Ear Mites In Cats

They like to live in the warm dark environment of the ear canal where they feed on skin debris.

Ear mites in cats. Ear mites in cats are not just found in the ears. Some cats will shake their heads so much that an hematoma of the ear will form with blood pooling in the ear due to breakage of a blood vessel. Ear mites or otodectes cynotis are microscopic parasites which can infect the ears of a cat. These mites create irritation and itchiness which cause the cat to scratch its ears.

Those tiny white specks are in fact the adult ear mites present in the ear. The most common ear mite of cats is otodectes cynotis and therefore an infestation with ear mites is sometimes called otodectic mange 1 ear mites primarily live in the ear canal where they feed on skin debris. Ear mite infestations usually itch so cats with ear mites will scratch excessively at the backs or insides of their ears sometimes to the point of producing raw patches shake their heads or hold their ears at an odd angle. Cats can catch ear mites from being outdoors or from interacting with other cats.

Ear mites are microscopic parasites which infect the ears of a cat. Mites on cats can travel all over the cat s body. Ear mites are barely visible to the naked eye yet you can spot them inside your cat s ears with the assistance of a magnifying lens. Their presence causes inflammation and can also lead to secondary ear infections.

These parasites feed on the debris inside of the ear. If you look inside the ear by gently folding back the ear flap you can spot tiny white specks amongst the reddish brown debris. Although ear mites don t seem dangerous their presence can be extremely harmful to your cat. These particular mites then create irritation and itchiness which leads to the cat scratching its ears.

Of course you will not be able to see them properly with the naked eye but you should be able to see them under a microscope. Though there are several different types of ear mites that can affect cats the most common one is otodectes cynotis which essentially resembles an eight legged crab. They also like to live in warm dark environment of the ear canal where they then feed on the skin debris. Cats that are afflicted with ear mites will typically scratch at the ears excessively and shake their heads even pulling out their own hair and drawing blood as they scratch.

The most frequent ear mite infestation in cats is otodectes cynotis. Ear mites will lay eggs in the ear canal which have a gestation period of roughly two to three weeks. What are the symptoms of ear mites in cats. Several ear mite medicines and websites also refer to it as otodectic mange.