I have meds for ear mites, but I can't get it in the wild kitties ears without getting bit and scratched. I know the ones I trapped and altered have mites. I got meds in 6 cats, but I have 2 that still hate me.
If inside, and can be caught, maybe a vet visit to sedate them and clean their ears and treat them? When we speuter the ferals at the clinic, we clean ears and treat for mites if needed.
If outside, unless it is severe, I think you are out of luck. If severe, try trapping, sedating, and treating!
If you can get close enough to them to apply Revolution between their shoulder blades, this will kill the ear mites (and also kills fleas and worms). The Revolution drops are much less uncomfortable than drops in the ears.
They are inside for now because I just had them spayed and neutered, but if they have ear mites I know the rest of the kitties have them. They sleep in a big circle together. 2 that I have inside now still will not let me touch them. I have tried everything and still end up with scratches. I haven't gotten bit by them yet. If I had known they had the ear mites that bad I would have had the vet treat them. I can have that done on the rest of the cats. I have boxes of revolution here of I know I can't get close enough to use it on them. I got a pill at the vet once before taking my cat to be groomed, but I was afraid to use it. Would something like that make them inactive enough to use the revolution? I am not sure what the pills are called. I am releasing the feral cats I have in my house, but they have got runny noses and sneezing so I am making sure they are healthy first. Thanks for the info both of you. I appreciate this site.
Go to the pharmacy and ask for a syringe. Ask the pharmacist to break off the needle in front of you- you just need the plunger really. Take the syringe home and fill it with the revolution. Using the plunger take and put just one or two drop near the ear of each cat. Because it is a longer tool, it is possible to do this. You don't want much, just one small drop near the ear and the medicine will spread and kill the mites. It's what I do with the outside cats (while they are distracted and eating)
For the future, you can ask the vet to check in their ears while they are under anesthesia being spayed/neutered and treat for ear mites at that time if needed. Much easier on all of you!