Ear mites and an indoor cat

My daughters cat, Niles, is strictly inside. They have a dog that goes in and out.

Well, Niles is fighting the second battle with earmites in a few months. Can they be coming in on the dog? I would guess yes, since anything outside can hitch a ride. Her other two cats seem to be ok.

Of course, they are on vacation and I am going to their house to take care of them. I treated them yesterday with the mite goop, but I don't know if I did a very good job. I called the vet and the girl walked me through it.

Going back tomorrow and I wonder if I should try and do a better job. I will call the vet and ask before I do, just wondered your experiences with them. Out of all my cats down through the years, none has ever had them.

Oh and they have no indoor plants, and the windows are about 6 feet off the ground.

Thanks for any info.

Are you completely sure he has mites? When I got Jack 12 years ago he had a nasty ear mite infestation. It was cleared up, but then his right ear got the black gunk thing again. I took him back and there were no mites; apparently, the old infestation caused a histamine reaction that persists to this day. It doesn't bother Jack and all I have to do is clean his ear a couple of times a week.

Well it is thick and black. His ears aren't upright, they are to the side and he is shaking his head.

They look just like the other time when she had him to the vet and he said it was mites.

So discouraging, I feel so bad for Niles. Will take a closer look tomorrow.

Thanks.

I recommend getting Revolution from the vet and treating all the pets at once. The other pets may be carrying the mites but aren't as badly affected, but there's just something about Niles that makes him more susceptible to the mites. I think that would have the best chance of successfully getting rid of the mites for good.

It also could be a yeast infection, so a trip to the vet might be in order. I second the Revolution treatment idea, too. That can also be obtained at the vet.

Of course check with your vet first, but I had the same problem with Boo and Chickster, both at the same time. The vet said mites, but I felt oddly about it and went to a different vet and was told neither cat had mites (Both indoors) and it was probably a fungal infection of some sort. I was given Animax ointment to put in their ears and it went away very quickly. Neither of them had problems from then on. Ask your vet. It has stuff for anti-inflammatory, antipruritic, antifungal and antibacterial. Chickster still has fairly clean ears though I have to clean a bit of wax out now and again when it's humid.

Good luck