he's such a nice affectionate smart kitty but I'm afraid he would freak out if I take him to the vet. Does anyone know any at home remedies or what I can do to get this ear mite problem under control. I'm afraid I could end up with an epidemic here.

Umm I don't think anyone will recommend home treatments. You kitty needs a trip to the vet.

Are you sure it's ear mites? You said you diagnosed it so unless you are certain I would still try to get him to the vet. I'm sure they will know how to handle an ex-feral. Home and over-the-counter remedies seldom work very well. The money you waste trying all of the various products would be better spent at the vet for quality medication.

I agree with the other posters, you should definitely take your cat to the vet. Personally I would rather risk my cat freaking out, than risk his health. Alot of the OTC meds aren't that effective and I've heard in some cases can be dangerous. If it is ear mites the vet can quickly and easily treat problem.

~Shauna

You should check with your vet and see if they offer Revolution spot on flea treatment. That is what my vet has me use for my crew because it is for fleas, mites, hookworms and roundworms.

I treat 19 indoor/outdoor cats and everyones' ears looks great.

He had the Revolution application from the vet the first time. Then following that I applied Frontline last 2 times. I don't see any fleas anymore. Just earmites. I'm sure its earmites. What else would look like coffee grounds? BTW, we don't let Harley or any of the other cats out.

Originally Posted by FishTreatsMom

He had the Revolution application from the vet the first time. Then following that I applied Frontline last 2 times. I don't see any fleas anymore. Just earmites. I'm sure its earmites. What else would look like coffee grounds? BTW, we don't let Harley or any of the other cats out.

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For topical flea medicine, Revolution is the only one that also "prevents" ear mites. I don't know how effective it is for a real "case" of earmites, however...I think I was told once that if they already had mites I needed to use it at least a couple months in a row for it to possibly kill the mites. Sometimes the infestation is too much for Revolution.

The vet would have good medicine for ear mites specifically.

Sometimes after you use the revolution they still have debris in their ears but the mites are gone. When I used to work at a shelter instead of using something like mita clear we would use mineral oil which seemed to work better than the ear mite stuff.

I would take the cat to the vet. When you took him to the vet before, didn't the vet look into his ears?

Originally Posted by jenniferd

I would take the cat to the vet. When you took him to the vet before, didn't the vet look into his ears?

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Good question. I didn't ask him because I figured that is part of a normal exam. I think he figured the Revolution would do the job.?

One of the vets I use carries a product called MilbeMite, (I think that's the right name), that comes in little tubes and is a one time use product. It's a little pricey, but I think it's worth it to avoid the day after day applications of some of the other products. We all know how much our fur babies love having their ears treated.

I've read that if the ear mites are very bad that occasionally the cat will require one repeat treatment, but generally the product will get rid of the mites in one treatment.

What you are seeing though may or may not be mites and the vet really should take a look and then determine what should be used as it could be an infection causing his ears to gunk up.

I know the vet trips and treatments can sometimes seem so overwhelmingly expensive, but I've found in the long run it is often cheaper, (and less heartbreaking), to take the animal in and get them treated properly.

I would take the cat to a vet to have his ears cleaned, and to apply Ivermectin into the ears which works really well. The cleaning works great to get all the gunk and most of the mites and eggs out, but it's not something you should be doing at home unless you are trained.

Have you tried asking around about house call vets? If you're in a large metro area chances are there's someone around offering it. My SIL has a very skittish former feral who gets housecalls from the vet because it just causes her too much stress to go out to the vet (or anywhere).

I just wouldn't fool around with earmites. It's just too easy for the cats to keep infecting each other. My vet did a cleaning and one time treatment for both my cats when I got them from the rescue. Bella had an awful infestation and she's been fine since.

Talk to and likely visit the vet ... oh and treat all dogs cats ferrets

Originally Posted by FishTreatsMom

Harley's ears are full of brown/black icky wax I've diagnosed as ear mites. I've used 3 treatments of an OTC product called Four Paws ear mite remedy but still the black/brown stuff keeps coming up and he's scratching and shaking his head every day. I also have 2 other cats and the oldest girl is starting to scratch her ears.

I would like to treat Harley at home, he is an ex feral who's only bonded to me and my dh. He was trapped, anesthetized and neutered, vaccinated last year. I did some great work with him and now he's such a nice affectionate smart kitty but I'm afraid he would freak out if I take him to the vet. Does anyone know any at home remedies or what I can do to get this ear mite problem under control. I'm afraid I could end up with an epidemic here.

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Some of my residential cats just had mites...some of my fosters had the mites & it spread.

Worked like a dream:
- chop 2 fresh garlic cloves & place in small bowl
- add enough olive oil to cover the garlic
- heat in microwave for 30 seconds
- let infusiton refrigerate for 5 days...ok if you need immediately
- strain oil & add 3 drops of Vit. E and 1 drop of GSE.

Mixture will last up to three months if stored in cool dry place

Using an eye-dropper or cotton ball, apply oil every day for 1-week to kill mites then three to four times a week for 6-weeks to kill larvae.
You can also add yellow dock to this mix...great for itching & infections.

I received a boy with ear mites. His ears were think with black wax. It was awful. His breeder had treated him once with revolution but I didn't want them spreading to my other cats. I took him to my Vet who said the Revolution only works on the feeding mites and does nothing to the eggs. You have to have months of revolution so the eggs cycle to feeding adults. He also told me that the mites can migrate onto the face and also to the rear end. It's gross but he said the Dr. who did the research gave them to himself to test his theories. yuck

My vet cleaned his ears really well and treated them with a one time medication. I also continued the revolution. We did not have any further problems with the mites.

One of the troubles seen after the mites are gone is yeast infections of the ear.
My boys ears were bothering him so I treated the ears with Otomax Ointment. He has been fine ever since.