Ear Mites are one of the most common issues many cat owners have to deal with and, most of the time, one of the easiest to get rid of depending on how early you discover and treat them. If you’ve found these inside your cat, we have several recommended home remedies for Ear Mites in cats.

Identifying Ear Mites

Identifying ear mites can sometimes be difficult, especially if you have a cat that will not allow you to peek through their ear. If you’re completely unsure, It’s highly recommended to get them checked out at your local veterinarian instead. 

It’s better to be safe and treat their exact needs.

While not all situations are the same, here are some signs you should look out for:

• redness in or around the ear
• dried blood
• discharge
• strange odor
• excessive scratching

While these signs may be a result of ear mites, you’ll still want to run a test to verify that you’re going to be treating your cat properly for their problem.

Remember to gently fold your cat’s ear flaps to peek inside their ears, as they could be in pain. Immediately, you should be able to see tiny dots, but a magnifying glass can help in this process.

Ear mites will retreat into the ear canal sometimes. Just to make sure, dip a cotton ball in vegetable oil and swipe at the inward portion of your cat’s ear.

Through this test, the presence of ear mites will be revealed and you can start treating them immediately.

Home Remedies for Ear Mites in Cats

Here is the list of 8 simple remedies:

• mineral/baby oil
• olive oil
• hydrogen peroxide
• vaseline
• white vinegar
• natural insecticides
• shampooing
• yellow dock root extract

Also, you may want to look into grabbing a few tools such as an ear dropper and cotton balls before trying any of these,

Mineral or Baby Oil

Uncleaned ears are a major cause of having a reluctant ear mite infestation. A few drops of different kinds of oils can remove the debris and gunk from your cat’s ears.

Not only does it soften the debris but, through regular cleaning, it may also get rid your cat of ear mites by smothering them with the oil.

Using an ear dropper, place a few drops of baby oil or mineral oil into your cat’s ear canal. Massage the oil into their ears as best you can, ensuring they don’t try to shake the oil from their ears for at least one hour.

While this method won’t work as well or as fast as a prescription medication,  you can relieve your feline of ear mites if you try this method every other day for a month.

It’s important to note that the life cycle of an ear mite is approximately 21 days. Meaning, the eggs that weren’t killed when you first started treatment will have hatched and started the infestation all over again.

Due to this, it’s necessary to keep treating your cat for at least one month with this method.

Olive Oil

Treating ear mites in cats with Olive Oil works just like either baby oil or mineral oil. The whole idea of using olive oil is to smother the ear mites with the oil and cut off their oxygen supply.

To use this method, simply warm up the olive oil to your cat’s body temperature. You can do this by pouring some oil into a small container, fill another bowl with warm water, then place the small container with the olive oil inside to slowly warm-up.

Once the olive oil is prepped, use an ear dropper to administer one to two drops of olive oil into the ear canal’s round opening. Ensure that your cat is still for this process.

Once administered, massage the ear area with small circular movements, watching to make sure the olive oil doesn’t drip from the ear canal. You’ll repeat this dropping method five times for each ear every day.

While doing this, expect your cat to try and shake the oil out of their ear. This is a normal part of the procedure, and the debris and dirt mixed with the olive oil in your cat’s ear canal will eventually come out as they shake their head.

Allow for about five minutes of head shaking before cleaning the outer portion of their ear with either a clean towel or cotton ball.

Hydrogen Peroxide

You’ll need to have your cat rolled to their side for this one; it’s best if you get someone’s help in holding your kitty still while you work on their ears as quickly as possible.

With a cotton ball, dip into a hydrogen peroxide solution and gently wipe at the affected areas. Start as close to the inside of the ear canal as you can and move towards the outer side as you treat them.

You’ll repeat this every day with a clean cotton ball for at least a week. This method is one of the fastest ways to treat your cat’s ear mites at home.

Vaseline

Still going with the smothering approach, you can also try rubbing some petroleum jelly on your cat’s ears until the jelly is absorbed well. You will do this daily until the ear mites are not present anymore.

This will not only rid your cat of the ear mites, but the petroleum jelly will also soothe your cat’s ears from the redness and irritation, and prevent further scratching, all at once.

White Vinegar

Do not use this method if your cat has an open wound in their ear. The acidity of the white vinegar works well to kill ear mites and balance your cat’s pH levels in their ears.

With enough time, the environment inside your cat’s ear becomes unfriendly thanks to the vinegar, and the mites can die out.

Mix one part water with equal parts of white vinegar. Using an eye or ear dropper, slowly place the solution into your cat’s ears a few drops at a time.

After a few drops, massage the solution into their ears.

Wipe off the inside of the ears using a cotton ball once the treatment is complete. Repeat this each day until all ear mites are gone.

Natural Insecticides

Your veterinarian will likely administer a higher-grade ear miticide, but you can find natural miticides at pet supply stores. You should look for products that have the natural insecticide pyrethrin in it – but do make sure it’s something that’s formulated for cats, as pyrethrin in high doses can be poisonous to felines.

The level of pyrethrin in miticides designed for cats has much smaller doses.

These natural ear miticides will come with directions, but they usually involve massaging the formula into your cat’s ears and cleaning away the excess once finished. Miticides you buy in pet stores will require multiple treatments, as mites often like to hide in different areas of the cat’s body.

Just one surviving female mite could have mite eggs that will start the infestation all over again. The key is to use the miticide exactly as directed every day for sometimes up to a few weeks.

Regular Shampooing

When all is said and done, you don’t want the ear mites spread across your cat’s body. To prevent ear mites from coming back or lying dormant across your cat’s body, a thorough shampooing is a great way to deter those mites.

You can do this after performing one of the other home remedies as a good precaution, so you don’t have to keep repeating this process every week.

Yellow Dock Root Extract

After shampooing your cat, you can follow up with a yellow dock root extract rinse for good measure. This will further prevent ear mites from reproducing because you will take away any environment they have to thrive.

Likewise, dilute about nine drops of the root extract with a tablespoon of water. Ensure that it’s at least room temperature and administer half a dropper of the solution into your cat’s ears before cleaning them with the other methods.

This will eliminate the risk of new mite hatchlings trying to grow.

Conclusion

No matter which home remedy you decide upon, do make sure you’re rewarding your cat after each treatment. They didn’t ask to get ear mites or to be handled as stiffly as you typically must handle them when administering treatment.

Give them a healthy meal or special treat for being a participant in their own treatment – whether they were a willing participant or not.

As mentioned at the beginning, if you’re not completely sure your cat has ear mites, it’s best to get a professional veterinarian’s opinion. There are many home remedies that can be used to treat a cat’s ear mites, but those remedies are not designed to treat other, more severe ear problems.

If you run the test on your furry friend and do discover they have unwanted company, these home remedies can be your first defense at treating the problem. After treating all the animals in your home, possibly more than once if it’s a severe infestation, your home will be rid of the itchy pests for good.

The post 8 Home Remedies for Ear Mites in Cats appeared first on Quality Veterinarians Near You.