Ear Mites & Likely Mange...any Relief Until Vet Appt.???

[beckbjj]

My vet doesn't want to see my rescued barn kittens again until July 7 which is their guesstimated 8 week birthday. He says he doesn't carry any ear mite medication that is safe for them until then. He had previously sold me Quadraclear which he thought was safe for them but turned out to definitely not be (for dogs only), so per the advice of the manufacturer and the vet I stopped it. Vet said to give it once a week instead of daily, but I'm very much not comfortable with that based on what the manufacturer told me.

In the meantime, the ear mites are still there, plus the skin on and around their ears is flaking off in kinda tan colored flakes, which I'm guessing is mange. My poor babies. I have been moisturizing/cleaning the area around their ears, and their ears inside and out daily with organic olive oil or organic coconut oil (depending on which is handy) on a cotton ball.

Is there anything else I can do to give them some relief until July 7 when the vet will see them? And is the oil thing okay? Their skin just seems so dry.

FWIW, the kittens actually don't seem especially bothered by it. They don't shake their heads or scratch that much. I suspect it's simply because it's all they've ever known. But regardless, I'm stressing big time over it. I know it's possible to order Rx meds like Ivermectin online, but I'm certainly no vet and would be afraid to.

Ideas and suggestions welcomed!

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

.
You're correct, of course:

Acarexx Ear Drops safe for - Google Search

and water-borne Acarexx (Ivermectin) is safe for kittens in most cases. To be blunt, you need a new veterinarian, and yesterday.

.

 

[supergirl]

I agree with you totally need a new vet!

 

[mackiemac]

Yup, I know of one thing that can give these kittens some relief...

A new vet.

Oh-- and if it's in your budget: Revolution for kittens once they're at least 8 weeks old. Cornell University (<--link) recommends using an old-fashioned remedy-- plain old baby oil in the ears a few times a day followed by a good wipe with a cotton ball to smother the mites and help clean them out. Do this for a month or so, or just until the kittens are old enough for something like Revolution or other miticide.

BUT, according to the manufacturer, Acarexx is safe for kittens four weeks of age and older. If your kittens are 4 weeks, they can have it now, and that may hold them until they can get on Revolution for maintenance and prevention of re-infestation.

Acarexx ®

Hope that helps!

 

[beckbjj]

I talked to him again this morning, and sent him a pic of the ears of the worse of the two, and he apologized sincerely. His meds supplier has two completely different ingredient lists on the same product (the Quadraclear)...one which was the one he had always known and would've been fine for the kittens, and one for a more "natural" version with more essential oils (not safe for kittens or cats) and eliminating the traditional miticide in favor of a "natural" one. Apparently the "natural" version replaced the one he knew. He says they didn't do anything to call attention to the change. Because I've had only good experiences with him until this, and had numerous referrals to him a few years ago when my prior vet retired, I'm going to take his word for that and accept his apology. Needless to say if something like this happens again though, I'm out.

In terms of solving the problem at hand, he gave me (gratis, needless to say) a bottle of Tresaderm which I haven't yet looked up but I understand to be an antibiotic/anti-fungal, and he facilitated my obtaining one of the kitten-safe mite meds (Milbemite Otic...his supplier doesn't carry Acarexx) which his office doesn't carry but can be bought online via his supplier (without the retail vet office markup, so that's cool). That should arrive to my door in a day or two, and hopefully between the two meds this will solve it. If after the 30 day working period for the Milbemite they still have mites, he'll prescribe the Revolution. The original plan had been Quadraclear until they were old enough for Revolution. I'm hoping Milbemite will work and they won't need Revolution, because they don't have any of the other things Revolution covers, but we'll see!

Thanks so much for the help and advice everybody!

 

[mackiemac]

Actually, Revolution is a GREAT product because it does cover so much. It can help prevent ear mites from happening again, but it also protects against some of the intestinal parasites, fleas and heartworms. I've had a cat that died of heartworms and ever since then, I've been a proponent of feline heartworm protection. Unlike dogs, there is no "safe" treatment or cure. You pretty much have to wait it out and pray to your favorite deity that the worms die off without taking the cat with them. And it's a sudden death, as happened with Nirvana-- and not pretty. Thankfully I didn't see it happen, but I've been present with many other cats that died of sudden respiratory failure and anaphylactic shock (as a vet tech). Death from heartworms is much the same, and even an indoor cat is at risk. All it takes is a bite from one infected mosquito. If you live in an area with lots of mosquitoes and dogs-- you are at risk, and heartworms have been reported in all 50 states.

Even if you don't use Revolution specifically, I do encourage you to consider putting the cats on a heartworm preventative of some sort, as well as flea prevention. There are a number of products that offer 'all-in-one' or multi-level protection so you don't have to buy several things which can actually be even more expensive. It's worth it-- I swore that I'd never let another one of my cats come down with those awful heartworms... ever again. Products like Revolution are preventatives and they go a long way to keeping our pets from getting these common (and nasty) things. It's much better to prevent a problem than it is to treat one.

But I'm also happy that you got the issue settled and got some relief for your kitties' itchy ears! That's really good to hear!