Ear mites

rescue-mom

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Stewie has ear mites again.....He gets them regularly and normally a vet trip is in order,but i am wondering is there anything i can do at home to help it?
I will be taking him to the vet again but we can not get in for about 4 days and he is really uncomfortable,I just wanna ease it if possible.
 

strange_wings

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There's no reason a cared for pet cat should regularly get ear mites. Ear mites actually take fairly close contact with an infested animal or that animal's bedding.
If this is a house cat that's been treated for them before it won't be ear mites.
You need to have the vet take a sample of the gunk from his ears and culture it. Since this happens as often as you say it's more likely a chronic infection or the heavy wax is being produced because of another ear problem (like a polyp + infection).


You can carefully clean his ears with some cotton balls or lightly dampened paper towel and your finger. Be careful not to knock any debris loose and push it into the ear. He will try to scratch after wards, so you'll have to discourage him not to for a bit. Do not put anything liquid in his ears unless you have a proper ear cleaning solution for cats. Anything else, if this is an infection, can make it worse.

Can you try calling the vet back and telling them that it might be an ear infection? Ear mites will be dismissed as a non-emergency, but an infection is a bit more urgent.
 

catsallaround

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Is it possible he never clears on the mites and its not that he has them again but still has them from the first time?

I had a sample taken and looked at under microscope it was 20. What were you told to use last time or what was applied/given at last visit?
 

my4llma

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Have your vet give you Revolution. Worked for
Lynxx
, worked for Midnight.
 
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rescue-mom

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The vet puts some cream stuff in his ears when we visit.
And i regularly clean his ears with ear cleaning solution.He is strictly an indoor cat and at first i assumed he was getting them from my dogs but at my dogs last visit they checked the ears for me and said there was nothing.
So i am not sure if my vet is missing some at each visit and ofcourse it gets worse.
Last time the vet looked in his ears and just said yes it is ear mites....Not my regular vet last time either as mine was on holidays.
 

strange_wings

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^ I figured you took good care of him and he was likely a house cat. Is there another vet you can try?

What sort of food does your kitty eat? Has he ever had any issues with any foods or seem to have any allergies (gets itchy)? A common cause for ear infections in cats is allergies, so if it turns out he has a persistent waxy discharge and repeated infections that would be something to strongly consider. Unfortunately, if that's the case you have to find the trigger.
Other things that need to be ruled out are immune issues such as FeLV, FIV, and even herpes. Hopefully if your cat had any structural or growths in the ears the vet would have seen this by now - though it would be more probable as the cause if it were just one ear.

You certainly could try Revolution along with making sure this is/isn't an ear infection. A month or two of that should definitely wipe them out and you won't have to worry about the 21 day life cycle retreatment.
 

koffeewitch

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I prefer natural medicine over allopathic for non-emergency issues, so I can tell you some things that have helped my cats. I once adopted a stray that had such a horrible case of ear mites that he clawed up the outsides of his ears until they were bleeding. He let me clean his ears with olive oil (one vet recommends "sweet oil" which is a product that some pharmacies carry). I warmed the oil slightly and used a small amount for over a month to smother the mites. The cat seemed to understand that I was trying to help him, and even though I could tell he didn't enjoy these administrations, he tolerated them. After using the olive oil, I cleaned the ear gently with diluted hydrogen peroxide for a few days (not the canal, just the outer ear). I also supplemented his diet with good fish oil and a small amount of B vitamins via Brewer's Yeast. Brewer's Yeast is great at helping to prevent fleas and other parasites, but I try to be conservative with it...I understand that too many B vitamins can hinder a cat's absorption of vitamin A (and taurine). Usually parasites and mites go after animals that are not healthy or have nutritional or immune deficiencies...if your cat continues to get mites, perhaps some prefessional consultation with a holistic vet or open-minded vet with good knowledge of nutrition is in order. Good luck, hope your kitty is feeling better soon.
 

feralvr

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Oh your poor kitty. How uncomfortable for him. Obviously the meds you have been given to clear the mites is not working. I would immediately give your cat the Revolution, you can only get it from a vet. Get two doses. Give one now and one in three weeks. Put it low on the back of your cats head so he cannot reach or lick the product off. In the meantime, you can use a few drops of mineral oil in each ear and gently wipe with cotton. The mineral oil will drown the mites and help loosen the dirt. This can be done twice daily. Good luck
 
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