Pet problem page

If you have a pet problem, either behavioural, dietary or health, please get in touch and we’ll do our best to help.

Q.  My cat keeps scraching her ears and they’re getting sore.   Do you think it could be an allergy?

A.  It’s more likely to be ear mites I’m afraid.   These are about the most troublesome problems that a cat has to endure.   They live inside the ear canal so the cat has no way to deal with them herself.   If they are not removed they can lead to serious and permanent damage to the ear so it’s best to get treatment from the vet.

The mites aren’t normally visible to the naked eye but can be seen under a microscope.  They aren’t blood suckers, like fleas, but live on the wax in the cat’s ear.  It’s the constant irritation and scratching that is most likely to be causing your cat’s sore ear.

Cats catch ear mites from other cats and dogs so if you have more than one pet you will have to check (and treat) them all.  Humans can’t catch them so don’t worry about your own ears!

At least it’s not difficult to eradicate these pesky little parasites.  First clean the ear with a few drops of olive oil or your vet will give you special liquid.   Don’t attempt to poke in around the ear because you may do damage, but you can wipe the outer ear gently with a pad of cotton wool.

The drops you get from your vet will destroy the ear mites and bring relief to you cat.  it must be very miserable to have an itch in your ear you can’t get to!   The treatment will need to be continued for as long as your vet prescribes to make sure the mites are gone.   You can also buy ear mite lotion at pet stores but you need to make sure that your cat doesn’t have an underlying bacterial infection which may have been caused by the scratching.  If you suspect this you definitely need to see the vet.

If a cat has balance problems or holds her head on one side this is generally because an ear mite infestation has been left untreated and the ear permanently damaged.

There are now all-in-one worm and flea spot-on treatments that are said to destroy ear mites also.   They are prescribed by the vet and we have been using them for some time now on adult cats and kittens without any adverse results.