Treating Feline Ear Mites with Otomite Plus

Feline ear mites are an overly contagious parasite that infects the inner canals of the ear. They are so contagious, in fact, that they can be spread between many different animals, including cats, dogs, hamsters and even ferrets. What this means is that virtually any animal in your house is susceptible to contracting ear mites, even if only one animal in the house has it; the parasite will eventually travel through all of them.

The ear mite is similar in appearance to a tick and survives by feeding on the skin and tissue of the ears; however, they do not live off your cat's blood the way that ticks do. The treatment of ear mites can be rather difficult sometimes because of the rapidness with which it travels to other animals and other areas of the body, like the skin. If the infection of ear mites is allowed to spread to the skin, it can be even harder to control.

However, the most important reason for the treatment of ear mites is that in severe cases of infection it can actually cause a substantial loss of hearing.

Symptoms of Ear Mite Infestation

When your cat is infected with ear mites, the tell-tale signs are usually pretty consistent and obvious. However, because the infestation of ear mites can often mimic the symptoms of other ear-related conditions, it is always important to seek medical advice before attempting to treat the condition.

Any of the following symptoms can be indicative of an ear mite infection:

  • Scratching at the ears
  • Build up of black debris in the ears
  • Irritation or sensitivity of the ears
  • Putrid smell emanating from the ears

The Importance of Diagnosis

Diagnosing the condition of ear mites is vitally crucial to the treatment of ear mites. Whereas a cat owner may be positive that their cat has ear mites, there is always the possibility that they are wrong. The problem with this is that ear mite medication can often irritate other conditions of the ear and help them to escalate to a more severe level; in addition to the medication being ineffective.

The diagnosis of ear mites is very simple with the use of an otoscope—the lighted ear examining tool used by veterinarians. When light is applied to the ear, it will cause the ear mites to skirmish and their movement will be detected and viewed. By doing this, a very accurate diagnosis of an ear mite infection can be made.

Treatment with Otomite Plus

Because ear mites are highly contagious and difficult to control, a strict treatment regime will be required to rid your cat of this parasite. Otomite Plus is one of the more common and most aggressively used medications for treating ear mites.

The main ingredient used in Otomite Plus is pyrethrins, which is the agent responsible for killing the ear mites. Before applying Otomite Plus to the ears, you should first clean your cat's ears with an authorized cleansing solution to free up the debris in the ear. Then you can apply the required amount of Otomite Plus into your cat's ears.

This medication is so highly effective that you need only use it on your cat once every seven days. However, if the infection is extremely severe, it can be used more often but no more than twice per week.

 

Comments