Ear mites or ear infection?

[coteenkaph]

Hi, I honestly don't know whats going on with my cats' ears. I've been to 3 different vets and 1 of them said ear mites, the second said it was just irritation and the last said irritation as well. The first vet (the one that i always go to) prescribed them eardrops that have to be given 2x a day after cleaning their ears. The second vet I went to for a second opinion told me to clean just once a day- because it may cause the ear canals to get more irritated if you overdo it and she said that it was normal earwax. All 3 vets did the swab test thingy btw. I've been putting the eardrops in all 9 cats everyday twice a day but on one of my cats she has basically no debris at all (even before), on all the others there is a lot. It's been 2 weeks and I'm at my wits end trying to find our what is wrong. I've done some research and it does say that ear mites and ear infections may look the same. They aren't scratching nor is are the tufts on their ears balding, they don't even head shake their heads - i mean they do when I put the earmiticide in their ears, but when they're playing around they're just normal. The debris in their ears are like dried brown skin? and they come out as whole pieces, I've attached a pic- their ears don't smell like anything, but I really don't think this is normal...

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. About half of the cases of ear mites actually lead to an ear infection as well. So, both likely need to be treated. But, what swab testing did the vets do? One is done just looking at the debris under a microscope. That will readily identify most mites, but then chemicals are sometimes added to the debris to look for yeast/bacterial infections. The second is a culture and sensitivity test of the debris to determine what type of bacteria or yeast is growing and what type of antibiotic/medication would be best for treating it. So, if the former was done and not the latter, it might be a good idea to have it done as well.

The other thing to consider is getting a vet who specializes in dermatology involved as they see a lot more unusual cases than regular vets do - and, they may be able to use the test results already done by your vet to help reduce redundant costs/tests. Depending on what they find, perhaps they can even help to explain why one of your cats doesn't seem to be impacted as the others are. There might be an allergy factor involved, but that would seem odd for 8 out of 9 cats to be affected.

 

[sivyaleah]

It could be a yeast infection in which case as FeebysOwner mentioned, they need to culture what that is. It can usually be treated fairly fast although my younger one as suffered with recurrent infections in spite of medication. Finally went to an allergy specialist and turns out she has seasonal allergies, which is known for causing yeast to grow in the ears. We started her on sublingual allergy drops but it will be awhile until we know if it's working or not. In the meantime, I clean her ears with a gentle cleanser the vet recommended a few times a week (every 2-3 days or so to avoid irritating them too much) and still periodically use a cleanser meant to help eradicate yeast infections in the one ear that keeps getting infected (thankfully, it's mild).

 

[di and bob]

If there is no severe scratching or shaking of the head, I seriously doubt it is ear mites. It most likely is allergies as stated above. I have a little female who has allergies and she has black discharge in her ears which I periodically clean with a mild cleanser and sometimes just warm water.

 

[coteenkaph]

If there is no severe scratching or shaking of the head, I seriously doubt it is ear mites. It most likely is allergies as stated above. I have a little female who has allergies and she has black discharge in her ears which I periodically clean with a mild cleanser and sometimes just warm water.

It could be a yeast infection in which case as FeebysOwner mentioned, they need to culture what that is. It can usually be treated fairly fast although my younger one as suffered with recurrent infections in spite of medication. Finally went to an allergy specialist and turns out she has seasonal allergies, which is known for causing yeast to grow in the ears. We started her on sublingual allergy drops but it will be awhile until we know if it's working or not. In the meantime, I clean her ears with a gentle cleanser the vet recommended a few times a week (every 2-3 days or so to avoid irritating them too much) and still periodically use a cleanser meant to help eradicate yeast infections in the one ear that keeps getting infected (thankfully, it's mild).

Hi. About half of the cases of ear mites actually lead to an ear infection as well. So, both likely need to be treated. But, what swab testing did the vets do? One is done just looking at the debris under a microscope. That will readily identify most mites, but then chemicals are sometimes added to the debris to look for yeast/bacterial infections. The second is a culture and sensitivity test of the debris to determine what type of bacteria or yeast is growing and what type of antibiotic/medication would be best for treating it. So, if the former was done and not the latter, it might be a good idea to have it done as well.

The other thing to consider is getting a vet who specializes in dermatology involved as they see a lot more unusual cases than regular vets do - and, they may be able to use the test results already done by your vet to help reduce redundant costs/tests. Depending on what they find, perhaps they can even help to explain why one of your cats doesn't seem to be impacted as the others are. There might be an allergy factor involved, but that would seem odd for 8 out of 9 cats to be affected.

hi guys, thank you for your replies on this, the vets only checked under the miscroscope. Also, the allergy thing, I recently changed their food from Royal Canin to Orijen and recently gave them fish oil supplements, would that also be a factor? Also, how often should I clean their ears then? Cause I think cleaning them everyday might do more damage. I'll try go to the vet downtown tomorrow to see if they do culture swabs, where we live the vets are kinda rubbish so to say...I feel really bad cause I feel like I'm trying my best but nothing's working ( I really do pray and hope they get better soon.

 

[sivyaleah]

hi guys, thank you for your replies on this, the vets only checked under the miscroscope. Also, the allergy thing, I recently changed their food from Royal Canin to Orijen and recently gave them fish oil supplements, would that also be a factor? Also, how often should I clean their ears then? Cause I think cleaning them everyday might do more damage. I'll try go to the vet downtown tomorrow to see if they do culture swabs, where we live the vets are kinda rubbish so to say...I feel really bad cause I feel like I'm trying my best but nothing's working ( I really do pray and hope they get better soon.

Food allergies are difficult to pin down (been there).

Orijen has many different proteins in their food, making it even harder to figure out. We use Orijens, the Tundra flavor as a snack, but I know even the most popular variety, Cat and Kitten, has more than just chicken in it.

In order to figure out if it's food related you need to put your cat on a novel protein diet - something the cat has never eaten before. If the symptoms are alleviated (which, can take up to several months in some cases) then you know it was something you were feeding them causing the problem. Or you can use a hydrolized (sp?) food which is modified so the body does not recognize the allergen. These are considered prescription diets and I've hear mixed reviews on them as far as if they taste good to the cat, or not.

Keep in mind other proteins are often hidden deep in the ingredient list so you need to be really good at reading the labels. Must be only that one protein along with the necessary vitamins/taurine etc.

We found out one of our cats was allergic to chicken and turkey by doing this and once we pulled him off both he stopped throwing up daily.

Unfortunately with cats being so picky it can be difficult to do an elimination diet. We tried that first with our current allergy prone cat and she was totally NOT having it. However, we were fairly certain is was not food related since her only symptom was the yeast infections. Hence why I opted to have her tested for allergies (FYI, those test can NOT test for food allergies). Found out she was allergic to many trees, pollen, molds etc.

BTW, the most common food allergens are chicken and fish. So you may want to at least pull him off both of those and give it a month or so to see if it helps him.

Last, cleaning ears daily is a bit much unless you are sure it's a type which is non-stinging/non-drying. We use Douxo Micellar Solution, recommended by her specialist. She does not appreciate the ear cleanings at all LOL but she sucks it up

 

[NabilBen]

I had the same problem before and both of my cat's vets recommended (Oridermyl) it is a miracle medecine. Believe me. You can look it online.

 

[di and bob]

Cleaning once weekly for a while should do it, I only clean every few months when it gets bad.

 

[coteenkaph]

hey guys, an update, i just got back from the vet downtown, she did the tests for earmites and bacterial; and turns our it's an ear infection. She prescribed them Oridermyl for 1 week, hopefully they get better by then. I'm so relieved, finally I know what's wrong!!

I had the same problem before and both of my cat's vets recommended (Oridermyl) it is a miracle medecine. Believe me. You can look it online.

What was your experience with Oridermyl? I've never had to use it before.

 

[NabilBen]

Versace had both ear mites and ear infection twice. He used to scratch until he cut himself. I took him to the vet and she gave him Oridermyl then I talked to a friend of mine who is a vet also. He assured me on Oridermyl. And it worked like magic. That medecine is absolute magic. I'd recommend it to every cat owner.
Oridermyl is safe and it treats every ear problem. I think it's safe to use for dogs also.
I am happy I could help. Fast recovery

 

[NabilBen]

PS: Once Open, Oridermyl is only to be used during 28 days. After that, it should be thrown. (Once I make sure my cat is fully healed, I try using the remaining product on outdoor or feral cats before it hits 28 days)
READ THE NOTICE!!!!!