Ear mites are a common infection suffered by cats and dogs. They are more popular amongst cats. The mites resemble ticks and they are parasites that feed off of the animals ear wax. When a pet has these mites, it is best to seek a veterinarian for a proper diagnosis and treatment.

Typically, an infection will show a black, crusty discharge. This is a mixture of the pet’s blood, ear wax and the mites. Veterinarians will test the presence of mites by examining the cat or dog’s ear wax under a microscope. If they do in fact see that this is the result of an infection caused by mites in the ear, they will prescribe the proper treatment.

The actual mites live on the surfaces of the cat or dog’s ear and feed off of the ear wax. When the infection is really bad, the mites might spread to other areas on the body. This causes a lot of discomfort for the animal and must be treated. As the mites spread throughout their hosts, they will lay more eggs and hatch more mites.

The mites will live out their life cycle on their host, which is typically 3 weeks. The eggs hatch every four months if the condition is left untreated. It is extremely important to seek medical assistance as soon as your pet demonstrates this type of infection. The condition is very uncomfortable for the pet and can lead to other illnesses if not treated immediately.

The mites are contagious and can be transferred from one animal to the other. So it is important that if you think your pet has this type of infection, they should be diagnosed and treated right away. All it takes is physical contact for the infection to spread. If your pet does end up having a mite infection, then they will have to have limited contact with other pets until the infection is gone.

Although this type of infection is more common with cats, dogs also have been known to get mites in their ears. Dogs will tend to scratch at the mites causing the infection to get worse. If you notice your dog showing some signs of irritation with their ears, you should check for mites.

There are a number of products on the market that get rid of ear mites. Many of the products are simple over the counter treatments that kill the incubating mite eggs. But these types of treatments must be used for the entire cycle of the life of the mite which is around one month. This may be too long for some pets if the infection is really bad. There are other prescription medications that will work faster. It is best to see your veterinarian for the proper treatment of this type of infection.

Ear mites in dogs is a troublesome condition that is frustrating for the animal and the owner.

1. Sam Muller from Pc repair Wokingham Says:
   August 17th, 2010 at 11:57 am

   I feel 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.

2. Scott from Storage Units Says:
   August 20th, 2010 at 10:15 am

   I have three beautiful Pitbulls Akili, Doesha, and Pepper. My question is they all lick and chew on each others ears while cleaning each other. Akili has been getting ear mites bad, Doesha has a slight case of them. Can they be getting them from licking each others ears. In the past hand sanitizer has worked to rid the ears of mites however, this time there is dried and new blood, when we clean his ears and we noticed more reddness and swelling. We can see he is in pain and running a fever. We will try the oil in his ears next but any suggestions for his fever. If I have to take him to the vet. I will but vets cost me a forture and I want to try home remedies first. Help.

3. Tom from Autocad Update Training Says:
   August 21st, 2010 at 5:44 am

   hey that was a great post. But I have a question- my question is ,is there a good home remedy for ear mites ,I have registered beagles and we just had pups 7 to be exact first litter, for this female, anyhow what can I do for her to get rid of the ear mites that will not bother the pups ?

4. Ayanda from South African music Says:
   September 3rd, 2010 at 12:05 pm

   Thought my cat had ear mites because of classic black gunk in his ears. Searched online for answers for days… read that it was really the best to seek vet’s counsel because it could be several things.

   So I did, $75 later I found out it wasn’t ear mites at all, but a yeast infection in his ears. Probably best to seek vet opinion to get to true root of problem.

   Just my opinion.

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