Ear Mites Infection Or Just Dirty Ears?

I just noticed that Milukhu seem to have a brownish color waxy, dirty substance in her ears. I read up a bit on ear mites and the info I got indicated that it could be ear mites. But, how do indoor kitties get them? Is it possible? I cleaned her ears out as well as I can with a Q-tip 5 days ago when I noticed it, (I was out of town and just got back) and now there's a little more of the brownish stuff in her ear again. I am boggled by how this happened? Or what is happening, since she along with her sister, Bumpy are both indoor kitties.

Is it possible for kitties to have brownish stuff in their ears, just dirty ears... while not having ear mites? Milukhu is not scratching her ears at all, but a little annoyed when I try to clean her ears out (don't know if it irritates her because of pain or just that she doesn't want me to check out her ears.) Bumpy, her sister's ears are pretty clean as of now and no signs of scratching either.

If they have ear mites, are there any over-the-counter medication that will take care of the problems? (it's really difficult to get them into the cat carrier to head down to the vet's). If ear mites are contagious, can humans get them from kitties? I am worried about my babies.

mine had the same stuff and same as yours, with no scrathching. and it was not mites. vet gave me tresaderm. said it was an infection, but wasnt sure. the tresaderm apppears to have dont the trick.

dont use q-tip except for outer ear. u should always see the head of the q-tip. if i was u i would rinse with HALO Herbal Ear wash.

I've read that a bad smell, as well as scratching and head shaking are signs of ear mites. It might just be dirty ears, but you really don't know for sure without having a vet examine them. I wouldn't give any OTC remedies.

I called the vet but they were all booked up today, so I couldn't take Milukhu's to get checked out until next week.

Catguy, do you know where I can get the HALO Herbal Ear Wash immediately? It seems that most online stores take a while. I'd like to try it. Thanks.

Coaster, do dirty ears continue to occur if it is that? She's not shaking her head now, other than when I fold her ears down to see, and she'll shake them back to normal. Thanks.

I had one cat with dirty ears when I adopted him. The vet cleaned them during his first exam, and he's never had to have his ears cleaned since. But he has two other cats to help him groom his ears, too, so I don't know for sure.

I called another vet after talking to the regular one I usually take my kitties to. They told me that if my girl has ear mites, she'll get a shot and in another 2 weeks, she'll have to go back to get a second shot. I never heard of shots for ear mites. Is this common? Does any one have any experiences with your babies of such? Thanks.

How old are your babies? I think that my vert told me that it is very common for kittens to have ear mites. (Just like a lot of puupies are born with worms) who knows. But if they are not digging( scratching ) and shaking its probably jsut dirt or som build up. The ear wash sound like a good first step. see if that works. Also, sometimes the frass (mite poop) will come out of their ears if the scratch . It's hard and looks like little pieces of wood.

My babies are already past 3 years old. I found them when they were kittens and the vet did clean them up, got ears checked, treated for tapeworms, vaccinated, etc... Every since then, they been indoors (other then Milukhu dashing out of the house twice in the past 3 years...poor baby, she's got some other behavior issues). Could the build up resemble mite poop? They look kind of oily down the ear canal, which I don't dare to touch with a Q-tip. I will keep observing the kitties and get the wash. Thanks.

If it looks oily then its probably just some build up, mite poop is sort of dry and and chunky looking.

Dax had ear mites when we got her - it looked like crusty coffee grounds coating the inside of her ears. It didnt smell much, and she didnt scratch much, but the vet diagnosed it from an exam. We had to use oily drops for nearly a month.