You must have noticed that sometimes your kitty or pooch start moving the head constantly or just go on scratching the ears and head in spite how hard you try to stop them to do so. To your surprise, it is nothing related to anxiety or behavioral disorder but presence of ear mites.
Though fleas and ticks may not be the problem in your pet, sometimes ear mites come out as villain of the good health game and destroy the harmony of your pet’s well being. You may wonder why these tiny creatures are playing havoc into your pet’s life. Well, to help you get all the answers for your queries…we have got you the right stuff.
What are ear mites?
Like fleas on dogs and cats, ear mites are also common parasites attacking dogs and cats. They are eight-legged arachnids, though mistakenly taken as insects. They are closely related to tick and spider family.
The ear mites that most commonly infect dogs and cats are known as Otodectes cynotis. They are mostly found in cat and dog’s ears, but can also be located on the fur and skin of an infected pet.
Ear mites highly infect cats, but dogs are no exception.
What are the causes of ear mites in dogs and cats?
Ear mites are very contagious. They can easily jump from one pet to another. The small puppies and kittens are directly infected from their mothers. Ear mites can also spread among species and cats are most often the source of infection for the family dog.
What are the symptoms of ear mites in dogs and cats?
The most common symptoms that can be found in dogs and cats are as follows:
- Bad odor from ears
- A black or brown discharge from ear canal
- Constantly scratching of the ears, head or face by the pet.
- Shaking of the head continuously for most of the time
- Scabs and abrasions around the face, ears or head.
- Hair loss around the ears, face or head
Sometimes, the most complicated condition such as aural hematoma is seen in pets due to ear mites. Aural hematoma is easily recognized by the presence of a fluctuant swelling including part or all of the earflap. This swelling is caused due to the accumulation of blood between the skin surfaces of the ear flap, which in turn is a traumatic condition resulted by the constant shaking of the head and scratching at the ears.
How to diagnose ear mites?
Taking to a vet is the better option to diagnosis ear mites. Your vet would able to see tiny creature in the ear canal with the aid of an otoscope – an instrument that allows veterinarian to examine your pet’s ears closely.
If your vet is not able to find through this special equipment, he may collect a sample of the dirt from the ear canal to examine microscopically. This will aid to look for any presence of adult mites or ear mite eggs. If found, then the presence of ear mites is confirmed.
Ear mites are easily diagnosed, but there are other ear diseases that pose similar symptoms and can misguide you for the treatment. Therefore, the confirmation from a vet about ear mite infection in vital before starting the treatment.
What is the ear mite treatment for dogs and cats?
Among the various treatment options, your vet may opt for the one that is best suited according to the degree of infection your pet is suffering from. Some of the monthly preventive treatments for fleas and ticks or heartworm prevention medications are also highly used for controlling ear mite infection in dogs and cats. A few of them are Revolution for cats and dogs, Advantage Multi for cats, Advocate for dogs, and many others. There are special formulated eardrops also for treating ear mites in pets.
In some cases, your pet may need complete procedure starting from cleaning of the ears by removing the discharge, applying ointment or drops to soothe ear canal, and an antibiotic treatment to heal the ears from the wounds due to excessive scratching and shaking of the head.
Is one treatment enough for removing ear mites completely, or can ear mites re-infect my pet?
Ear mites cannot be treated completely. They can return and you may need to treat your pet for the same more than once. Same as fleas, ear mites also lay eggs, which have hard shell exterior body that makes difficult to kill ear mites in one treatment. As the eggs hatch, ear mites can return. Ear mite treatments usually kills ear mites but are not effective in destroying eggs, thus new generation ear mite sprang up. Therefore, ear mite treatment is repeated once a week to prevent re-infestation. If you wait for the long time for the treatment, there will be chances for the eggs to hatch into ear mites, and thus they return.
In some cases, pets are re-infected as they come in contact with other infected animals with ear mites. In this case, repeat the treatment to protect your pet from harmful effect.