Cat sores on ear & maybe ear mites? home remedies!?

tessa_s212

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The place we are renting at has outdoor barn cats. They don't get any basic care besides food at all. They are not my cats and I don't have the money to take care of all of them. I AM very much willing to do anything I can with home remedies. (I am actually transporting the one and only female to a low cost spay/neuter clinic an hour away to at least prevent more litters, but as far as expense goes, I can only afford that because it will only be $25 because I'm on food stamps, medicaid and WIC.)

Anyway, the cat we call "pegleg" (hit by a car, broke leg, never treated and healed so that he walks like he's got a peg for a leg) has a huge, bloody sore on one of his ears. He's very friendly and I'm fond of him. We put bag balm on it, but I'm sure theres an underlying cause as to why he's scratching at them so badly. My guess is ear mites. I've looked in his ears, and they aren't the worst I've seen, but they do have black crust-like substance in them.

I plan on using maybe some witch hazel/water flush on them to help relieve pain and clean them a bit, but I don't know if there is anything I could possibly do as a home remedy that may kill ear mites. Anyone have any suggestions? for either the ear mites and treatment of the sore that wouldn't make him dig at it more?
 
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tessa_s212

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I've read that natural oils can help. All I have is vegetable oil. I know it likely won't kill them like a product that the vet would use, but its been said to help control. "Help control" is better than nothing, and I'm going to give it a go, along with using witch hazel in the ear and on the sore.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!
 

catnurse22

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Tea tree oil may help. It does sound like ear mites and there's nothing (home remedy wise) that will actually cure them. But tea tree oil can relieve the itching/inflammation. If you're on a good basis with your vet he/she may just give you some ivermectin to take home. You just need a drop or two in each ear and it's very inexpensive. At our clinic we don't even charge for it it's given in such minuscule amounts.... Just a thought! Best of luck!
 

yosemite

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Originally Posted by CatNurse22

Tea tree oil may help. It does sound like ear mites and there's nothing (home remedy wise) that will actually cure them. But tea tree oil can relieve the itching/inflammation. If you're on a good basis with your vet he/she may just give you some ivermectin to take home. You just need a drop or two in each ear and it's very inexpensive. At our clinic we don't even charge for it it's given in such minuscule amounts.... Just a thought! Best of luck!
I've heard that tea tree oil is poisonous to cats so I would be very careful. At least phone a vet to try to get some advice.
 

baloneysmom

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My friend had this same problem when she went to visit her parents. They had barn cats and didn’t care much for them and the poor babies had bloody, black ears. I’m sorry, you may have to Google this (I will ask her when I have time, I only have so much slack time at work so I am writing this fast) but she said she used a solution of Vinegar and its something she has used for her entire life for strays and barn cats.
 

Willowy

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Get some Ivomec (It'll be about $35 for the bottle but it lasts forever) and some 1cc tuberculin syringes and squirt .10 cc into each ear. This will kill any ear mites. You can also give .15 cc (careful, don't overdose) orally for worms. Less for small cats. Ivomec is really very multi-purpose and should be on any farm.
 

skimble

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When you take the female to be spayed, ask them to check her ears. Some of the low cost spay/neuter clinics here check the ears on the strays and ferals. If one has ear mites, they all likely do.

I don't know of any home remedies for the ears. The vet that does the spay may at least offer an opinion as to what might be helpful, after explaining that purchasing meds is not an option. There are some understanding vets.

Bless you for helping them.
 
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tessa_s212

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Originally Posted by Skimble

When you take the female to be spayed, ask them to check her ears. Some of the low cost spay/neuter clinics here check the ears on the strays and ferals. If one has ear mites, they all likely do.

I don't know of any home remedies for the ears. The vet that does the spay may at least offer an opinion as to what might be helpful, after explaining that purchasing meds is not an option. There are some understanding vets.

Bless you for helping them.
They didn't seem to offer those services, at least not on any paperwork when we dropped them off. I can ask when I pick them up.


He is the only one that seems to have the problem, and it was the female we sent to get spayed. I know that the ear mites are contagious and that they all likely have them.

The ear cleaning solution I make at home for my dogs is said to be safe on cats, however he's got an open sore on the outside of his ear so I won't use that specific one. However, I do also have a mixture of witch hazel, vinegar, and water that is safe on open sores that may help. I'm sure cleaning out all the back crusty exudate and flushing his ears a bit will have to help to some degree, though I know it likely won't kill them.

I'll ask my vet tomorrow when I take my dog in if there's anything I can get OTC from the clinic or if he'd need to see the cat. I absolutely do have the urge just to take him in to be seen, but I'd be afraid of a big bill. I just don't have the money to be paying for everyone else's irresponsibility anymore. I have a long list of strays and foster kittens that I've taken to the vet in previous times. I would if I could, but with a child on the way and a bad economy.. it just woudln't be wise. I feel awful that I don't have the money to just ahve him be given the medical care he deserves.
 

pami

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Originally Posted by CatNurse22

Tea tree oil may help.
Originally Posted by Yosemite

I've heard that tea tree oil is poisonous to cats so I would be very careful. At least phone a vet to try to get some advice.
All essential oils are toxic to cats because a cats liver cannot metabolize it like humans or other mammals can. Its not good for a cat to ingest it, inhale it or to be put on the skin. It was once something very common to suggest for cats to use for different conditions, but has now been shown to be toxic.

If it was diluted enough to be safe for a cat it would not be effective in this case.
 

saraanis

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i asked my vet he said a 3 drops of olive oil once a day for a week will help.. but since your cat is outside he might get ear mites again
 
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tessa_s212

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They did perform a short physical exam. The female we took to get spayed does NOT have ear mites. So it doesn't seem to be a problem spread amongst all 4 outdoor barn cats. I was also pleased to hear NO signs of fleas or lice, considering they all had lice last spring/summer and a whole litter of kittens died due to anemia from the lice. And she was pregnant, so I'm so very glad I got her in when I did. (The males that would have mated with her are all very very closely related to her - two are brothers, and Pegleg is both her half-brother and father.)

All of them do have a slight URI, but very very mild.

Because he's the only one, and I don't think it'd be too great a cost, I am going to speak to the vet today about getting something OTC through the clinic for his ear mites. I won't waste my time with store bought, as I know they don't tend to work.

Thanks for all the encouragement and advice. The vegetable oil and vinegar/water/witch hazel cleaners I've been using to help flush out his ears have seemed to help some already. So I can say that they help to offer some relief and discomfort, and at least remove some of the black crusty exudate.
 

conniejohnson

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NEVER use "Tea Tree Oil" in your cats ear to treat ear mites or  allow this toxic oil any where around your cat. Tea Tree Oil  is great for human's, but for cats...it is a very deadly toxic 
 
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