Cats are one of the most common pets. Unfortunately, they cannot tell the owner about their problems. That is why it is important to monitor the condition of your pet, as some diseases appear visually. An ear mite appears fairly quickly, and the symptoms of the lesion are obvious to the owner. How to treat ear tick in cats?
Features of tick damage
An ear mite is an arthropod insect that infects an animal, settling in its ears. The fact is that there the ideal environment for its habitat is warm and humid. The cycle of development of the parasite from larva to death is about 15-20 days. In the external environment, he can live much longer, however, not finding the opportunity to settle and multiply, the parasite dies.
A domestic cat can become infected in several ways:
- through contact with an infected animal, if he goes outside for a walk;
- through personal hygiene items - bowls, toys, combs.
Fortunately for humans, the tick does not parasitize on it, however, having contact with other pets, a person can become a carrier of the parasite.
Symptoms of the disease
The disease can be identified by the following symptoms:
- The behavior of the cat changes markedly - the animal often begins to shake its head, comb its ears to the blood.
- Redness is noticeable inside the ear.
- A dark liquid begins to ooze from the ears, a sharp unpleasant odor appears.
- With a severe defeat, hearing impairment is noticeable - the cat does not respond to loud sounds, nickname.
- The animal has an increase in body temperature.
- With pain, the cat tilts its head down with the side of the affected ear.
How to treat ear tick in cats when these symptoms are detected?
Treatment features
The treatment of a pet from an ear tick should be approached comprehensively:
- cleansing the auricle of ticks and their metabolic products in a mechanical way - this reduces their number and contributes to recovery;
- the use of pharmaceutical preparations and folk remedies for the destruction of parasites and wound healing;
- in the inflammatory process with the release of pus, treatment with antibiotics is necessary.
When choosing a drug or tick control, you need to go through the entire course of treatment, otherwise the disease will return soon.
Ear Drop Treatment
When wondering how to treat an ear tick in cats, many owners choose ear drops. This is due to the fact that the product is easy to use and also suitable for cats of all ages, even the smallest. Most often, veterinary pharmacies offer drops such as Bars, Anandin plus, Amitrazin, Otoferonol, Oricin, Surolan, Tsipam.
Most often, ear drops have a low concentration of the active substance, so they are used at the initial stage of mite damage. However, despite this, these drugs can also cause individual allergic reactions, therefore, if there are no improvements after use, and the situation only worsens, it is recommended to change the tool.
Tick sprays
How to treat ear tick in cats? For these purposes, the sprays "Ivermek" and "Acaromectin" are often used. They are applied topically, that is, sprayed directly into the affected ear. In this case, it is important to maximize the purification of the auricle from possible secretions.
It should be remembered that tick preparations are quite toxic, so spraying should be done outdoors. If this is not possible, then it is necessary to remove other pets from the room. In order for the sick animal not to lick off the drug, it is recommended to wear a veterinary collar on the neck.
Ointments and gels
How to treat ear mites in cats and dogs? Depending on the stage of the disease, the degree of damage, and also the age of the animal, not only liquid forms of drugs, but also ointments, gels can be used.
These funds with a cotton swab are evenly applied inside the auricle. At the same time, they have a significant drawback in the form of the difficulty of distributing the drug deep into the shell, where most parasites are located. Because of this, they are often used as excipients along with drops and sprays. Most often, the following drugs are used: Vishnevsky ointment, colloidal sulfur, "Vedinol Plus", "Amidel-gel", "Oridermil".
Ear lotions
Cleansing the auricle is an important measure in the treatment of ticks. For this, Chlorhexidine can be used, which can be easily purchased at any pharmacy, or specialized veterinary lotions. They may also have a small concentration of the active substance against parasites.
Using the lotion, you can clean the auricle from unpleasant liquid secretions, crusts, dried blood, dead parasites. Often used the following tools: Otodin, Epi-Otik, Bars.
Treatment with folk remedies
In addition to specialized veterinary drugs, alternative methods of treating ear ticks in cats are also used. Such funds can be used both as the main treatment, supportive measures, and for the prevention of ear mites.
How to treat ear tick in cats with folk remedies? The following alternative medicine are especially popular:
- Strong green tea. For infusion, you need 250 ml of purified hot water and 2 tsp. leaf green tea. The drink is infused in a container until completely cooled. Then, using a pipette, you need to drip a few drops of tea into each cat’s ear. Manipulation is repeated daily for a month. At the same time, it is recommended to use fresh tea leaves each time.
- How to treat ear mites in cats at home? Castor oil is often used to cleanse the animal’s auricle before using medicines. After oil treatment, thoroughly wipe the cat’s ear from excess fat. In addition, castor oil has a slight antiparasitic effect, which significantly accelerates the healing process.
- Essential oils of lavender, mint, tea tree, almonds with water are also effective in combating ear mites in animals. Oil is instilled in the affected ear for 2-3 drops, trying not to get on the coat. However, this method also has drawbacks - an individual allergic reaction may occur. If it occurs, you should change the treatment tactics and cancel the use of essential oils.
- How to treat ear mites in cats at home with onions? To do this, you need to take one onion, peeled, cut into cubes and insist on vegetable oil for a day. The resulting infusion needs to lubricate the affected ears of the cat 1-2 times a day. In a similar way, you can insist garlic. However, it should be remembered that this folk remedy can cause allergies in the animal.
- In the summer, you can use celandine juice. To obtain it, it is necessary to grind the stems and leaves of the plant into small gruel, and then squeeze. It is important to remember that this juice can leave ugly spots on the hands, so it is advisable to use disposable rubber gloves. The resulting juice should be instilled into the cat's ear 2 drops 1-2 times a day until recovery.
- Alcohol 96% in combination with glycerin (1: 4) is used to treat the auricle, as well as to cleanse it from parasites and their waste products.
If, with prolonged use, folk remedies did not give a positive result, it is recommended to replace them with veterinary drugs.
Ear Processing Rules
How to treat ear tick in cats at home? The photos clearly show how to properly handle and dig in the affected ears. However, in reality, everything can be more difficult if the cat protests and breaks out. In this case, it is recommended to swaddle it, like a baby, in a towel or blanket, so that only the head of the animal remains outside. Being in this position, the cat will not be able to interfere with a quality treatment of the ears.
In addition, it is very important to thoroughly clean the ear from the waste products of arthropod parasites, since otherwise the effectiveness of the drug is significantly reduced.
Disease prevention
In order not to have to think about how to treat ear ticks in cats, care should be taken to prevent the disease. To do this, follow some recommendations:
- The main preventive measure is the exclusion of contact with sick animals. They can be absolutely all dogs and cats that walk on the street. Therefore, the risk of disease can be excluded only if the animal is completely domestic. However, unfortunately, such a preventive measure applies exclusively to cats.
- Frequent examination of the condition of the animal will help identify the parasite at the initial stage of infection. In this case, great attention should be paid to the ears of the cat. The presence of brown sulfur almost always indicates damage by an ear mite.
- It is also recommended to regularly clean the ears of the animal from the released sulfur. Cleaning manipulations are carried out using a cotton swab moistened with Chlorhexidine or hydrogen peroxide.
- According to the prescription of a veterinarian, ear mite prophylaxis can be carried out with specialized drugs. They can be produced in the form of drops, shampoo, aerosol. It is worth remembering their toxicity and not to apply too often or without urgent need.
An ear mite is easily treatable if the disease has been noticed at the initial stage of development. It is much more difficult to cure an animal if the disease is started and an infection has joined it. In such cases, more serious treatment is required with the inclusion of antibiotic injections and round-the-clock monitoring of the condition of the animal.