Advice about chronic ear mites

One of my cats is a former feral and we adopted her years ago at age 2, she was a feral living on the streets until age 2.

When we adopted her she was perfectly healthy except her ears, they were infested with ear mites and all black gunk. The vets cleaned out her ears and put her on antibiotics and especially the cleaning really seemed to help.
Well, weeks later she was back to shaking her head and scratching her ears, we brought her back in and her ears looked as if they never had been cleaned! The vets gave us a vinegar smelling ear cleaner to treat her at home, but we are unable to do it she hates when anyone holds her ear or neck to try and get drops in she freaks out, we were unable to have success like the vets do.

My cat constantly shakes her head and scratches and fluid always comes out of her ear, sometimes she gets ear infections. I don't know how to get rid of her ear mites, she is almost 12 now and she has had ear mites all her life! Our other cat never got ear mites I don't understand why the mites never die our cat lives indoors.

Now the vets said her canal is narrower and the bumps cats have in there ears, hers got larger and so the passageway isn't as wide.

I don't know what to do for her?

Have you tried any of the spot-ons that treat mites?  Have you tried Canaural which drowns them?  And have you tried repeated treatments 3 weeks apart, as that is the life-cycle of the ear mite (usually Otodectes Cynotis)

http://www.fabcats.org/owners/ear/info.html

You should also get a lesson in how to administer the treatment from your vet nurses.

Our vet showed how to administer the liquid in the ear, but my cat doesn't move out of fear at the vet so there they easily squirt the liquid in. At home she has no trouble walking/running away when we try to get her to stay still it's very difficult.

I have no idea about topical ear mite medications and the vet didn't say how long the ear mite cycle lasts. I can get frontline on my cat, is there liquid that kills ear mites that can be applied the back of the neck and not in the ear, that would be a huge help!

Revolution does kill mites and that is applied like frontline.  If going to vet is option I would do Acarexx. That is in ear.

I think I would change vets if they never caught this sooner.  And if they knowingly put her on antibiotics to cure ear mites.

It says Revolution can only be given by a vet, so yeah why would a vet not have told me for all these years?

Does it kill ear mites for good or does it have to be repeated every couple weeks, because some of the rare side effects look serious and my cat never had it before.

By a vets rx...You in the states?

It tends to be safe though I woudl not use it unless there is a need to hit more then fleas.  I have used it on 3-4 dozen cats multiple times.

Not sure when it came out but not that new.  I did few months in a row when a stray came in with mites.  No one showed signs but I took 3 cats from this couple and spayed them then found out weeks later.  Was told mites tend to stick more to host then fleas.  Seemed true enough in nearly 2 months no one else showed signs.

Acarexx was used on the cat who was infested for sure and the others were treated with revolution as it is over ther counter in some areas under another name. 
 

Yes I live in the states and here you need to have it given by a vet. The only reason for it would be for ear mites.

It doesn't have to be GIVEN by a vet--but a vet has to prescribe it. Like antibiotics, the vet prescribes it and you give it. Usually you don't even need to take the cat in, just go in and ask for some and they'll usually let you buy some as long as they've seen the cat in the last year (an "established patient", as required by law). Of course, if you're iffy about applying it, you can have the vet do it. . .but it goes on just like Frontline. If your vet doesn't carry it, ask for a prescription. You can fax it in to an online pharmacy and buy the Revolution from them.

Probably applying the Revolution once a month for 3 months will take care of the ear mites. But, I'm kind of having trouble with the idea that the cat has had ear mites for 10 years. I wonder if it's a yeast problem instead. But the Revolution is worth a try.

Same here 10 years.  My cat Had them for a few weeks and it was obvious it was something major and not just an itch.  Sad really.

Call up the vet and ask.  You don't need the vet to apply it.  It comes in a predosed tube just like advantage or frontline.