kitten scratching ear a lot

Shaina keeps scratching behind her left ear a lot and there are two
little scars there with clotted blood. they are tiny. she had
something like that behind her right ear, but it went away.
otherwise, she is fine. could that be ticks? i have no idea how any
of us could have brought them in from the outside. we are in
Manhattan and live on the 30th floor.

any ideas?

"Laila" wrote in message
...
Shaina keeps scratching behind her left ear a lot and there are two
little scars there with clotted blood.

I would guess fleas, but if you look in her ear and find they look 'dirty'
in there, then your cat may have ear mites. Don't let it continue for long,
I saw a stray that had a bad case of ear mites, and that poor cat scratched
so much he had two bloody sores behind both ears.

~Shelly~

"~Shelly~" wrote in message
news:tHDEd.6434$hc7.84@trnddc08...

"Laila" wrote in message
...
Shaina keeps scratching behind her left ear a lot and there are two
little scars there with clotted blood.

I would guess fleas, but if you look in her ear and find they look 'dirty'
in there, then your cat may have ear mites. Don't let it continue for
long,
I saw a stray that had a bad case of ear mites, and that poor cat
scratched
so much he had two bloody sores behind both ears.

~Shelly~

Ear mites are pretty common & I'd guess Shelly is right.

--
Mathew
Butler to 2 kittens: Chablis & Muscat
En Vino Veritas

On 2005-01-10, ~Shelly~ penned:

I would guess fleas, but if you look in her ear and find they look 'dirty'
in there, then your cat may have ear mites. Don't let it continue for long,
I saw a stray that had a bad case of ear mites, and that poor cat scratched
so much he had two bloody sores behind both ears.

Also, I know that dogs with ear mites or ear infections have "musty" smelling
ears. It's not sharp, but it's not pleasant. I suspect cat ears might do the
same?

Regardless, take that kitty to the vet! Whatever it is, they'll be able to
tell you in a hurry.

--
monique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!*

On Mon, 10 Jan 2005 23:57:11 GMT, "Mathew Kagis"
wrote:




"~Shelly~" wrote in message
news:tHDEd.6434$hc7.84@trnddc08...

"Laila" wrote in message
...
Shaina keeps scratching behind her left ear a lot and there are two
little scars there with clotted blood.

I would guess fleas, but if you look in her ear and find they look 'dirty'
in there, then your cat may have ear mites. Don't let it continue for
long,
I saw a stray that had a bad case of ear mites, and that poor cat
scratched
so much he had two bloody sores behind both ears.

~Shelly~

Ear mites are pretty common & I'd guess Shelly is right.


she scratches a little behind the ear, not in it and her ears look
clean. she doesn't seem to scratch anywhere else, except from her
routine grooming, so i don't think it's fleas. do mites live outside
the ear?

"Laila" wrote in message
...
she scratches a little behind the ear, not in it and her ears look
clean. she doesn't seem to scratch anywhere else, except from her
routine grooming, so i don't think it's fleas. do mites live outside
the ear?

Sometimes they will scratch outside the ear if the mites have gotten deep
down. It could be dry skin, maybe? Is your apartment dry?

--
-Kelly
kelly at farringtons dot net
"Wake up, and smell the cat food" -TMBG

On Mon, 10 Jan 2005 21:59:31 -0500, "KellyH"
wrote:

"Laila" wrote in message
.. .
she scratches a little behind the ear, not in it and her ears look
clean. she doesn't seem to scratch anywhere else, except from her
routine grooming, so i don't think it's fleas. do mites live outside
the ear?

Sometimes they will scratch outside the ear if the mites have gotten deep
down. It could be dry skin, maybe? Is your apartment dry?

yeah, it is really dry here. i have two humidifiers running, one in
my room and one in my bf's room. she spends most of the time there,
but there's a huge living room, kitchen and two other rooms. someone
mentioned that her ears might have a smell, i checked and they don't.

On Mon, 10 Jan 2005 17:47:31 -0500, Laila wrote:

Shaina keeps scratching behind her left ear a lot and there are two
little scars there with clotted blood. they are tiny. she had
something like that behind her right ear, but it went away.
otherwise, she is fine.

Sounds like ear mites, perhaps deep in the ears. If you can't take her to
the vet, might try some ear mite treatment.



could that be ticks?

If it were ticks in her fur, you could feel them when you
pet/massage/scratch down to the skin. They stick their heads in the skin.
The body is kind of like a flat smooth button, with legs. If you find one,
don't just pull it out, that would leave the head inside the skin and
perhaps cause infection. Put a drop of cooking oil on the tick, that will
suffocate it and it will drop off in a day or two.


Margaret

I would get an ear cleaner for cats. You can buy them at any Petsmart and
probably any store that sells cat items. Yes, ear mites are also a
possibility so you'd have to take the cat into the vet for that.

--
Cat Galaxy: All Cats! All The Time!
www.catgalaxymedia.com

Panther TEK: Staying On Top Of Your Computer Needs!
www.panthertekit.com

"Monique Y. Mudama" wrote in message
...
On 2005-01-10, ~Shelly~ penned:

I would guess fleas, but if you look in her ear and find they look
'dirty'
in there, then your cat may have ear mites. Don't let it continue for
long,
I saw a stray that had a bad case of ear mites, and that poor cat
scratched
so much he had two bloody sores behind both ears.

Also, I know that dogs with ear mites or ear infections have "musty"
smelling
ears. It's not sharp, but it's not pleasant. I suspect cat ears might do
the
same?

Regardless, take that kitty to the vet! Whatever it is, they'll be able
to
tell you in a hurry.

--
monique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!*

On Mon, 10 Jan 2005 21:38:52 -0700, Cat Protector wrote:

I would get an ear cleaner for cats. You can buy them at any Petsmart and
probably any store that sells cat items. Yes, ear mites are also a
possibility so you'd have to take the cat into the vet for that.


Of course taking them to the vet would be better. But just for the record, I
consulted a vet about an uncatchable feral who seems to have the same
problem (scratching his ear raw) and the vet said Heartgard pills (sold as
heartworm preventative) might take care of the ear mites. Too soon to tell,
but a pill kept him from scratching for nearly a month. I'm thinking one
every 3 week might do it. (He's big and tough.)


Margaret