ear mite question

[mferr84]

are ear mites something that you treat just as the cat gets them, or are they something that i should be treating regularly? like flea(once a month)
i dont think sara has them, i was just wondering... just in case...

 

[jalapeno]

I think you should treat your cats once they have them, as it spreads easily in multiple cat households. Regularly treating of ear mites though, that I don't know. But if you're using Revolution monthly, it also treats mites along with other parasitic infections. Hope this helps!

 

[jazzy]

Jazzy had a bad ear mites before, I can't afford to buy $75 for ear mites medicine so what I did, I kept cleaning his ears everyday, using corn oil and cotton balls. It takes a few days, and you need a lot of patience to do that everyday if you can't afford a vet and a medicine.

When I see Jazzy's ear dirty, I damp the cotton balls with hydrogen peroxide, (not too wet), and wipe his ears.

 

[zanniesmom]

Cleaning the ears will not rid the cat of ear mites. However, an adult cat often has an adequate immune response that limits the mites, so it may seem to treat them. And the presence of dark ear wax is not necessarily ear mites. A definate diagnosis requires a look a the contents of the ear canal with a magnifying otoscope and even occasionally a look at the detritus under a microscope. I think that some treatments may be available over the counter, but prescription treatments are much more effective. There are injectable treatments, ear drops and as mentioned, Revolution. Acarexx is a one time only treatment into the ear canal, Ivermectin can be given by mouth or injection at one to two week intervals for three to five treatments, and other treatments are daily drops for a week or two. They may require sedation and ear cleaning, also. All cats in a household need to be treated even if not showing symptoms because they will pass them to each other if they aren't all treated at the same time. After adequate treatment, if the cats stay indoors, they do not need ongoing prevention. Becky

 

[mferr84]

thanks for the info all!!

 

[kmonceaux]

My two cats are on Revolution and it is wonderful! When they were adopted 3 months ago they both had ear mites, put on Revolution, and a month later they were both clear of the mites. They will stay on Revolution year round also because the area I live in is high in mosquito population (even though mine are strictly indoor cats) and this also helps prevent heartworms!