Ear question?

white cat lover

white cat lover

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I was checking Damita over this afternoon. I noticed that she is missing hair on the "top" of her ear on one eare. She has several scabs there & where I scabs would appear if she was scratching at her ears. There is some dark "gunk" in her ears, too. I am thinking this is either an ear infection or ear mites. What do ear mites look like(what should I look for)? Damita got treated for ear mites(an injection that lasts 3 weeks) when she got spayed(early Feb.). I am not too concerned about this spreading as she has to be in a cage until her after 4/21 when she gets her 2nd dose to kill the roundworms. I checked Chico's ears & they seem to be fine.

I will talk to someone at the HS, but I won't get a chance to until Tuesday night. In the meantime, should I clean out her ears with a Q-Tip? How can I do that safely?
 
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amykins

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It could be either. When my cat had earmites there was A LOT of dark gunk in his ears and no matter how much I cleaned, it always came back. Are the ears read or inflammed at all?
 
ashleynicole

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I haven't had problems with Marlee, but my dog Maggie has very bad allergies. She will get infections in her ear from where she scratches herself and bacteria grows. The inside of her ears will be very red and inflamed looking, with crusty stuff. Thats all the experience I have had, but if it is something like Maggie had, its easy enough to treat, the vet would just give you some cream to put in once or twice a day
 
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It sounds like earmites. My kitten had the gunk, the mites, and crusties on the edge of one ear that the vet said was caused by a mite "sneaking out at night and nipping her on the ear". Vet humor, I guess.

Anyways, I hadn't heard of an injection for mites or for worms. The vet gave Spirit a one-time dose of ear mite meds in the ear, right at the vet's office and that was that. With that you can't clean the ears out for 5 weeks so the meds have time to kill the mites as they hatch from egg state. And for Spirit's worms, he got a pill right there at the office too, and that was all set. If your vet does the "typical" in-the-ear med, the mite symptoms should go away in a week or so, getting better as time goes on.
 
Anne

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If you're unsure, get het to the vet. Your vet should be able to take a sample and see if those are indeed mites and also check for secondary infection and offer treatment.

Don't clean your cat's ears with a Q-tip though, it can be dangerous, especially if your cat moves about.
 
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I had a really old vet tell me to put a couple drops of sweet oil in their ears and rub the outside of the ear to make it run down. It will soften the gunk so they will be able to shake it out more easily, and the oil can suffocate some of the mites. He also said you can gently clean the ear with a cotton ball wrapped around your finger, just NEVER down inside, only the part that sticks up. You can find sweet oil in the skin cre area of Walgreen's. It is almond oil, and non toxic. You can do it as often as needed.
 
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white cat lover

white cat lover

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I was wondering about how to clean her ear out safely with a Q-Tip. Damita gets dancy now whenever I give her attention. I don't think I can get to much of it myself, so she will have to wait for a vet trip.

Damita's ears look red, but I don't think they are inflamed. She loves it when I rub her ears, though. She didn't tolerate that much before.
 
momof3rugratz

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Originally Posted by white cat lover

I was checking Damita over this afternoon. I noticed that she is missing hair on the "top" of her ear on one eare. She has several scabs there & where I scabs would appear if she was scratching at her ears. There is some dark "gunk" in her ears, too. I am thinking this is either an ear infection or ear mites. What do ear mites look like(what should I look for)? Damita got treated for ear mites(an injection that lasts 3 weeks) when she got spayed(early Feb.). I am not too concerned about this spreading as she has to be in a cage until her after 4/21 when she gets her 2nd dose to kill the roundworms. I checked Chico's ears & they seem to be fine.

I will talk to someone at the HS, but I won't get a chance to until Tuesday night. In the meantime, should I clean out her ears with a Q-Tip? How can I do that safely?
Click to expand...
When we found Skittles at 3 weeks her ears where bad. She lost hair which has never grown back, but it looked like she had black oil in her ears. The vet said she was heavely infested with ear mites and fleas. SHe is totally clean now of everything 11 months later. But if you look at the ears there is hair missing just a little on each side.
 
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