If you see your dog or cat shaking their heads and clawing at their ears, they probably have ear mites. These parasites are common in outdoor cats and are extremely contagious, despite the fact that they normally do not infect humans.
Even though they usually do not pose a life-threatening threat, ear mites can cause your pet a lot of discomfort. In some cases, ear mites can cause your pet to scratch so violently that blood vessels in the ear rupture, obstructing the animal’s ear canal and requiring surgery.
Why Are There Ear Mites?
The majority of the lives of the small parasites known as ear mites are spent inside the ear canal. They are rather common and can cause intense itchiness and irritation in the ears. Since Otodectes cynotis is the most common ear mite seen in cats, “otodectic mange” is the term used to describe an ear mite infestation.
Ear mites spend the most of their lives in the ear canal, where they feed on scraps of skin. Their presence not only irritates, but it can also lead to secondary ear infections. Eggs are inserted into the ear, where they develop over the course of three weeks into reproducing adult mites.
Even though they are frequently found in the ears, ear mites can occasionally stray onto the body and land there, where they can itch and irritate the skin.
Symptoms of Cats Ear Mites
You can recognize ear mites by your pet’s behavior and look. The mites themselves, however, are often too small for the human eye to see. While they require more time to deliver, there are a number of medications that can reduce inflammation and treat future yeast or bacterial infections.
Symptoms
- Shaking one’s head and scratching one’s ears
- Ear discharge that looks like coffee grounds and is dark, waxy, or crusty. Unusual levels of scratching in other body parts.
How to Identify Ear Mites
The diagnosis of ear mites is verified when ear mites are found in an ear discharge sample that is examined under a microscope. On rare occasions, the mites may even be seen as little white specks moving about in the ear (when using a magnifying scope to examine the ear).
Do not try to diagnose yourself because ear mites must be confirmed to exist in order to be distinguished from other ear disorders. Any treatment should always be initiated after consulting a veterinarian.
Treatment and Prevention
Out of the different alternatives available to treat ear mites, your veterinarian will recommend a treatment plan for your pet. Over-the-counter medications typically have poorer efficacy or require longer treatment times than those prescribed by your veterinarian. In actuality, a number of more modern medications function after just one use.
Initial ear cleaning can stop discharge, lessen itching, and even get rid of some mites. There are several ways to proceed from this:
- One-time applications of medicine to the ear may be successful.
- Although an ear mite infection is frequently treated with a single dose, you may want to use them periodically to prevent reinfection and eliminate other pests. Typically, one-time skin treatments are utilized as monthly parasite control medications.
- It could be essential to repeatedly provide medicament to the ear.
- Ivermectin injections can also be used to treat ear mites; this is an off-label use.
It is essential to strictly follow the dosing regimen suggested by your veterinarian for the treatment of ear mites (usually twice daily treatments for a week or more). The most typical symptoms of feline ear mites are as follows:
- Ear mites spreading
Cats frequently struggle with ear mites, which are usually spread through contact with an infected animal. They are especially common in young animals.
The family pets should all be treated at the same time, even if none of them are showing symptoms.
- Ear mites and people
Ear mites do not cause chronic ailments in humans since they do not live for very long on hosts. On sometimes, ear mites may linger temporarily on a person’s arm or other extremity and produce a transient rash.
If you suspect your pet is sick, contact your veterinarian straight away. Always seek advice from your veterinarian when you have concerns about your dog’s health as they have inspected the animal, are familiar with its medical history, and may offer the best solutions for your pet.
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