# Ear mite concerns



## Ottismommy (Nov 17, 2012)

Hi all. I am new and from what I understand I have to post in this section first. If I am wrong I am sorry. I have a kitten which we picked up from a local farm. His litter had been recently dropped off at the farm. We chose Ottis because he came over to us immediately and basically didnt leave our side the entire time we were there.. We got him home and he was completely covered in fleas. My husband and I spent close to an hour and a half bathing him in flea bath, picking the adults off him. We then treated him with the flea treatment which goes on the shoulder blades. I was told this would handle the eggs. He had a pot belly and from the little knowledge I have re: cats I figured it was worms. We have him "vetscription" which is for round worms I believe. Within the next 24 hours I noticed worms around his bum and stool. This was repeated 2-3 weeks later as well. Ottis' ongoing issue now is ear mites. The poor thing was shaking and scratching bad the past few days. I went to vet and they gave him hexamite drops to put in for 4 days. I have been cleaning his ears daily and inserting drops , but he continues to scratch. His ears appear to be bruised? Is this possible? They are quite a bit more red than before treatment started. What else can I be doing? I feel so bad for him! I have been using olive oil to clean out his ears. The vet receptionist said he may need an antibiotic. There is still a large amount of gunk coming out of his ears. Is mite debris still? This is day 4 of hexamite drops! Please help?!


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

sometimes mites can get way down in the ear canal. Unreachable to clean out using !tip or cotton balls. Ivermectin shots would help clear it up. Round of two. This kitten has to be very uncomfortable with that going on. The ears may appear bruised or bloody from the kitten scratching them. An infection from the scratching???? Thanks for coming to this kittens aid! You are so kind!


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## Venusworld21 (Oct 23, 2012)

Even if you've treated the mites, the skin of his ears is probably very cranky from all the scratching he's been doing. You might try taking him back to your vet. If Mitts & Tess is right, he may need different, additional medicine. If it's "just" that his ears themselves are inflamed from the scratching, your vet might recommend a cone to keep him from scratching for a few days so they can heal up.


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## Ottismommy (Nov 17, 2012)

Thanks for the advice guys! Ottis has an appt tomorrow at the vet to get a check up and his first set of vaccinations. Does anyone know how many needles kittens need?


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## Venusworld21 (Oct 23, 2012)

I'm not sure if the guidelines are the same in Canada...here they get Rabies once (not until 4 months or older), the combo vaccine (fvrcp?) which is a series of 3 given a month apart and my vet also recommends a leukemia vaccine if the cats are indoor/outdoor or have any contact with cats who are. That's a series of two. So between 4-6 pokes total over 3 months.


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## rightsaidfed (May 31, 2012)

My kitty got FVRCP 3 times (4 weeks apart starting at 8 weeks), Rabies at 16 weeks. I declined the other vaccinations with my vet's blessing as they were more for outdoor cats. 

Some member don't vaccinate beyond the first year. Rabies vaccines are the law in many states, and that will be up to you whether to continue with them. 

My vet recommends FVRCP yearly, and rabies at 16 weeks, again at 1 yr, and every 3 years after that. if you go with the non-adjuvated PureVax Rabies vaccine, you'd be looking at every year instead of every 3. 

Is this excessive? Probably. Most agree that the kitten shots are needed. Get him through his first few visits over the next few months then you have plenty of time to research how you want to proceed from there.


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## katbaalew (Nov 19, 2012)

More medication from the vet is probably the way to go this time. What I would recommend in the future is to use Revolution. It is a monthly flea treatment (just like frontline/advantage etc), but it treats ear mites and worms as well. We just switched our 17 year old cat to it after other stuff didn't work, and not only were the fleas gone fast, but her chronic ear mites (that never got as bad as you are describing) disappeared to.

Make sure you get kitty tested for feline leukemia etc too! Vaccines don't matter if they contracted diseases already.


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## Ottismommy (Nov 17, 2012)

Thanks for all your help! 


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