Farm cat may have ear mites?

[East Texas Pine Rooter]

The vet told my wife to put alcohol drop in the cat ears, for ear mites. This sound like a real trip, trying to put drops in a cat's ear. I dont have a full arm glove. My cat is loveable, but how he will tollerate drops, will be a learning experience. Got any ideas, or similar situations?

[Cyngbaeld]

Have fun! I have two aggravating felines who don't like to be doctored but WONT stay out of cat fights.

[trtalbott]

No idea's, but we had a cat when I was a kid, and the crazy thing sounded like a turkey gobbleing when it would scratch it's ears. We about died laughing when heard that for the first time. And you know as kids things always seem a lot more funny than they might really be. Good luck.

[countrygrrrl]

Do you all have problems with ticks or fleas? If so, it might be worth it for you all to just get some Frontline for the cats and be done with it. The Frontline will kill the earmites, even when applied on the back. In fact, they're apparently getting ready to release Frontline specifically for mites because it's so effective.

I've had two dogs who had horrible times with mites until I started using Frontline. Within a week or so of my first applications of Frontline on them, the mites vanished and have never returned. I'd tried alcohol before, but that was only a temporary fix.

In any case, good luck ... esp. with putting the alcohol in their ears.

[sapphira]

for ear mites suspected in animal, dog, cat, rabbit, use "sweet oil". I had to ask for it last time at drug store. Is over counter thing. Never hurts animal and smothers the mites. S.

[Hank - Narita]

We had our 2 male cats fixed and they get along so much better since then. Ask your vet if he has a special rate at any time during the year. If you value your cats you will do this for them and you.

[Vera]

The vet found earmites in the ears of one of my cats who just got neutered. She recommended mineral oil put in the ears every other day for six weeks - like the sweet oil mentioned, it smothers the mites, but you have to keep at it for six weeks because of the mites' lifecycle (development). She said to clean the gunk (dead mites) out of the ears with a Q-tip once a week. Needless to say, that's a tricky thing to do unless your cat plays along. If he wiggles too much, you can really hurt him with a Q-tip.
The vet also said that since Pablo is part outside- and part inside cat, he's more likely to pick up mites (outside) and then bring them in the house where they can migrate to the other (inside) pets, so everybody's ears need to be checked on a regular basis.

I got a bottle of mineral oil and a medicine dropper (like for children's liquid meds) at the supermarket for $4 total... will see how it goes with that. The Frontline idea sounds very tempting, wish I could afford that for all my critters!

[Tango]

If you have DE sprinkle it on the cat's fur and around her ears sparingly and carefully. Rub it in. She won't freak out as much. It should take care of all the parasites on her.

[tkrabec]

when you catch the cat, wrap it in a towl so on;y it's head sticks out, you should be able to do what you need, they will eventually work out a claw or 2.

-- Tim

[CatSister]

ACK!!! I would definitely not put alcohol in the cat's ears. If he's scratching his ears, he'll have little lacerations from it, and the alcohol will really sting him. I've done cat rescue work for many years and the most effective and quickest thing we've used is ivomec (ivermectin), but I'll have to find the instructions/dosages for you... In the meantime, I'd try either of the oil treatments posted. It may smother the mites and should be soothing to irritated skin in the ears. BTW, I hadn't heard that Frontline was effective. That's good news!

Originally Posted by East Texas Pine Rooter

The vet told my wife to put alcohol drop in the cat ears, for ear mites. This sound like a real trip, trying to put drops in a cat's ear. I dont have a full arm glove. My cat is loveable, but how he will tollerate drops, will be a learning experience. Got any ideas, or similar situations?

[Gayle in LA]

<<<<<<<<<<< Cat vet here........The two most effective ear mite treatments I know of are: Revolution (a topical monthly product which is a prescription drug obtained from your vet) and Frontline (topical monthly OTC insecticide). Both are EXTREMELY safe when used as directed, and EXTREMELY effective. Advantage is not label-approved for ear mites but I never see ear mites in any cat that is getting Advantage every month, for what it's worth. We no longer use ear meds for ear mites.....getting the ears clean and getting the meds into the ears is beyond most owners (and many vets), and not very effective even when done perfectly. DO NOT Q-tip your cat's ears.....you will just pack the stuff in there. DO NOT put alcohol or any food products down there either. NO peroxide. We used to use mineral oil, but it takes forever and the cat hates you doing it! Keep life simple........use the new, state-of-the-art stuff.

[januaries]

Many years ago, a cat of our had ear mites. The vet gave us drops to put in his ears. It took two of us. One to hold him wrapped up in a towel, and the other to put the drops in. It actually wasn't all that difficult; it just took a couple times to figure out the best technique.