My cat has black residue coming out of ears like coffee grinds. What do I do?

Question

I'm thinking it may be ear mites. How does a cat get ear mites? Are there any at home remedies I can use to cure this? Thanks for any help!

Answer 1

It does sound like ear mites. Ear mites are common it cats- especially kittens and young cats. They can also cause your cat to itch and scratch up their ears till they bleed.

First off, the ear mites need to be cleaned out of their ears. Depending if that is what they are. Cotton balls with mineral oil on them (that you can get at the pharmacy) works quite well- the vet told me this and used this. If you're not sure what they are I would recommend you going to the vet so they can see how far they go down- its not good for you to be shoving things down to far down your cats ears because you can damage their hearing

The vet will also prescribe a medication if it is. What I used- can't remember a name- was putbetween her shoulder blades for once a month for a couple of months. It was cheap. I also made sure to clean her ears with the mineral oil and cotton balls. Keep in mind ear mites are contagious among animals and other cats. Good luck.

Answer 2

it probably is ear mites and the at home remedy is cooking oil and it doesnt' work the best but the over the counter stuff is not that expensive and works really well.

Also for the best results and the quickest recovery with the smallest amount of transfer is to clean the ears out after a day or two of treatment. get q-tips and gently scrape the mites out of the inside of your cats ear and wipe the excess on a paper towel, only use each side of the q-tip once or twice and burn everything when your done so they don't infect something else.

Be careful ear mites CAN transfer to humans!

Answer 3

Sounds like ear mites, as you said. Ear mites can spread from cat to cat, and they can also exist down in the ears for long periods of time without getting to be such a heavy infestation that you can see the dark gummy residue that you described.

There are no effective safe home remedies for ear mites. You can do a cat real harm by putting stuff like oil or hydrogen peroxide in their ears. Ear mites require a trip to the vet for some medication that will clear them up pretty fast without hurting the cat.

Answer 4

Ear mites is a possability, it could also be an ear infection. The only way to find out is by bringing your cat to the vet. They will need to take a sample of the ear gunk and examine it under a microscope. Unfortunately, I don't know any at home remedies. Mites aren't easy to treat without prescribed meds and an infection requires antibiotics. It will be much better to just make an appointment with a vet, as it probably will only get worse.

Answer 5

It sounds like ear mites. They can be painful to the cat and they smell too.
I have always gotten medicine from the vet which is some type of oil. I did research once though and was told that you could use alcohol but I just couldn't do that to my kitty's ears. After she scratched so much from the irritation I felt the alcohol would really hurt. So get drops from the vet, or find some online.

Answer 6

Try just cleaning the ears. Use some baby oil and some cotton balls. Gently wipe away any wax that is iside the ear. Be carefu! A cat's ear is very delicate, if you see some wax lodged deeply into the ear go to the vet to get it removed. If it is not wax, then it is ear mites take it to the vet to get treatment options. There are no home remedies.

Answer 7

It does sound like ear mites. You need ear mite medication to apply in the ear daily. Sounds like you need to go to the vets and check it out. If it is mites, they are actually microscopic little tinney mites that are eating away in your cats ear, very uncomfortable. They are also contagious to other animals.

Answer 8

It certainly does sound like ear mites. You can get a mitacide at your vets office for about $10.

Answer 9

Baby oil and Q-tips to clean it out the baby oil smothers the ear mites which could have come from anywhere she won't enjoy it but it will make her feel better You don't need much baby oil just a few drops in each ear then clean the ear out with the Q-tip don't get scratched this works on my wife's cats

Answer 10

Yes, that is most likely to be ear mites. I got my two cats free from my dad's friends farm when they were kittens. They both had ear mites so we just took them to the vet, the vet gave us drops to put in their ears, we cleaned the ears and put the drops in them, and soon enough the cats were cured. Please, for your sake and your cat's sake take the poor thing to the vet IMMEDIATLY!