Expert: Becky - 3/23/2007

Question
Hi - I have a very friendly stray cat that has a really bad sore behind his/her ear. I'm thinking that maybe its from scratching too much (maybe ear mites). Because I'm not sure what its problem is, I'm kind of concerned for my own cat and child. Any ideas? I also would like to help it if there would be any home remedy's. Thanks.

Answer
Hi Julie,
It could be fleas, but more than likely it is ear mites, as you guessed.

Ear mites can be very irritating to a dog or cat. It will cause scratching and shaking of the head.   There can be thousands in the ear canal! When not treated, a dog or cat can scratch their ear until it is raw and bleeds, often causing skin infections.  

The mites will travel from pet to pet, so if you have more than one animal you need to treat all of them.  You can get rid of ear mites with over the counter products if you are persistent.  

First, clean the ears. Ear mites will cause a dark, crusty and/or greasy black substance to be found in the ears.  Mix ½ alcohol and ½ peroxide together.  Put some on a cotton ball and clean the ears out.  Step back and let your dog shake to bring up some of the debris and then clean again.  You can use q-tips, but be careful not to go too far into the ear canal.  If you don’t clean the ears good before medicating, the mites will hide beneath the debris and the medication will not help.

You can buy medicated ear drops made specially for ear mites at a pet store or I think even Wal-Mart sells it in the pet department.  You can also try home remedies that many people have had good luck with.  There is an oil treatment that smothers the ear mites. Put a drop or two of mineral oil in the ear, massage the ear good pushing it down into the ear canal.  This will smother the mites and soothe your pets’ itchy ears. You can heat the oil a little bit to make it feel better.(just warm to the touch)  Be sure not to flood the ear, you only need enough to coat the canal.  You will need to do this every day or so for a month.  This will ensure killing not only the mites, but the eggs that are hatched.  This method takes longer than medicated drops that you can buy, but it’s cheaper and works!
Another home remedy is to crush four garlic cloves and let them steep overnight in a cup of olive oil.  In the morning, throw the garlic away and heat the oil until it is warm to the touch.  Put a few drops in your pets ears and massage well.  You will need to keep this up for a month also, every day or so.  

It is very important to treat the ears for the entire ear mite cycle. If you stop too soon, the eggs will hatch and you will have to start all over.  If you stick it out for a month, you will get rid of them.  Most people stop too soon and then wonder why it didn’t work.    Just make sure you clean the ears out good before each application.  As time goes by, the ears will begin to be cleaner and you won’t have to do it as often.

Good luck to you!!
Becky