ear mites

*sigh* I have come to the conclusion that the new kitty that I just adopted has ear mites. I just checked for the trademark "black gunk" and he has it- although it's not too severe. Another TCS member called my attention to it by a post of hers. Her kitty did what mine does- rubs his head/ears voraciously against my face- and turned out to have ear mites. So, my question is- should I seperate "new kitty" from Kina- my other cat, or is it already too late and I should have them both treated? New kitty has only been home for five days and they've been playing together sporadically for the last two. I'm kind of freaking out about this- I'm on hold (15 minutes now) with my local emergency pet hospital. Any input would be greatly apprecieated! thanks.

Since they are already playing together I would have them both treated. Mine had it and the first vet didn't catch it even when I told her he had them. The next one did and I had to have my rabbit treated too since Charcoal sleeps on the bunnycage alot.

My cat Simon had ear mites shortly after I got him, I was a new pet owner and didn't check the ears when I bought him! I am glad though, because I might not have him if I did!

My suggestion is to treat them both. The treatment I had was just a liquid that you squirted into their ears and it cleared it up in a few days. The vet will also try to clean out most of the ear "gunk" but I wouldn't advise trying that on your own until the vet shows you how.

Good luck

you might want to ask about Revolution flea drops. They work on ear mites too. I used it for Sakura's earmites and it worked great. Its alot easier to use than the ear meds.

Revolution is pretty strong medicine for just ear mites. There have been reports of adverse reactions. Unless you also need the protection against the other insects, I think it's better just to go with ear mite treatment only.

Make sure you get it from the vet. Do not buy over-the counter ear mite medicines-they can kill your cat! And don't freak out. It's a very treatable condition so the vet will know what to do and there shouldn't be much problems of getting rid of the mites!

Dax had mites when we got her - the drops in the ears cleared it up although it took a while and vigilant treatment.

She now has a bit of a phobia about my partner holding her in the bathroom - We always administered the drops in there since they were oily and she would shake her head hard when we put her down. Droplets of oil and black ear crust would spray out in a fine mist over the tiles!! Much easier to clean up if you do it in the shower cubicle or something!

Oily kitten...

Thank you everyone for your replies! They were very helpful- well, we're off to the vet. Have a great day everybody!