Mites

Ear mites external parasites that affect both cats and dogs. This mite is highly contagious and can spread from pet to pet in your home through direct contact.

The ear mite lives by burrowing into the ear canal. The cat's ear will respond to this irritation by producing more wax. Since the mite feeds on wax and debris in the ear canal to live, this only makes the problem worse! The mites cause an intense itching and with that your cat will shake his/her head and scratch the ears incessantly; so hard in fact that the cat's ears may develop abscesses and further infection.

Ear mites occur mostly in kittens before their immune systems are strong enough to build up a resistance to mites, but they can affect all ages of cats. It is very important to treat ear mites as soon as possible. If left unchecked they can cause serious problems such as secondary bacterial infections and deafness.

Symptoms to look
     Frequent scratching
     Excessive shaking of the head
     Scratching when the ear flap is gently rubbed against    the ear
     Reddish-brown or black waxy build up in the ear.
     Bad odour

Treatment:
Your vet will examine the ear discharge, or may just look into your pets ear. Your vet will also check for any secondary infections or abscesses in the ear. Once your cat is afflicted with ear mites her ears will need to be cleaned thoroughly Your vet may do the initial cleaning and then you will be sent home with either ear drops or oral medication. Once your cat is diagnosed with mites it is a good idea to treat all of your pets at the same time, and have your pets environment treated for fleas and mites as well. This should kill any ear mites that might be around your home to re infect your pet.

DO NOT clean deep in your cat's ear canal with a Q-Tip® or any other sort of applicator as you may accidentally hurt the cats ear or ear drum.