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#11
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Beware - Pfizers Revolution For Ear Mites Bites - Phil P
"5cats" wrote in message ... Phil P. wrote: .. Irritation and excessive wax is a very possible scenario, she's been rough-housing with the boys quite a bit lately. I used a moist cotton ball to clean the top part of her ear, the stuff does not turn red when in contact with water, so I think it's more likely to be clumps of wax than a scab. Sounds reasonable. However, tiny white flecks could be ear mites: http://www.maxshouse.com/Parasitology/earmite.jpg http://www.maxshouse.com/Parasitolog..._ear_mites.jpg Did you find a otoscope, yet? These are the ones I have: http://www.maxshouse.com/instruments...t/oto-opth.jpg The CompacSet is nice- Its a pocketsize, folding otoscope and ophthalmoscope: http://www.maxshouse.com/instruments...th-compact.jpg A good set would be a stretch right now so I will probably have to settle for an otoscope alone. For occasional home use, you can probably find a decent unit for $50. Don't get one of those cheap, $15 drug store models- they're a waste of money. If you can, get an "operating" otoscope because the speculum arm swings out of the way- makes its easier to see and get a wax sample if you have to. And there's a lot more wax than the last time I looked at her ears, which was, I think, at most 2 or 3 weeks ago. I will keep very close watch to see if it worsens If there's a lot more wax now than 2-3 weeks ago, it has worsened. I think you should have it looked at. Last time I looked, she had wax, but it was a clean and smooth layer, so any build up is "worse" but it's still a minor amount. Cats' ears should be pretty clean naturally. As funny as it sounds- cats ears are actually 'self-cleaning'. So, if the cat has a wax build up- something is going on. or starts to spread to the other cats. If your cat does have mites, with 5 cats, I don't think I'd want to wait to see if they spread. I wouldn't want to put my other cats through the discomfort if I could prevent it. I'm also lazy, I'd rather treat one now than 5 later. Right, treating all 5 at once is not a fun experience. These cats are always playing, grooming or sleeping together. I'd think that if one has mites it's already had a good chance to spread and I'd be seeing some signs. Not necessarily- as cats get older some cats build up an immunity to the effects of ear mites. I noticed this phenomenon in a litter of kittens with ear mites. The kittens were scratching their ears and shaking their heads like crazy- but their mother was acting perfectly normal even though her ears were infested too. I've also trapped some ferals and strays that were infested, and I wouldn't have known if I didn't check. The second infestation doesn't seem to bother some cats as much as the first. The others are all clean and pink eared right now. In theory, they shouldn't have a chance to pick up mites indoors, but it has happened before. Humans can serve as intermediate carriers (not in the ears, though). Another tip: when you treat a cat's ears, treat her tail too. Cats curl up when they sleep, so, mites can migrate back and forth from the tail. Good luck. Phil |
#12
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Beware - Pfizers Revolution For Ear Mites Bites - Phil P
"5cats" wrote in message ... Phil P. wrote: "5cats" wrote in message ... Yeah, I've been through this many times before, especially years ago when the cats still were outside fairly often. Right now, I don't think this is mites, but there were a some flecks of crusty stuff. I used a moist cotton ball to clean the top part of her ear, the stuff does not turn red when in contact with water, so I think it's more likely to be clumps of wax than a scab. I've been thinking about your description of "flecks of crusty stuff". I remember something about that other than scabs but I couldn't remember exactly what (Alzheimer's must be setting in). It was really bugging me (pun intended), so I decided to check my parasitology texts and reference manuals. I thought you might be interested in what I found: "When large numbers of mites are present in the canal, the cat's ear tends to contain a dry, waxy, light-colored, parchment-like material in sheets, with large numbers of mites present in each layer." (Georgis' Parasitology for Veterinarians, p 67). How does that description match the material you found? Wax (cerumen) is brown, so, the 'crusty stuff" probably isn't wax. Phil. |
#13
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Beware - Pfizers Revolution For Ear Mites Bites - Phil P
Phil P. wrote:
"5cats" wrote in message ... Phil P. wrote: "5cats" wrote in message ... Yeah, I've been through this many times before, especially years ago when the cats still were outside fairly often. Right now, I don't think this is mites, but there were a some flecks of crusty stuff. I used a moist cotton ball to clean the top part of her ear, the stuff does not turn red when in contact with water, so I think it's more likely to be clumps of wax than a scab. I've been thinking about your description of "flecks of crusty stuff". I remember something about that other than scabs but I couldn't remember exactly what (Alzheimer's must be setting in). It was really bugging me (pun intended), so I decided to check my parasitology texts and reference manuals. I thought you might be interested in what I found: "When large numbers of mites are present in the canal, the cat's ear tends to contain a dry, waxy, light-colored, parchment-like material in sheets, with large numbers of mites present in each layer." (Georgis' Parasitology for Veterinarians, p 67). How does that description match the material you found? Wax (cerumen) is brown, so, the 'crusty stuff" probably isn't wax. Phil. It is dark brown. I guess I picked a bad word for it. Maybe 'clumpy' is nearer the mark. Definately not parchment-like. |
#14
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Beware - Pfizers Revolution For Ear Mites Bites - Phil P
Phil P. wrote:
Not necessarily- as cats get older some cats build up an immunity to the effects of ear mites. I noticed this phenomenon in a litter of kittens with ear mites. The kittens were scratching their ears and shaking their heads like crazy- but their mother was acting perfectly normal even though her ears were infested too. I've also trapped some ferals and strays that were infested, and I wouldn't have known if I didn't check. The second infestation doesn't seem to bother some cats as much as the first. Well, that's a bit of a concern. Some of them had mites last year and also three years ago. The others are all clean and pink eared right now. In theory, they shouldn't have a chance to pick up mites indoors, but it has happened before. Humans can serve as intermediate carriers (not in the ears, though). Last year, none of the cats had been outside so my only guesses were that I'd carried the mites in on my shoes or on catnip plant stems & leaves. |
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