Expert: Dr. Louis N. Gotthelf - 6/5/2009

Question
Hi-
I am the owner of a 2 year old male ragdoll cat, an 6 year old tabby, and a 7 year old chow chow
I noticed that the tabby had been scratching his ears a lot until they bled, and once we had a cat who had ear mite,
so i carefully cleaned the tabby's ear and a dark blackish brown ick came out of his ears, and i have been giving him an ear mite treatment i bought at petsmart
but now my ragdoll is getting the same problems and so is my chow!

is this ear mite or do my pets just have icky ears?

Answer
Without actually having an ear exam, I cannot be sure, but it seems as if the mites are spreading.  YOu should have the ears looked at by a vet and have them cleaned out as well.  THat is why pets get their ear mites back.  THe mite eggs and the baby mites are in the ear canal and they grow up in a month.