Ear Mite Remedies

Hand Sanitizer

Posted by Marie (Sacramento, California) on 05/19/2007
★★★★★

My recently rescued male cat had ear mites so bad one ear canal was swollen nearly closed. He was delivered by a cat lover who's plate was full, but was kind enough to include an over the counter ear mite remedy. Wow that ear mite medicine made the gray skin inside his ears peel and and turn bright pink. Applying every other day was obviously going to cause sever damage in 3 weeks treatment. The long and short of this story is he arrived on Jan 4, 07 today in June 15, 07 and the problem is better but not cured. Olive oil, Vaseline, hand lotion any thing that wouldn't kill the cat and maybe smother the mites has been tried in addition to using a systemic flea/tick product. The current problem is the waxy discharge is sticky (it was bloody) and getting it out of his ears next to impossible. Thank you 4/1/2007: Lisa from Winfield, PA for suggesting Hand Sanitizer! The cat and I are very comfortable when I am treating his ears, the scratching stopped long ago, so there wasn't much danger of pouring Hand Sanitizer on an open wound. It cleaned him up better than any thing I have tried. I held him petting his favorite spots, for a few minutes until the Hand Sanitizer dried and I didn't have to worry about him getting it in his eyes or mouth. Great service you provide, bummer I didn't find you in Jan! I will send a progress report,

Hand Sanitizer

Posted by Just One Seabird (East Coast USA) on 07/20/2023

I know this is an old post, but it needs a response for the sake of people reading nowadays.

Zoonotic diseases are the ones that CAN be transmitted to humans, the term means "of animal origin". It's also used for diseases we can give to animals. COVID is zoonotic, we can give it to our pets.

Scabies can infest both pets and people. The mite is Sarcoptes scabei. There are variants within the species that prefer different hosts, so you have Sarcoptes scabei var. hominis in people, Sarcoptes scabei var. suis which infests pigs and is used to test human remedies for scabies, and others.

There are also other species of Sarcoptes mites. They're nasty things.

In general, it's unhelpful to tell someone with a skin condition that they are imagining it. Please google "A Filamentous Borrelial Dermatitis" using Google Scholar.

Many people suffering from Morgellons, who were told this was not a real disease and they were imagining things, actually had a Borreliosis that was not Lyme disease but was caused by a related organism. The infection caused skin sores AND interfered with normal skin collagen production so that those sores contained fibers.

So all those people had a real disease. But they were told they were imagining it, some of them were even accused of causing their own wounds, and they were given tranquilizers when they needed antibiotics. And their doctors often refused to look at any fiber samples they tried to bring to the doctor's attention.

Please do not tell people they are imagining things. Please take them seriously. All of those people had wrong diagnoses on their medical records and were labeled as needing psychiatric medications. There was nothing at all wrong with them except that they were infected with a previously unidentified species of Borrelia, and their doctors wouldn't pay proper attention to them.

Ear Mites Vs. Ear Infection

Posted by Christa (NC) on 09/02/2006
★★★★★

Understand that sometimes if these cures do not work - it may be a yeast infection in the ear and not ear mites. We dealt with this with our dog with long ears as well as with our cats.

Ivomec

Posted by S.F.Hyde (Deridder, La.) on 07/01/2018
★★★★★

IVOMEC is awesome stuff! For EARMITES, two to four drops in the ear canal, gently massaged in for good coverage. Wait a week, gently clean the ear. Any brown stuff should be considered ear mite waste and may be full of viable eggs, so be prepared. Have a folded paper towel or a zip lock waiting to catch the used Q-tips or whatever. After cleaning, reapply IVOMEC same as before. Wait a week & clean. Was there any brown stuff in the ear canal? Yes? Treat again. No? Your probly clear, but should treat one more time to be confident any hatchlings get killed. Check ear canals weekly for six weeks for any signs of the "Tell Tale" brown waste. Always check your pets ears at least monthly, even if they are not acting distressed. Why make them suffer when we can prevent it?

Boric Acid

Posted by April (In) on 01/04/2017
★★★★★

Boric acid, it's not dangerous I used it for eye wash whenever you get a fungal infection in your eye the reason it works for cockroaches is it dehydrates it's outside skeleton then anything else it will kill it. Just because it has acid in its name it is not dangerous. For instance it could also be used on baby blankets, babies pajamas as it makes it fire retardant. In a new Foster I'm using boric acid and peroxide carefully with an eyedropper to get rid of the infection and then I'm going to be using it oil to break down the wax sand to smother the mites.

It's the peroxide that can blind a cat if too much gets into this it's just like the peroxide washes for contacts if you don't give it to 12 hours to break down it burns your eyes like crazy.

Garlic in Olive Oil

Posted by Beverly (Usa) on 07/24/2015

I've treated ear mites in many rescued dogs over the years using neem oil added to garlic oil. Done daily, it will kill the mites rather quickly and there's no harm at all to the dog. Anything put in their ears gets out when they shake their head but you want the oil left in to kill the mites. Treat for a full 10 days to be sure nothing survives.

Neem Oil

Posted by Om (Hope, Bc Canada) on 02/03/2015
★★★★★

Lanissa -- I always had lots of cats and deals with ear mites. You did the right thing but long term untreated, ear mites can cause bleeding.

With my cats I use neem oil after cleaning the outer ear. Then repeat every three days or so. Because neem oil interrupts the productive cycle of these mites, there is noticeable improvement. I keep checking though. Kittens need the neem oil diluted with another oil because of their delicate skins. Coconut oil is also good for sensitive ears with a touch of turmeric powder if bleeding. Turmeric stops bleeding internally and externally.

For the bleeding I use turmeric powder in small amounts as it also is a natural antibiotic. For fluid in the ear I use turmeric powder and alum in 1 - 20 ratio to dry out the ear, later following up with coconut oil. This will prevent inflammation and provide cooling for red hot ears. Hope this helps.

Namaste, Om

Hand Sanitizer

Posted by Theresa (Mpls., Mn) on 02/11/2014

Hey Char!

You are replying to a post that is 2 years old, so the original poster may not be around to respond to you - so I will give it a shot!

It appears the hand-sanitizer remedy is used once a day for two days.

A couple of caveats, however.

This remedy should not be used on ears that have been scratched raw as the alcohol in the hand-sanitizer will cause painful burning and stinging.

Next, you should be certain that your pet has ear mites and not another ear condition as the wrong diagnosis will result in a painful ear condition prolonged and untreated.

And lastly, all the pets [hosts! ] in the family need to be treated at the same time. If all pets were not treated, begin again this time including all pets in the protocol. If all pets are not treated, they will simply re-infect each other.

Read all about ear mites:

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_ear_mites.html

Hand Sanitizer

Posted by Lori O'malley ( Pulaski Tn) on 05/19/2015
★★★★★

I used hand sanitizer on my dog for ear mites. It worked fabulously!! Didn't know if it would work on cats. We have acquired two kittens with mites. Thanks so much for all the posts on this subject. I will now feel comfortable using sanitizer with the kittens. Thanks ya'll!!

Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by Catlover (Granite Falls, Wa) on 10/30/2010
★☆☆☆☆

ACV is Apple Cider Vinegar. I recently took advice from this site and wanted to let everyone know the outcome.... We adopted a six-week old kitten who brought ear mites and fleas and in turn infected our 7 year-old male cat. I tried a few of the natural remedy recipes on this site and got very little results. I then went to a local vet who told me the cats ears were inflamed. I had to buy a steroid to use for 3 days, then used a one-dose medication he sold me. Hooray, ear mites are gone and my cats are happy!

Warm Water and Q-Tip

Posted by Dr. G (Albany, Ny) on 02/01/2010
★★★★★

I'm a retired vet and believe strongly in both home remedies and vets. Why it is a good idea to have your animal checked out regularly by a veterinarian, most are very expensive and give worthless tests. When I was ten my horse, Toyota, caught colic and we tried (my Mother and I) peppermint tea. It cleared right up. The vet even said not to but we did and it worked. Also for ear mites in dogs or cats, try warm water and a Q-tip. Be careful not to push grid into the ear canal. Put the Q-tip at the base of the ear and gently swipe it up. Do this until it is clean. If your animal's ear stinks, it may have a infection and should be checked out your vet.

Hand Sanitizer

Posted by Ginny (Las Vegas, Nevada) on 04/02/2010

I have used mineral oil with success, also Olive Oil with some Vitamin E has healing qualities, equal amounts of each. This is safe and an inexpensive way to help your pet.

I have read it takes about a month to rid a pet of these horrible bugs and I used this oil every day, 3 times a day for one month.

Be sure to clean the pet's bedding often.

Good luck.

Boric Acid

Posted by Kmk (New Orleans, La) on 03/28/2012

The recipe is for BORAX not BORIC ACID

Olive Oil, Garlic Oil

Posted by Shellisha (San Jose, Ca, Usa) on 10/26/2009

WARNING!!!!!! You should never use garlic oil or any kind of product containing garlic on your cat. Garlic is toxic to cats!!!!!! Many other types of oils can be used! Please use an acceptable substitute like olive oil, vegetable oil or almond oil.

Mineral Oil

Posted by Jenny (Augusta, Georgia) on 11/13/2008
★★★★★

we were very worried about our kitty, mint greene. she had been scratching her ears constantly. i dipped a cotton swab in mineral oil, rubbed it on the outer ear (not the ear canal) and she hasn't scratched since!! YAY!! tomorrow i will do this again, and massage some into her ear canal as well. if this works for mint then the other four cats, and three dogs will be next!! i am so glad i found your website. it has been a very big help.

Medications

Posted by Janis (Renton, US) on 11/10/2008

I always used mineral oil for any animal that I have had for ear mites. Just use an eye dropper and put about 5 or 6 small drops in each ear. Check the ears each day. As long as you keep seeing the blackish or dark color,looking like the ears are dirty then keep doing it until that goes away. The mineral oil will suffocate the ear mites.This has always worked for me. Good luck. Hope the cat gets better soon.

Trim Fur on Inside of Ears

Posted by Deborah (Half Moon Bay, CA, U,S,A,) on 11/08/2008
★★★★★

Regarding the topic of ear mites, and, itchy ears in kitties.. I found with my older cat who was scratching his ears naked, that the tufts of fur on the inside of his ears was the culprit. Once I trimmed the 'old man hair ears' he stopped scratching. Whenever it was time to trim, he came and sat patiently while I carefully trimmed the hairs, (being careful to not let the hair fall into the ear canal). Happy kitty, with no more scratching or neeked ears! Worth a looksie!

Mineral Oil

Posted by Susan (Utah) on 09/04/2013
★☆☆☆☆

Please do not use baby oil in your cats ears to kill earmites. It is mineral oil BUT, it also has fragrance which will burn or sting terribly when you put it in a cat's ear. I made the same mistake. It was horrible. The cat never trusted me again. It ran & shook it head. Ran n shook. Hid from me. I felt horrible. I'm here to help. Them not harm them. Did you know many cities have free or low cost. Spay n nuetering. In Utah it is 1800 PETSFIX ext 10. Free if u are low income. $15 / $25 dollars if not. Lets love the ones that are already here. We have plenty. Thank you!!

Neem Oil

Posted by Om (Hope, Bc, Canada) on 12/30/2012
★★★★★

thank you, thank you. Of all the remedies listed, neem oil will not poison or kill a cat. A few years ago the gov't here issued a warning about Borax. It is not as harmless as thought of generally. Most vets' medicines are prohibitively expensive, harmful or outright poisons. If health is a business, let the buyer beware. However, I would see a vet just to determine if the cat has also an ear infection. Antibiotics have long term damaging effect on the body and some cats do not recover well at all. Warm the neem oil and clean the outside daily, applying every three days for a month. I have many rescue cats and some dogs, believe me, simple, harmless natural remedies are , in the end best and not draining on limited resources plus no pain and stress on the animal. Thanks again. Om

Medications

Posted by Katherine (Dallas, GA) on 02/04/2009

i would love to have the chart. i tried almost everything on my dog but is taking a long time. i clean his ears with mineral oil and yes it leaves the ears so clean.

Diatomaceous Earth

Posted by Deborah (Prattville, Al) on 11/21/2011

D.E. is NOT GLASS! Diatoms are actually made up of mostly calcium and other minerals and are the food grade is safe for humans and animals internally as well as externally.

Medications

Posted by Tim (Winters, California) on 04/16/2008
★★★★★

While trying to find out more about tea-tree oil's medicinal applications, I came upon the threads on Earth Clinic about ear infections in pet animals. I was disturbed and alarmed by the degree of inaccurate and incorrect information I encountered. Particularly of concern were the readers' comments soliciting unapproved and off-label uses of unknown parasite control products, especially in exotics.

A basic issue is the prevalence of ear mites. While very common in cats, it is virtually nonexistent in dogs under most circumstances. The people posting comments about the pros and cons of various treatment protocols for ear mites in dogs are most likely not even dealing with mites. And treating ear mites in cats these days is extremely simple and not worthy of prolonged discussion; a one-time (two at most) application of feline Revolution or Advantage Multi for cats should eliminate the pests. While a good product for flea control, Frontline is probably completely ineffective against mites.

I would recommend that this site be refereed by a competent veterinarian who embraces integrated (Eastern and Western) responsible practice.

Respectfully,

Tim Krasnansky DVM

Berryessa Veterinary Services
Winters, CA 95694
(530) 795-6090
BerryessaVet.com

Medications

Posted by Stella (USA) on 04/19/2008
★☆☆☆☆

re: Feline Mite Remedies. My feline had a scary seizure type reaction from a single dose of Revolution. I will never use it again. It is not worth losing my friend over, especially when there are safer methods for prevention and eradication.

Medications

Posted by Thomas (Sarasota, Fl) on 03/30/2010

I wrapped my kitty in a blanket like a taco and after the first cleaning she trusted me from then on, but before I thought of that she would hiss and scratch and bite so just take your time and wrap her up in a blankie

Mineral Oil

Posted by Chris (Albuquerque, NM) on 03/31/2009

Ted says he likes the essential oils in Dr. Bronner's. Tea tree oil, lavender oil, peppermint oil, etc. ARE DANGEROUS TO CATS. TOXIC. CAN CAUSE SEIZURES AND EVEN DEATH. Tea tree oil is especially dangerous. DO NOT USE ***ANY*** ESSENTIAL OIL on a cat. CAts cannot metabolize EOs, because they don't have the "wiring" in their livers to do so.

I would also like to recommend that people see their vets about ear mites BEFORE treating them. There are several other conditions that APPEAR to be ear mites to the untrained eye (that means "us" :-)) but are something else entirely. Ear mites are microscopic; identification is important so that the right condition is treated. I notice that some people write that "x" remedy isn't working "yet", and asking how long does it take, etc. If it were the right thing for the right condition, it WOULD be working. Please be sure your cat has ear mites instead of an infection or injury before treating her/him. Deafness and/or nerve damage are permanent conditions.

Thank you :-)

Multiple Remedies

Posted by Nimueh (Phoenix, Arizona, USA) on 04/22/2007
★★★★★

Hi! Checking back in, after a few more weeks of trying remedies!

As of when I wrote last, I tried Diatomaceous Earth (DE) with pyretherins (chrysanthemum extract). I used it dry, applying with a cotton ball, like I had the plain DE. The plain DE worked nicely to provide the cats immediate relief from the mites sensations. But it needed re-application daily or so.

Trying the DE + pyretherins, the result stirred up sensation and symptoms at first for a couple hours, but then seemed to last longer - I was able to go up to 3-4 days without the cats scratching, shaking heads and so on. But over a couple weeks, the relief lasted shorter and shorter for the cats.

All this, plus I have still been using the vet's Revolution for them, now about every two weeks (which I read online somewhere). I think it helped, as one cat with very long hair apparently hadn't really been getting the Revolution on her skin and she had the worst case. Finally I realized this and was very careful to apply it to her skin, and immediately her condition came "up" to the level that the other 5 cats were at. So, all 6 have very little "coffee grounds" stuff and wax in their ears, yet displayed itching and head-shaking after some time with the topically applied products used, as said above.

I was discouraged and alarmed after 3 months of this - trying something which seems to give relief, then finding the relief waning in effectiveness. I had this "waning" result with alkaline mineralized water, and with the DE with pyretherins. This was while using Revolution at 4-week intervals, then at 2-week intervals. The mineral oil didn't work for us at all. The plain DE didn't have a "waning" effect but it just never got the job all done. I came back to this site and somehow read what I missed before - about Ted's Borax, vinegar, hydrogen peroxide formula. I almost went out at midnight to get the stuff but decided to wait till the next day.

The next evening after work, I was too tired to . (as I understood the procedure) clean the house with a borax/ water solution and leave it on the floors, etc.; do laundry with borax of all 6 cats' beddings; and give a Ted's borax solution bath to each of the 6 cats. (His stories and the testimonials talked about dogs and baths; I didn't find any about cats but I was prepared to bathe the cats, though I haven't ever before bathed all the cats at once.) So, tired, instead, I made up a small glass bottle of Ted's borax solution to apply to ears, paws, privates and tail's ends, just to see if I could see the effect for the cats.

Reading Ted's approach, I had begun to understand the importance of getting the biologically active material into a solution that penetrates skin somewhat. Another person had talked to me also about putting the DE into solution; when I had tried that person's suggestion which had not been tried on a pet's body but only in the garden, it clearly made their situation worse over a couple of hours, and I reversed tacts. Using Ted's formula the night before last and yesterday, I also found that it didn't do the job. Here in the Arizona desert, we may have some truly genetically deviant mites, very hardy.

However, this morning, before I could do all the cleaning steps that Ted's approach asks (not that my house wouldn't benefit from that, anyway!), I thought about what had worked the best. The best remedy was the plain DE - available at HomeDepot here, or where swimming pool supplies are sold, for use in pool filters. But DE didn't last, didn't quite get the job done. DE is known to be an effective natural pesticide, as it is fossilized, ground seashells, inert calcium carbonate, etc., and its pieces are very sharp microscopically, so it cuts the micro-bugs; it is also very drying, so it lethally dehydrates the micro-critters too. It is used here by savvy natural gardeners to get rid of garden pests. As I wrote earlier, if you use it, you'll find it is very drying to your hands and nails, so wash your hands well after touching it. (And, again, avoid the expensive brand that states it is "Flour Grade," as I found that it gets into the air and is breathed - very damaging if anyone has respiratory conditions - and is quite difficult to clean up as it only floats in air and doesn't stay on surfaces to get wiped up easily. I had to clean and clean again. One of the most challenging and dangerous experiences in this whole tough time, as one here has a respiratory problem.)

So, this morning, I added DE to my bottle of Ted's formula and again drenched my 6 cats' ears, paws, privates and tails' ends. This provides an active solution and a hopefully effective biologically active agent - DE. And the Borax is there too. I am currently delighted that I have seen no more head shaking, itching, etc., for hours. I will report in a couple days if the effect continues, and I will take steps to apply it very thoroughly to all the cats and the environment too.

Thank you for this site. It has helped me and my beloved felines. Hopefully some of this experience will help others.

Pure Aloe Vera Gel

Posted by Deb (Des Moines, Iowa) on 04/04/2007
★★★★★

Years ago, my Grandmother spent a majority of her summer, running her dog to the Vet's because of ear mites. Then she decided to take the pet to another Vet. who was a Man who believed in "old time" remedies. His advice to her for the ear mites was pure aloa vera gel. Just break off a small end of one of the stems and using a Q-tip, swab the ear and within a few days, the mites were gone and most importantly, the Aloa is very gentle on the pet not to mention it cures without harmful chemicals.

Mineral Oil

Posted by Candice (USA) on 03/14/2007
★★★★★

Hi! I just wanted to reply to my previous remedy for mineral oil. I treated our 9 cats with the oil and so far all is well! Try not to use too-too much...haha otherwise they get funky hair do's!!! haha otherwise it worked perfect thanks, and good luck!

Mineral Oil

Posted by Candice (Victorville, USA) on 02/17/2007
★★★★★

Hello. I just spent my saturday morning (today) at the vets office with one of my cats. She had been shaking her head lately for the past 2 weeks; and when I looked inside her ears (at first it was only in one ear), there was reside in them resembling small coffee grounds. Two nights ago she scratched her ear raw inside one of them. So I decided it was time to take her to the vet. He went ahead and started putting the MINERAL OIL in her ear and massaging it in (via the outside of the ear, so that she wouldn't shake it all out, right away), and then he used the long, medical Q-tips to remove some debris (the blackish gunk). I helped him hold her as he did this and he notified me that this should kill of of the living ear mites and to reapply in a couple of days, because of the eggs. So its gonna be a process but apparently mineral oil is what is used by professionals. I am going to try it but kind of weary of the q-tip! yikes...I am not going to try and go too deep in the ear since I am not a professional. I hope this helps someone! I will repost again to tell you if this worked! Thanks.