Ear Mites or Dirty Ears

My baby is approx. 4-5 yrs old rescue kitty from my son, unsure if he has mites or just dirty 

ears shakes his head tries scratching inside ear so watching to make sure that he doesn't

worried would hurt himself. It looks thick dark & gummy, have gotten some out of his ears

and just thick enough to leave an imprint in the napkin  he doesn't travel well so Vet is out of the

question   help  any suggestions or ideas would be appreciated

Hi, welcome!

If he is trying to scratch his ears and has lots of dark crud inside, then he probably does have ear mites.

This does not just go away on it's own, it needs medication drops in his ears to kill the mites.

It doesn't matter if he travels well or not, he does need to be seen.

Otherwise with time the mites will get alot worse and cause ear infections, then you will need him on 2 medications rather than just one now.

When in a carrier riding in the car, cover the carrier with a towel, it helps alot.

Best trick the vet tech ever taught me.  Turn the carrier up on it's end so the door is at the top, pick up cat and lower  into the carrier butt first.  Close door quickly and lock, then slowly lower it to the floor.  

I have seen earmite meds at specialty pet stores and on Amazon. It does sound like eatmites. Maybe if vet is an absolute no go try. It is painful to have mites and it does get worse.

Hmm......the earmite meds I just saw on Amazon seem possibly toxic. Some scary reviews. Be careful what you go with.

I have a cat with waxy ears and I have to clean them weekly, but If your is shaking his head it is probably eat mites. It could also be a yeast infection.I have used the ear mite medicine on adult strays that you buy from the store and it is fine as long as you are using it on an adult cat, a vet visit is
Preferable of course. If the medicine doesn't work then he probably has a yeast infection and that does need a vet visit. In the meantime Id clean his ears with liquid ear cleaner for cats, if you don't have that alcohol pads work as well. He won't like it but it'll ease some of the itching.

Thanks I appreciate the advise and I bought some Ear Mites medicine from Dr. Fosters and got it today so tomorrow will be the first of his treatments

should be interesting to see how it works and just in hopes that it will.

I went through Dr. Fosters and got it today so tomorrow will be the first treatment    hope all goes well with it

Is there a mobile vet in your area?  I was shocked to see that the one near me isn't any more expensive than taking them in for an office visit.