cat and ear mites?

Question

i have 2 cats and 1 dog. one cats keeps getting ear mites. how does a cat get earmites and what are earmites. and how do i stop the one cat from getting them. i take him to the vet ever time he gets them. and put the meds in his ears or ear. just like the vet tells me too.

Answer 1

Earmites are a type of tick that live in the ears of small animals, mostly cats. If your cat goes outside often, then it could pick up the earmites. If the cat does not go outside, chances are that the mite is living on something that the cat frequents. Keep giving your cat the medication, and check your cats ears frequently. Don't wait for the signs of scratching. If you see the starts of ear mites, give your cat the ear medication.

Answer 2

Ear mites are tiny arachnids (related to spiders and ticks) that can live inside the ear. It is NOT normal for a cat to have some ear mites... any number of them is considered abnormal. They get them from direct contact with an infected animal - usually seen in "outside" cats.

I would suspect your animals are passing them back and forth. You are going to need to treat all 3 animals. Even if the other cat doesn't go outside, you will need to treat it. Although they are rare in dogs, treat the dog also. Usually 2 monthly treatments of Revolution topically are enough to get rid of them, in this case you might want to consider treating for 3 or even 4 months because you have a chronic problem.

If you use a medicine you are putting directly into the ears, my vets usually recommend doing 10 days of meds, skip 10 days, then do 10 more days. That will ensure that you get any of the life stages that are migrating on the fur of the animals and aren't in the ear to get killed. Revolution may be more expensive, but it is a heck of a lot easier.

Answer 3

You just have to keep up on it. Ear Mites are bugs- Mites. Google it. You should try to get rid of them

If you have several animals infected they are probably passing it to back and forth to each other and maybe the house and yard have the eggs?

They might also be picking it up from other dogs?

The other possibilty is that you are not getting the medicine deep enough into the ear? or several treatments are needed.

It is hard to get rid of it all but I had the same problem and they are gone.

Answer 4

Does the cat go outside? Or is he an indoor cat? You are already doing mostly everything you can. Unfortunately flea collars don't do much for mites. Mites are very small bugs that live on the skin and usually cause itching resulting in scratching which tears up the skin and causes scabs. Sorry I don't have much more advice for you.

Answer 5

keep the cat in so it cannot become reinfested - wash all cat bedding ; make sure you follow treatment directions completely - if it says treat twice a day for 10 days - then do it!!!!
I suggest having a good look at your other cat to see if it also has ear mites - they are tiny microscopic bugs .. you dont see the ear mites - you see ear mite poop

Answer 6

Next time your cat gets mites..smell his ear..I know that sounds stupid but mite poo has a bad smell and that's how you know if its just dirt or its mites...Also if it is mites treat it very seriously it can cause excessive head shaking and hematoma which are costly to fix on a cat. I would watch for new items that have been introduces to your cat that maybe he is allergic to. Best of luck to you and your little kitty!!

Answer 7

i had a kitty that kept getting them, especially in one ear. he always had them as long as he lived, poor guy. cats always have ear mites, only become a problem when there are too many. This can happen if kitty's imune system is comprmised in other ways. We never found out what was wrong with my kitty, had so many tests done, but was always kind of smelly, and had ther issues, like skin lesions and stomach problems. You amy want to get your kitty back to the vet if it has any other health symptoms

Answer 8

I would get revolution, a topical spot on, for your cats and your dog (available online or at your vets office). This will kill and prevent ear mites for a month, plus it also prevent heartworms, kills fleas, and worms your pets.

Answer 9

Agree with "Ilovemyfrenchbulldog" - apply revolution to your cats to [revent re-intestation. It is a simple once a month application and the revolution for cats covers everything.
The dog one doesn't cover worms

Answer 10

There are several ways to cure that problem. But the easiest is to just rub vaseline over the entire inner ear with a kleenex.