What do do about my cat!??!

Question

My cat is constantly scratching her ears and shaking her head. From what I had read online, it sounds like she's got ear mites. Yesterday I tried putting ear drops in as directed on the package. But then all night she was shaking and itching even MORE than she had before. She was also l*****g the stuff in her ears. My questions are 1) is it harmful to her to be swallowing the ear mite medicine, 2) why would the medicine be making her itch more when it's supposed to help. She's mad at me now for putting the drops in and before I do it all over again today, I wanted to be sure I'm doing the right thing....thanks!

Answer 1

My first question is whether she was diagnosed and prescribed by a vet?

Only a professional exam can accurately diagnose the problem.

I have found that one of my cats hates his ears to be touched at any time and after putting medicine in them, he will try to l**k it out. another good reason for a vet to prescribe, in case of side effects.

Plus, it is possible when the medicine goes in his ears it tingles in some way, just like when we have a wound that is healing and it itches. We want to scratch, and similarly the cat does too.

not knowing the age of your cat, it is  down the road to start a habit of touching your cats ears,examining their mouth and their feet. That way in the future if you have to deal with one of these areas, they are more acceptable of your invasion.

good luck - please see a vet.

Answer 2

Maybe your cat has a more serious problem than ear mites. Take her to the vet. You may be doing more harm than good by using those drops.

Answer 3

The medicine probably gets them all stirred up and they start moving and irritating her.   You could help her get rid of them faster by taking cotton balls (after the medicine has been in her ears for a little while  and loosened the mites)  and rubbing slowly, softly and not too far down inside the ear to remove the ones you can get to,  Keep getting clean cotton and you will see if you go very slow she will let you know when you are too far and need to stop.    

Answer 4

did you get the medicine from the vet? I think you have to get some cleaning stuff from the vet before you put the ear drops in.. as you put the drops in her ears,(i don't know how to describe it but I think you can figure it out use her ear) kinda like swish it around so it gets in her ears and not just on the top where she can shake the medicine out.

Answer 5

The liquid is probably bothering her and probably upsetting the ear mites, which in turn, disturbs her.  I would suggest trying the drops another day or so then calling the vet if nothing changes.  The vet can at the very lest suggest a different kind of drop to use.

     good luck.

Answer 6

CALL THE VET IMMEDIATELY. you don't want her to get shocked. get them to come to your house right now. don't take a chance of letting your cat be harmed! not everything you read online is true, but try to call the vet. look up the number right away in the phone book. i'm so sorry about your cat.

Answer 7

They might make those head cones like they do for dogs so the cat doesn't dislodge all the medicine. Ask your vet.

Answer 8

Ear Mites in Cats

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Ear mites are tiny crab like parasites, if left untreated, can cause a bacterial and yeast infections and, in extreme cases, rupture of the ear drum leading to seizures and deafness. Ear mites (Otodectes cynotis) are the most common cause of outer-ear inflammation in cats - especially kittens and young cats. Frequent ear scratching and head shaking are the most often seen symptoms.

When a mite-infested cat constantly scratches its ear, it can tear open tiny blood vessels in the ear flap, which can lead to swelling (known as hematoma) and permanent disfigurement.

Ear mites are very contagious and pass easily between the same species as well as between one species and another for example to dogs . Ear mites can even be passed to humans as transient carriers to other animals . They live on the surface of the skin in the ear canal, where they feed on tissue debris and tissue fluids. -illustration thanks to Hill's Pet Foods

Cats' reactions to mite infestations vary. Some cats don't seem bothered by even a large number of mites, but other cats itch intensely with only a small number. The former may be hypersensitive to mite saliva, so just a few mites in the ear canal can cause irritation. Also, mites stimulate the wax-producing glands inside the ear. The buildup of wax can then cause inflammation and lead to even more discomfort for the cat. One symptom of a mite infestation is a buildup of dark wax that looks something like coffee grounds.

Eventually, even mite-sensitive cats seem to build up an immunity to mites, which explains why mites make young cats suffer more than older cats. For example, it's not unusual for kittens to show all the signs of having mites while their mom shows no sign of discomfort whatsoever - although she also is harboring mites. Increasing immunity over time also explains why a return visit from mites is not as uncomfortable as the first visit.

A veterinarian can be fairly sure that a cat has ear mites if the cat is young, its ears are full of the wax described above, and the insides of its ears have an unpleasant odor. However, to confirm the diagnosis, your vet will probably inspect the inside of your cat's ears with a magnifying otoscope or visualization with the aid of a microscope. The warmth from the light of an otoscope draws the mites out from the ear wax and causes them to move about on the dark surface of the wax where they're relatively easy to spot

It is essential that a veterinarian starts treatment by cleaning out the cat's ears. Flushing out debris gets rid of a large number of mites. It is not suggested, however, that an owner remove the debris because damage could be done to the cat's ears.

After cleaning, vets typically treat mites with medication, usually in the form of drops, that not only kill the parasites but also prevent secondary infections and reduce inflammation. It's imperative to continue the course of treatment at home for at least a month to cover the complete 3 week life cycle. If treatment is stopped too soon because the cat stops scratching, developing mites will reach adulthood and multiply. A re-examination by your veterinarian is essential.

Mites infestations can sometimes be persistent. In a multicat household, for example, an asymptomatic cat with mites could repeatedly reinfect a recently treated cat. So all cats and dogs in a household would need to be treated.

Although they normally live in the ear, sometimes mites migrate and are found outside a cat's ear, such as on its neck, rail, or rump. In these cases, the animal must be treated with a reputable flea product in the form of a shampoo, spray, or powder.

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Veterinarians sometimes treat stubborn cases of mites with "off label" use of the drug ivermectin, which has not been formally approved for this use by the FDA, but has found to be effective in combating ear mites. More recent advent in the treatment of mites is the use of the following:

Frontline Spray by Merial Several drops of this medication are applied topically into the ear canal if there is no damage to the ear drum.

Revolution by Pfizer applied topically to pets every two weeks for three treatments then then used monthly if necessary to prevent recurrence if your pets are exposed to other animals with ear mites.

Acarexx by Blue Ridge Pharmaceuticals (a subsidary of IDEXX Labs) or Meilbomite -both are a topical ivermectin product is a once or twice application to the ears will eliminate ear mites.

Hope this helped.

Answer 9

It's not that the ear drops are making her itch more, it's that there's liquid in her ears and that bothers her -- just like if you had water in your ears from swimming.  You'd try to shake it out -- that's what she's doing.  

Did you get these drops from a vet?  I think they have tube medicines and gels for that problem too.  I would think that they would be less annoying to the cat.  Maybe you don't need something that goes all the way inside to the ear drum and ear canal.  Often, mites are just on the inside of the top part of the ear.

Here's more info:

http://www.howtodothings.com/pets-and-an...    and,

http://www.earthclinic.com/Pets/ear_mite...  (for home remedies to cure ear mites)    and,

http://www.earthclinic.com/Pets/ear_mite...

and, finally

http://www.vetinfo4cats.com/cearmites.ht...

Hope some of this will help --  Good luck.  I have a cat too and would be miserable if she was miserable.

Answer 10

Over-the-counter methods are usually no good and sometimes just make things worse. Try to prevent her from l*****g the stuff out of her ears because it is not meant to be taken internally and will make her sick. The best thing you could do is to simply take her to the vet and get some medicine that actually works. Hope she doesn't stay mad at you and recovers soon!

Answer 11

  Hartz*  has good mite remedy.  You have to use it once everyday until the mites are gone.  Then you just use it once week as a preventative.  You can tell if your cat has mites, because there will be black crud in their ear or ears.  Check them first before you use anything on them.

  It could be an ear infection, in which you will need to take your cat to the vet and get antibiotics for her.  Make sure you follow the directions on any antibiotics to a tee.  If it says twice a day, give it every 12 hours, or first thing in the morning, and last thing at night.  Try to even out the time.