Ear Mites

OK, I know what the symptoms of ear mites are & I know a little bit about treating them (from my experince at the shelter), but that's about it. My little girl Maggie (I've had her for almost 3 weeks now) has ear mites. I was able to get some meds from the shelter, but do I need to treat all my kitties? and for how long do they need to be treated? Or if anyone knows of a good web site I can read about them I'd appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Rang_27

OK, I know what the symptoms of ear mites are & I know a little bit about treating them (from my experince at the shelter), but that's about it. My little girl Maggie (I've had her for almost 3 weeks now) has ear mites. I was able to get some meds from the shelter, but do I need to treat all my kitties? and for how long do they need to be treated? Or if anyone knows of a good web site I can read about them I'd appreciate it.

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I am no expert but If Maggie was around the other kittens in close contact in the 3 weeks you have had her, I would treat them too! Contact your vet and ask for treatment. The treatment might depend on how bad she has them?
Hope this helps and Good Luck.

It's such a hassle to treat for ear mites. I don't think I'd treat unless I knew that the cat had them.

Originally Posted by coaster

It's such a hassle to treat for ear mites. I don't think I'd treat unless I knew that the cat had them.

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depends on what you are using too...

The two kittens i just adopted were infested with ear mites! The vet told me that if you touch on the soft fur behind the ear and rub gently a cat that needs professional treatment will kick up his legs to scratch. One of my kittens was okay with one treatment by the vet but my other kitten had to go back a second time. The vet also said the kittens who aren't teated properly can go deaf and if one kitten gets infected the whole litter needs to be treated, even my sisters kitten who comes over for playdates caught the mites. After getting the nasty crusties out of the ears the ver applied a med called revolution which should kill and prevent any further mites. I hope this helps and I know if is sooo frusterating!(bad at spelling

Well I've got some stuff from the shelter & since I'll be seeing the vet in a few days for Isaacs check up I can ask her about it, but my boys are all over a year old. Maggie is the only kitten.

My vet gave me this tip when my feral kitty got ear mites: Frontline top spot (the flea control) is also effective for ear mites, and is especially handy for controlling them in multiple cat homes. Open a vial of top spot for cats, put a single drop in each ear, a few drops at the base of the tail, and the rest on the back of the neck as usual. It will completely wipe out the ear mites with only one treatment. If the uninfected cats are on Frontline, it should help to prevent them from getting ear mites too.

Ear Mites FAQ

Ear Mites in Cats

I'll add a little disclaimer here: even though I got the Frontline tip directly from a vet, I'd suggest you discuss it with your own vet first - you wouldn't want to use it if the cat's ear has been damaged by mites or infection.

Revolution works for ear mites. Just use as directed on all the cats. One application should be enough but I would treat for 2 months in a row to be safe. At the end of treatment you might want to have the vet check to make sure all the mites are dead and have the cats ears cleaned at the same tim to get all the debris out.

I've been searching the forums to find the answers to my questions....

My 4 month old kitten, Callie, was treated with Revolution (I was told it was preventative) on the day we picked her up from the animal shelter one month ago. At a vet visit one week later they cleaned out some debris from her ears that looked like coffee grounds (I've never seen this before, but was told it's caused by ear mites). There should have been no more buildup of debris in her ears after that if the Revolution treatment had worked, right?

Today her ears are filled with debris and she won't let me near them. I'm worried and I'm not sure what to do. Also, we have another cat in the house and I don't want this to spread to her. What should I do? Is it possible that the Revolution didn't work? I've had $1000 worth of vet visits in the last two weeks and am hesitant to go running back. Is this a serious issue or am I overreacting? Can I treat it myself somehow, or not?

Thanks in advance for your help.
Cheers, Kathy

My kitties have been back three times, the vet only charged for the first visit. Maybe call and see if your is as nice as mine

When Crystal had ear mites the other month the vet just told me to check the othe cats ear to see if it looked like they also had mites. None of the others did. I still don't know how Crystal wound up with mites because none of my cats go outside and there have been no other cats introduced into the house in a few years.

Although some of the people who have replied are likely far more versed in vet care than I am, I was told by my vet that ear mites have a 3-4 week life cycle, so two treatments are necessary. This is because the treatment only kills the live mites, and not the eggs - so you need two treatments to kill the cycle.

That worked for Miss Kitty (one does was admin'd at the vet, then I did one a month later at home). It's been about nine months now, and checking her ears yesterday they are perfectly clear and healthy looking (and she had them BAD).

Good luck!

MKD