Dirty Ears?

dianamc

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I just noticed that Dandy has some ear wax or something in her ears.  I didn't know if I was supposed to be cleaning them, and when I did some research, I discovered that they can get yeast infections.

Before we got her, the owner was treating them with drops for ear mites and when we took her to the vet the day after picking her up, they cleaned a lot of gunk out of her ears and treated her with Advantage Multi. She still kept scratching her ears so when we went back (about 3 wks. later), they cleaned her ears again and reapplied Advantage Multi. She continued to scratch at them and when she got spayed and had her last shots (3 mos. of age), my husband asked them about them.  They didn't say anything when he picked her up and I don't think they checked her. There was nothing on the bill about it.

I'm going to call the vet but do you think its ear mites?  I hate to get blown off with another dose of Advantage Multi. She has been indoors and is an only cat.  She'll be 6 mos. old in a couple of days.  Thanks for any advice.  I'm beginning to think the vet is more dog oriented but there's not many choices and at least they are open on Sat.
 

pinkman

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Well, without actually seeing the gunk it's hard to say if it's mites or a yeast infection... Does she shake her head often uncomfortably?

About mites - when I brought home a 9-week old rescue he was INFESTED with basically everything you can think of. But his ears were the worst. Just filled with brown, coffee grounds-like substance. The day I got the little dude I cleaned the ears with an ear wash (vet quality) that I had... but it was still deep into his ears. Called the rescue to let them know - they told me to use mineral oil, as that will drown the mites.

The next day I took him to the vet, and surely it was ear mites. We gave him Revolution (which is similar to Advantage Multi) and also Milbemite. Perhaps you can ask your vet about Milbemite. Little dude was on Revolution for another couple months after that incidence, because he also had fleas. I'm not quite sure what the life cycle of mites would be.

After that incidence we had a follow-up appointment where we had to get his ears deep cleaned again (now the second time). There was still some "stuff" left, but microscope results showed that there were no more mites, at least. Vet told me to clean the lil' dude's ears once a week for maintenance.

The kitten is now seven months old, and I've been cleaning his ears every week. He used to have a lot more wax build up but slowly it's becoming less and less. Maybe his diet is helping? He also has a compromised immune system, so who knows?
 

tammyp

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Hi DianaMc,

Im not sure what 'advantage multi' is, not being in your part of the world.  But if it is a combined spot on flea treatment that also prevents mites, once you had the vet treat the mites, the combined flea treatment should  keep them mite free.

Mites in the ears will produce a good lot of thick, very dark gunk.  So their ears will look dirty with very dark dirt.  And they'll also be scratching their ears a lot.  I don't know what a yeast infection would look like, but I'm assuming it would be light/er in colour.

If your cat just has regular 'dirty ears' - a few flecks of ear wax, probably a bit brownish - then you can clean them with a cotton-cue-tip and some ear cleaning solution (for cats).  Do very gently - no poking deep in the ear, and just in case of wriggling, keep another good bit clear of going in too deep.

With my first kitten, I suspected mites because of the dark dirt, and the vet confirmed.  In retrospect, I don't know if she was correct!  But we got treated - twice - and had a few other issues like dandruff on the ears, which I put down to a reaction to the medicines and possibly stress.  When I just relaxed, and did nothing, things all cleared up.  But at the same time, he wasn't being bothered by his ears - so if yours is, then I'm thinking its good you have booked a re-check.
 
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dianamc

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She does scratch at her ears and never stopped.  That's why we asked for a check when she was spayed.

I don't think this looks as dark as it did before.  It's more dirty, waxy looking.  We haven't continued with the Advantage Multi (a prescription flea, worm & presumably mite medication) because she's indoor and it's winter here.  I wasn't crazy about them dousing her with it before she turned 8 wks. and then 3 wks. later.  We will use it or regular Advantage later though. I never used Revolution.
 

happybird

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I have read about a way to check for earmites, but have not had the chance to try it out. Supposedly, you can smear a bit of the earwax on a black piece of construction paper and then check it with a magnifying glass. The earmites will be visable as little white specks.

I don't know if this actually works, but I do know that earmites are very hardy little suckers and can survive outside of the ear for several months and then re-infest pets after they have been treated. Swabbing her ears with mineral oil will provide some relief until you can have the vet check again.
 

ziggy'smom

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It's not impossible that she still has ear mites. In my experience spot-on treatments don't work very well for ear mites. The thing that works the best is a medication called Acarexx which you put in the ear. It usually works with one treatment. It does require a prescription. I usually buy it online and have the online pharmacy contact my vet to approve it. You also want to treat your cat's environment to make sure she's not reinfected. Just wash her bedding and stuff like that.

If she doesn't have ear mites the best thing to use, imo, is Animax ointment. It works for both bacterial infections and yeast infections. It's possible that having had mites have now caused an ear infection in your cat. That would actually be my guess. It wouldn't hurt to use both Acarexx and Animax ointment.
 

tammyp

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To be clear, the combined flea/worm/mite spot on treatments do not kill mites.  This is why any mites need to be treated with something that will kill them (and maybe retreat until they are gone).  The combo spot on treatment is a preventative to stop re-infestation of mites.  And yes, I do understand not wanting to put a spot-on treatment regularly on one so young.
 

cprcheetah

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Spot on treatments rarely work for ear mites.  You need something like Tresaderm, Milbemite, Atarax etc. 
 

allourkitties

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OMG, We foster cats. A kitten rescued from a kill shelter had serious ear mites. He was supposedly  "vetted" and had no problems. I guess the ears were neglected.  I didn't check, I took for granted that ALL was well. He had serious mites and spread them to 7 other cats. By the time we noticed what was happening, another cat,  best bud to the newbie, was eaten up too. I was told to use warmed oils, (Mineral oil, cooking oil, olive oil, etcetera) to each cat, several times daily. Needless to say that my husband and I were battling cats for DAYS. They were miserable and mites were getting worse. Then I was told to use a certain brand from the pet store. Worthless too. Finally I was prescribed Revolution. (Yep, for fleas.)  Much easier too apply. Just cleaned ears  well, with ear wash for people (mildly warmed), then applied the Revolution. We had to use two doses on a few of the cats, but it was cured.  After being sure mites were gone, another good cleaning was given.

One cat  continued getting "gunk" in ears. Vet found yeast and bacteria. Used Tresaderm  drops for a week and cleared that up.

I believe in natural remedies when possible and I am aware it is a poison. However this experience taught us  a hard and costly lesson. We were spinning our wheels, making the cats even more unhappy, wasting time and money, we would recommend just starting with the Revolution and "nip it in the bud". 

Hope this helps.
 
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dianamc

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Thanks for all the information. Maybe I will see if they carry Revolution before going there. I'm not against these medications but it didn't seem to be working and that was closer together for Advantage Multi than the mfr recommends.  Someone there, not a vet, told me they could even use it 2 weeks apart when I questioned the 3-week span.

There is a closer vet but when my cat was seriously ill, we discovered that the only emergency provision for weekends, etc., was to make a 2-hr. drive to a very pricey Pittsburgh vet.  This is the only one with Sat. hours.  What's funny is that 2 vets live relatively near to me but would not appreciate me on the doorstop.  I guess it's 3 since there is a married couple but their practice is as far as this one and their emergency instructions are to go to State College, another very long drive to another expensive emergency vet.
 

that guy

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My guy had dirty ears as well which his regular vet pointed out and left it at that. The next vet noticed the same thing and then took a sample and tested it to see what they were dealing with. It was an infection so they flushed his ears out and then I gave him 0.25cc of Surolan in each ear for 21 days which cleared it up. It also made him deaf for a while but his hearing came back a week or so after the last treatment.
 
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