Is It Ear Mites??

We've had our female cat for about three months now and I just noticed that her ears are dirty and she loves for me to scratch them. We took her to the vet to get everything checked up on and got all her shots and treatment. Is there any way to tell if they are ear mites or if her ears are just dirty? Our male cat had ear mites badly when we took him off the farm, but Leya's ears don't have clumps of anything, it's mostly just waxy.

If she doesn't shake her head or scrath her ears, it could be just the normal wax built up. Their ears get dirty like us Get a good pet ear cleaning lotion and clean her ears.

If she had a Vet check, I'm sure the Vet checked her ears.

My oldest cat had a very bad ear mites infection when I got him as a kitten. It took lots of $$ and many months to get rid of it. I hope I never see a ear problem like this again.

Oh, the wonderful life of ear mites!

PHX actually just had ear mites (luckily not too bad). I caught it right away, so I just went to Walmart and bought some simple ear mite medicine from there. I kept putting the medicine in his ears and they are gone! Whew! As soon as I see him scratching a lot I KNOW... I'd better check the ears! I think it's easier to keep track of it, it you make sure you are regularly cleaning his ears anyway.

If you're not sure what to do, and have never had to deal with ear mites before... I would suggest bringing the cat to the vet. A lot of people will bring their cat to the vet anyway, just to make sure! It's better to be safe than sorry. If the ear mites are left untreated, it could cause even more problems for the cat!

I found some good links you can check out for more information on ear mites. Click here for the description of ear mites! Click here to see a list of common signs of an ear infection.

I hope some of this information helps you! Good luck!

Here is a link that has many holistic remedies for ear mites:
One person just used plain Aloe Vera and in three days it was gone.

http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache...lnk&cd=5&gl=us

Originally Posted by mybabyphx

PHX actually just had ear mites (luckily not too bad). I caught it right away, so I just went to Walmart and bought some simple ear mite medicine from there. I kept putting the medicine in his ears and they are gone! Whew!

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Please do not use OTC medicines on your cats. These can cause problems. If you do not believe me there was a thread in the health and nutrition section a little while back, someone had some problems after using OTC eat mite drops.

As for only treating for only three days, that's unlikely to work. Ear mites have 21 day life cycle from egg to adult. Any initial treatments will kill adults and nymphs but may not get the remaining eggs.

Vets can easily and quickly check for ear mites, they simply collect a bit of the 'dirt' and check it under an microscope.

Why would I NOT believe you?

You think I come onto TCS, because I think I know everything?

Yeah right!

I come onto TCS to learn more information about cats!

Thank You so much for the info, I wasn't aware what I was doing is wrong!

I have never had any problems with the medicine, but if others have... I'm going to believe you guys!

Most likely just wax.

Originally Posted by minou

Get a good pet ear cleaning lotion and clean her ears.

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You also said that cats ears get dirty just like a humans...does that mean that I need to clean my kitten's ears as often as I clean mine (Every day)

Yes, you do need to clean their ears regularly. I wouldn't do it EVERY day.... I only clean PHX's like once every couple weeks or so.


I'm sure someone with more experience will come along with good advice

If it were mites, you're kitty would be doing A LOT of head shaking, and scratching...almost constantly.

Personally, I recommend a dose of Revolution from the vet once a month to keep ear mites and other pesky things such as internal parasites at bay.

Originally Posted by mybabyphx

Why would I NOT believe you?

You think I come onto TCS, because I think I know everything?

Yeah right!

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I'm used to needing proof, I guess And I most certainly do not know everything, I'm luckily if I remember half of what I do know (at least when it would be useful to remember).

As for treating for eat mites, they're only transmitted though close contact between animals, such as grooming. Once your cat(s), if indoor only, has been successfully treated you do not need a preventative treatment for them.