Ear Mites and Black Gunk: Advice Appreciated

Quick background: 8/12 feral kitten, grabbed finally after a week of crying in the woods near our home. Vet visit #1: upper respiratory infection, fleas, ear mites, dehydration, malnutrition. FIV/FeLV/heartworm negative. Lots of nasal and ocular discharge. Given FVRCP 4 week vaccine, Convenia 80mg/ml @ .07cc, applied revolution and first dose of Strongid with two to follow every 2 weeks.

8/20 Kitten stopped eating, fever develops 103+, possible viral infection, eye swollen and red. Prescription Metacam, Viralys nutrient supplement, Ofloxacin drops for eyes.

8/22 Fever breaks, appetite returns, medication continues, eyes clear. Benadryl given, helps break up congestion.

Question: Still cleaning GOBS of black goop out of her ears every day. Using Epi-Optic Advanced Ear Cleanser for puppies and kittens, with cotton balls and q-tips. Next evening her ears will be loaded with the tell-tale "coffee ground" goop and solid chunks of black yuckiness.

Does this mean the original medication for the mites did not work? Does it take a week or more for all of the yuck down in her ears to work out? No scratching or cocking of the head that would indicate irritation.

Honestly I've invested more than I can really afford already, and don't want to spend another $100 for a vet visit if this is normal aftercare. Also, no offense to present company, but I'm not a cat person, have ugly allergies to this adorable little ball of fluff - but committed to getting her healthy before she moves into her forever home.

I'd definitely defer to the experts here for suggestions on whether or not this is normal, and if she needs another application of (or different/stronger) meds to clear up whatever's going on. Picture attached, with any luck, representing an average night's goop.

Thank you in advance!

There is a simple cure for ear mites, which can be one of two powders, boric acid powder, which you can get at some drugstores (used to be everywhere but not so much anymore) or diotomaceous earth which can be purchased at tractor supply and other feed stores.  Both kill ear mites by penetrating their bodies by getting under their exoskeletons and then they dry out and die.  Neither one is a poison.

Clean the ear junk out like you have been doing, put the powder on the end of a teaspoon, hold the ear open and pointing upwards so gravity will help as you drop the powder into the ear.  Pu;; the ear up once gently (let the powder slip deeper) and then fold the ear over and massage for a few seconds to spread the powder around all sides of the ear canal.  Then let the ear go and the ct will shake out the extra powder all over wherever you are, so choose your treatment area accordingly.  Do same for other ear.  Repeat in 4-5 days, then repeat in one week, mites should be gone.

Mites can be very persistent.  You might try calling the vet's office again and seeing what they recommend you do.

Good morning (depending on where you are), and thank you for your responses!

I have diotomaceous earth, which I have used for my dogs in the past, and for helping with flea control in carpeted areas when we have had an outbreak at home. I did not really even think about applying into the ear. No long term side effects to worry about there, it will all come back out with the shaking and subsequent cleanings?

Further, I will definitely take her back to the vet if necessary, I don't want to seem like that's not an option. However, at my vets office I have found that the usual response to any telephone query is "bring him/her in," with the exception of precise requests for medications that have previously been prescribed. Now that it's been suggested, I especially appreciate the opportunity to use DE as I know it is effective topically and digestively for parasite control. I seem to be the neighborhood Noah when it comes to sick/abandoned/needy animals, and every bit of knowledge helps.

Any further suggestions or options are greatly appreciated, and I'll also probably start a DE run tomorrow.

Miss ivy, now ~9 weeks old..

.

If your vet applied a one-time application of miticide, then the mites themselves are gone. There will still be quite a bit of dark, coffeeground-like residual in the ear. 

Ear mites are usually accompanied by a fungal infection that requires a separate treatment. This also presents with a similar dark, coffeeground-like discharge and that is probably what you are still seeing. 

Call your vet and ask if he would prescribe some Keto-TRIS +PS for fungus. It is an irrigation solution that is applied liberally inside the ear(s) twice a day for 10 days. He will most likely provide it for you without charging for an 'office visit'. 

I live in Indiana and it cost me about $30.00 a year ago (I think?).

I would avoid over-the-counter treatments. As far as the 'dirt' and powder remedies - I would avoid those as well. The ears need to be flushed out and, as I said above, you are most likely now dealing with a fungal infection.

Please, be extremely careful using Q-tips to avoid breaking the eardrum! Especially if your kitten is uncooperative and moving around a lot.

I hope this helps.

We had a kitten that had this very problem. Her get checked several times and confirmed that there were no mites after treatment because her black crumbly gunk persisted for so long. We continued the otc rinse and swabbing out with qtips for about 3 weeks after she was treated for mites. Her ears are finally back to normal. Also it would be difficult to puncture her eardrum with a q tip because of the angle it sits at relative to the opening of her ear (so long as you aren't digging for gold). Gently swabbing the folds in the top and just inside the opening of her ear shouldn't pose any risk.

Good morning, again!

I believe what was applied was simply the Revolution, which they said would kill the mites as well. In your experience is that the same as (or as effective as) what you refer to as a "miticide?"

Miss Ivy doesn't seem to really mind her nightly ear cleanings and doesn't move around much at all while I'm doing it. I have tried to be very careful using the "scooping/swirling" motion I saw them use at the vets (and in online videos illustrating kitten ear cleaning.) If I were accidentally going too deep would she definitely be reacting? I've been trying to only clean what I can see.

Is a yeast infection likely even when it presents no other symptoms like scratching, irritation or head shaking? And are there possible side effects of treatment is applied but no yeast infection is present? Or will it just be ineffective of that's not the underlying issue? Thank you for the additional info!

We also use revolution and it has been effective for mites for us and yes, I think she would vocalize if you hurt her ears by swabbing them too deeply

No harm in trying the DE as it will also dry out the ears and thus might get rid of yeast if there was any as yeast needs warmth and moisture.  I had a cat with bad mites that nothing worked on before I got him, and he was highly sensitive to the usual ivermectin-family of drugs.  The boric acid powder had the mites gone in 2 weeks when a month of vet and vet tech treatments before I got him had failed.  The good thing about being OLD is that I know a lot of things that worked before any of these fancy modern products were developed, and they still work but nobody has heard of them because all these PRODUCTS are available now.  Glad to share this with folks before I get too old to remember.  

Once the DE is in, leave it in, don't clean it out for several days, even if there is black stuff.  When you do clean in a few days, re-apply the DE, you will probably start seeing a decrease in the black junk.  When you get to the point there is no more black junk coming out (and I'm pretty sure you will within a week or two at the most, then put in one last dusting of DE and leave it, it will work itself out over time.  If you have other cats who have been around this one, putting the de in the ears prevents them catching the mites from the other cat by making the ear canal totally inhospitable to mites.