Ear Mites!

[s0mthinG]

Let me start with a bit of backstory.

When I brought my second kitten home she had ear mites and was currently being treated at the shelter I got her from. I already had a second kitten who is a month or 2 older than her and I got some Paradyne/Revolution so he wouldn't catch them while she was finishing treatment. I guess the treatment did not work and she kept the mites. A few months have passed (I brought her home in October) and I noticed my older kitten start scratching at his ears. This was probably a month or so ago at this point and it looks like he as JUST gotten them recently from her so she must have had them all this time (now that I think about it her symptoms hadn't stopped and I probably should have looked into her sooner but her behavior hadn't changed since I brought her home so I just thought that was her normal). Her original treatment was 3 doses of advantage multi 2 weeks apart. I had to administer the last dose on 10/9/18.

TLDR: Both of my kittens have ear mites because advantage multi did not work.

Previous medications given:
Coconut
-Paradyne/Revolution (1x)

Hazelnut
-Advantage Multi (3x)

I am very confident the diagnosis is still the same so what are your recommended Rx and OTC solutions for ear mites that have had the best results in the past?

I would prefer an OTC solution as my primary vet has a relatively high appointment cost (70$) and will not prescribe medications without seeing the cats. (I could possibly get them to give me more Paradyne as I got it for one cat over the phone as a preventative in the past so it would just be a refill)

 

[stephanietx]

Are you sure it's ear mites? It could be allergies or even a yeast infection. I would get her to the vet and get the ears checked out.

 

[s0mthinG]

Are you sure it's ear mites? It could be allergies or even a yeast infection. I would get her to the vet and get the ears checked out.

Ear mites were the diagnosis from the vet tech that saw Hazel (the younger cat who was adopted from the shelter). The symptoms line up as well as them transferring to my other cat after he was no longer on the preventative. The ear scratching and wax build-up have been constant with Hazel and recently developed in Coco so I am fairly certain as allergies and ear infections are not contagious and the mites are "highly contagious". I can upload a video of the scratching behavior as well as photos of the wax.

I do really support and appreciate your recommendation to take them to the vet.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. It is possible that both an ear infection as well as ear mites are involved. Ear mite infestation can actually cause ear infections. That would explain why symptoms continue after ear mite treatment - and ear infections can also be transmitted from cat to another (think fungal, viral, for example). When the vet tech diagnosed ear mites, were any tests done at that time to rule out an ear infection? If not, that is unfortunately what you probably need to do at this point.

Further, part of an ear mite treatment regimen is repeated cleaning of the ears in addition to medications. Did you/are you cleaning their ears routinely? If you did not, even with ear mite treatment, the lack of proper cleaning could have also led to an infection. If you don't know how to properly clean their ears, please don't try it until you have consulted a vet about how to do it.

I hate to say it, but you really need to take them in and have them checked again, including testing for an infection. The ear mites, not to mention any infection, can lead to permanent damage to your cats' ears.

 

[tabbytom]

Here's an article on Ear Mites :-
ear-mites-in-cats.22384

 

[s0mthinG]

Let's hope I did this reply thing right because I just want to address everything separately.

First let me thank you for your time in looking into my issue. I know it causes them pain and irritation and I want to get that cleared up as soon as possible in the way that is best for my amazing kittens.

That would explain why symptoms continue after ear mite treatment - and ear infections can also be transmitted from cat to another (think fungal, viral, for example). When the vet tech diagnosed ear mites, were any tests done at that time to rule out an ear infection?

I am pretty sure Hazel (the younger one adopted from the shelter who originally came home with the mites) has an infection in her ear (or ears) as one of her lymph nodes has been swollen for a while. When I first noticed it I was just going to give it some time to see if maybe she was fighting some sort of kitty common cold and it would go back down on its own and it hasnt. I am pretty sure she was tested for infections and everything because from the medical records they gave me she had tons of labs run including "Woods Lamp, FVRCP, FeLV - SNAP" and all of her physical checks beside her ears were "WNL"(within normal limits). What is strange to me is that her Lymph nodes were normal at the time she was checked out. Meaning the infection developed later when the meds did not clear the mites.

Further, part of an ear mite treatment regimen is repeated cleaning of the ears in addition to medications. Did you/are you cleaning their ears routinely? If you did not, even with ear mite treatment, the lack of proper cleaning could have also led to an infection.

I was never informed about having to clean the ears as all the medication and preventatives I was provided were applied topically between the shoulder blades.

That being said, I am going to start cleaning their ears using the guide in the article posted by tabbytom. My kittens are very trusting of me and should react just fine to me messing around even with their sensitive ears.

Photos of the current level of infection are going to be posted very soon!

 

[FeebysOwner]

You replied just fine!!! The ear cleaning is just a precaution some vets will recommend, and I think others don't - so don't worry about that!! It's great that your kittens shouldn't pose any problems with having their ears cleaned. Some cats collect more wax than others, so if that would be your case getting them accustomed to cleaning is a good thing.

There are other forms of infection than what you mentioned above, and they might likely cause lymph node swelling. The thing is with ear mites, the longer they exist - as you already sound aware of, the more likely they can lead to a cat's body becoming immune suppressed, which enables other health issues to occur - especially infections.

If you believe the ear mite treatment you were given didn't work, you might want to ask for a different one (to be given to both of them at the same time) when you have - at least Hazel checked out for her infection/swollen lymph node. Depending on what they determine the infection to be, it might be wise to treat your other little one as well!!

 

[s0mthinG]

The first 2 pics are Coco's ears

The second two are Hazels

 

[FeebysOwner]

Oh, yeah - that is either still ear mites, and/or an infection resulting from ear mites. Both can cause that appearance. Vet time!! And, if you don't get cooperation from your vet, it is time for a new vet!

What Are the Causes of Dirt in a Cat's Ears?

 

[She's a witch]

When my cats had ear mites, they have been under the following protocol:
- some cleaning ointment was applied by the vet and he also cleaned their ears with a cotton thing (he showed me how to do this so that I could be doing it daily until the treatment is completed)
- they got Stronghold (Revolution) spot on - but the vet said it is not enough to fight an active ear mites infection, but more as a preventative measure, so he also prescribed:
- ear ointment that I needed to apply daily for three weeks (it would not kill the eggs so it needed to be applied that long so that it captures the whole cycle). I won't tell you the name of the ointment as I don't think I remember it correctly plus it's in French, but I'm sure that regular ear mites ointment prescribed by the vet will help.
I wouldn't do anything with the cats ear without consultation with a vet though.
Good luck!

 

[s0mthinG]

We are probably going to the vet next Friday, hopefully I can get moved up to Monday.

They are both still very active and only seem to be irritated by the mites so they scratch at them. That's why Hazels left ear looks a little red/bloody.

I'm pretty sure it's just ear mites for Coco and ear mites with a possible infection in the right ear for Hazel. As Cocos ears are a lot drier and he only recently started showing symptoms on top of the fact that he didn't show symptoms for a few months while he was off the Paradyne.

I can't wait till my kitties are back in perfect health!

 

[stephanietx]

I had a cat who scratched her ears a lot. She was treated for ear mites several times. We finally, had her sedated and the vet did a thorough cleaning and did a culture on the wax. Turned out she had a yeast infection in her ears! He used BNT ear ointment and the infection was gone in about 2 weeks.