Pet lovers are sometimes forced to let their pets go for a walk. There is a risk of infection when contacting stray animals various diseases, such as otodectosis. Most often, representatives of the cat breed become infected with it. Otodectosis in cats - what is it, and why can the disease lead to the death of the animal?
The reasons for the development of otodectosis include various options ear mite infestation. This may happen:
Otodectosis in cats is not a seasonal disease. Ticks can get into an animal's ears regardless of the time of year and weather conditions.
Symptoms of otodectosis
Based on the cat's changed behavior, the owner may suspect an infection with ear mites.
The animal has:
- anxiety;
- scratching ears;
- frequent shaking of the head;
- refusal of food.
If you look into the ear of an animal, you can see a large amount of dark brown sulfur. This substance has a dried appearance and bad smell. In more advanced cases, pus accumulates in the ear canal. The vital activity of mites leads to severe itching, and then the cat scratches the ears with its claws.
Inexperienced owners may think that the cat has accumulated dirt in its ears and 
pursue diligently hygiene procedures for the cleaning. This is absolutely impossible to do. This biological material is necessary to confirm the diagnosis, and rough intervention in the auricle can intensify the inflammatory process. And this is already fraught with complete loss of hearing in the animal.
You can try to check your guesses about “ear scabies” at home. To do this, you need to lightly press your fingers on the base of the ear, being careful not to cause painful sensations at the cat. If ear mites are present, then when pressed, a quiet sound similar to a squeak will occur.
Ear mites that lead to otodectosis, although small in size, are visually distinguishable. But you can’t stop at visually examining the cat’s ear; medical confirmation of the diagnosis is necessary. To do this, your veterinarian will need a microscopic examination of ear discharge and skin scrapings. 
Using cotton swabs, a specialist will carefully take biological material from the animal, place it on a special glass, and mix it with a drop of Vaseline. With this technique, it is possible to detect the presence of not only adult ticks, but also tick eggs. Only after examining the earwax and identifying all the symptoms will the veterinarian make a diagnosis of otodectosis.
An erroneous diagnostic result is possible if the material is collected incorrectly. This happens when the owner, for some reason, does not want to take the animal to the veterinarian, and collects ear discharge on his own.
Treatment of a cat can be carried out at home, but the results must be monitored by a veterinarian. Before you start treating your ears, you should clean the ear canal of dirt, scabs and pus. This procedure is done with a cotton swab dipped in camphor alcohol or hydrogen peroxide.
For greater effect, repeat the procedure after 10 days, if not positive result, then the product is used until all ear mites are destroyed. This can be determined by repeated microscopic examination. 
It is up to the owner to speed up the recovery of a beloved pet. After all, a cat’s health and future life depend on its immunity. Therefore, it is important to provide the animal with fortified and high-protein food during treatment.
Prevention
Every pet owner must constantly monitor the condition of the pet and provide favorable living conditions. Cats, just like people, need a warm, well-ventilated and humidified environment. Necessary 
frequent wet cleaning, carpet cleaning, daily airing. After all, a person can bring ticks into the house himself and thereby unwittingly infect a cat.
It is also important to maintain the cleanliness of objects with which the animal comes into contact the most. These are bowls, carriers, scratching posts and hygiene products. They must not only be washed regularly, but also treated disinfectant. And, of course, protect your pet from contact with stray animals.
The entire development cycle lasts from 14 to 20 days, depending on environmental conditions, and occurs in phases: egg, larva, protonymph, teleonymph, imago (mature individual). In external environment and at optimal conditions The tick is viable for up to 65 days.
Symptoms
Symptoms of the disease are initially invisible; only stunted growth and dull hair color are noted. Then the animals periodically experience anxiety attacks. Due to severe inflammation, accompanied by, sick animals shake their heads, scratch their ears, and rub them against various objects.
Pathogenesis .
Infection occurs through contact with sick animals, as well as items caring for them. Owners can also infect their pets by carrying ticks on their clothes or hands (for example, by interacting with a sick animal). Otodectes cynotis, feeding on the cells of the epidermis (lining the upper layers of the skin), mechanically injure the skin, and also have an irritating and toxic effect on the nerve endings with waste products, resulting in itching.
Diagnostics.
Inflammation of the inner surface of the auricle with the formation of dark brown crusts gives rise to suspicion of otodectosis, and the subsequent detection of mites in scrapings confirms this. But there are other causes of inflammation in the external auditory canal, clinical symptoms which are similar to this disease. Carrying out differential diagnosis necessary for exclusion inflammatory process of another origin - notoedrosis (another type of skin mites), hypersensitivity (allergy) to bites, as well as lice infestation. The presence of a fungal or bacterial infection that contributes to the development of otitis media is also excluded. To do this, perform cytological examination strokes - prints from the outer ear canal.
Treatment.
Prevention.
To prevent otodectosis, it is recommended to prevent healthy animals from contacting sick animals, especially stray animals, and to monitor the hygiene of the ear canals. Monthly sanitation of the ear canal using special lotions (for example, Otifri, Virbak) reduces the risk of otodectosis. It is not recommended to clean the ear canals with cotton swabs, or to rinse them with solutions that irritate the skin (hydrogen peroxide, dioxidine, chlorhexidine). Animals kept in nurseries are systematically examined ears to identify tick carriers.
Picture when domestic cat sits and fiercely rubs his ears, familiar to every breeder of these animals. Many even believe that “this is how it should be,” but this is not at all the case. The fact is that ear scabies in cats (aka) - the disease is quite serious, in advanced cases it leads to, can cause.
As we already mentioned, ear mange is perhaps the most common disease in cats. It is almost impossible to find a person, even one far from biology, who has not encountered its manifestations in the example of their pets. However, fleas are still more common... Be that as it may, kittens and young cats are most often infected, although the likelihood of the disease is still very high, regardless of the breed and age and gender of the animal.
Read also: Constipation in a kitten: causes, symptoms, treatment
Clinical signs of infestation vary significantly (and vary from cat to cat), but most often you will see one or more of the following symptoms:
- The ears are constantly combed and scratched, because with otodectosis the animal constantly rubs and scratches them.
- The discharge is dark or brown in color, dense, falling out of the ear in crumbs, settling on the outer edge of the auricle.
- The areas around the ears quickly become bald due to scratching, secondary microflora gets there, and inflammation develops (often purulent).
- The skin and the ears themselves are covered with a dense scab.
- Again, on the same long-suffering ears, distinct, rather large hematomas may appear, looking like red balls filled with blood or ichor.
Please note that skin lesions (especially purulent etiology) may well spread to the entire face of a sick cat. The photo clearly shows how scary animals with advanced cases of ear scabies look. The danger here is not so much in the unpresentable form, but in the high probability of sepsis. Torn and scratched ears will sooner or later become inflamed and pustules will form, the contents of which can enter the bloodstream and cause septicemia.
Diagnosis and treatment
Usually a specialist will find out if your pet has had contact with other cats, since this common disease is transmitted quickly and is almost guaranteed. But this is not how otodectosis is diagnosed: there are many diseases (fungi, bacterial skin infections) that can cause similar symptoms, but they are treated completely differently.
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To put differential diagnosis, it is necessary to identify the tick itself that caused the disease. First, samples of ear discharge are taken and examined with a magnifying glass against a dark background. However, this method is not very reliable, since there is a much better chance of seeing the pathogen by looking for it in the eyepiece of a microscope. So how is ear scabies treated in cats?
Firstly, if the cat cannot spend even a minute without scratching its ears, you will have to use sedatives, because otherwise nothing good will come of it. Secondly, when treating, it is recommended to follow three basic principles:
- If you have at least one other cat or dog (or a whole menagerie) in your house, you will have to treat everyone without exception.
- It is necessary to process not only the ears, but also the entire skin. We have already said that this tick can “live” on skin almost throughout the body.
- You will have to thoroughly rinse the entire apartment with disinfectants several times. Although the tick does not live in the external environment for long, it will still be a shame if long-term therapy turns out to be ineffective.
By the way, how long does treatment take? At home, this takes at least three weeks: ticks are very tenacious creatures, and therefore it is not worth the risk. As for drugs for the treatment of this pathology, there are no problems with them. The modern veterinary pharmacological industry produces many drugs, the most effective of which are the following:
- Dioxidine solution and ordinary hydrogen peroxide.
- Fipronil.
- Amitrosine.
- Deltamethrin.
- Familiar to many cat owners, drops “Bars” and others.
Since otodectosis must be treated by instilling medicine into the cat’s ears, we advise you to remember safety precautions: wear gloves and find an assistant who will hold the animal. It is recommended to soak large scabs and scabs with peroxide, gently wipe them off with a cotton swab (but under no circumstances peel them off if they do not come off!), and only then instill the main remedy. Almost all of the above medications are oil-based, so they should not leak from your ears.
- Increased earwax volume means dirty ears.
- Tick waste – brown coating with a noticeable unnatural odor. In a progressive form, the ears are literally filled with a wet mush of brown mite secretions, wax, coagulated blood, and skin scales. The photo shows the advanced stage ear mite.
Before choosing a medicine for ear mites in cats, make sure you have a diagnosis. Many skin diseases, as well as allergies cause itching in the ear area, and brown discharge may have several root causes.
Note! If a cat scratches its ears vigorously, the scratches bleed, but the animal does not stop, and the inside of the shell is clean - you are dealing with. The disease is also caused by a tick, but is subcutaneous and affects the outer part of the ear.
How to identify ear mites
- You will need a flat black surface. Exactly black! The ear mite has a white color, but is literally microscopic in size, so the surface should be as contrasting as possible.
- Using a cotton swab, take a swab from the animal's ear. Try to grab as much of the mixture as possible, but take the smear in one motion.
- Holding the stick over the black surface, gently tap on its base - you need to “shake out” the mites from the general mass of secretions.
- Place the stick in the bag, shine a bright light on the surface and look carefully. If you have vision problems, use a magnifying glass.
- Your task is to detect white dots, which, after lying down for a while, will begin to move. Found it? – you have confirmed the diagnosis, the cat has ear mites.
Read also: Respiratory system cats: possible violations and their reasons
Treatment for ear mites in cats
Even in complex, advanced cases, treatment skin diseases carried out at home, ear mites are no exception. Sexually mature individuals lay 5 eggs per day, and their full development cycle takes 21 days. Get ready and be patient; in the most “rosy” prospects, we can talk about complete relief from ear mites no earlier than in a month.
To remove ear mites as much as possible short term, you need to follow a number of rules:
- Hygiene – isolate a sick pet from other animals and people. Wash your hands hot water after contact, use gloves, a medical cape or gown.
- Home treatment involves using specialized drugs, following the instructions or prescriptions of the doctor.
- Regardless of treatment tactics, it is necessary to thoroughly clean the ears of plaque every day. A cotton swab is soaked in hydrogen peroxide or a special disinfectant lotion.
- Keeping an eye on the animal or using a collar to prevent the cat from scratching its ears will reduce the risk of wound infections.
- Use in parallel with the main treatment antihistamines, they will ease the itching.
- A tick attack is an indicator of decreased immunity or impairment metabolic processes. To restore strength, the animal needs rest, care and proper nutrition.
Important! Continue the course of medication according to the instructions and hygiene procedures, even if the cat does not show signs of illness. Young mites and eggs do not cause this severe itching like adults.
Selecting a drug for ear mites
Read also: Probiotics for cats: talking about ways to normalize microflora
At an early stage you will only need ear drops narrow spectrum cotton buds and patience. If pus is found in the ear, the animal experiences pain when palpating the lower part of the ear, the pulp has a wet consistency, you will need:
- Remedy for ear mites in cats wide range action, it is optimal to use drops that eliminate fungi and bacteria - Oricin or analogues.
- If you choose narrow spectrum drops, you will need additional antifungal drug– Otanazole or analogue. Veterinarians often recommend using an antifungal ointment - it stays on the surface of the ear longer, for example, Oridermil.
- Lotion or spray for cleaning and disinfection - used warm. Apply the product to the inside of the ears, massage, let the animal shake its head and begin cleaning.
- Immunostimulants - subcutaneous injections, drugs such as Gamavit, Tetravit.
Important! To treat and prevent ear mites in cats, you should not use medications containing alcohol! You also risk the life of your pet if you use “dog” drugs.
The instructions for the drug clearly state how to treat the animal - doses and timing. Do not exceed the recommendations, do not instill double volume of the drug if you missed procedures, do not shorten the treatment period.
Ear mites (otodectosis) are a common cat disease that affects every seventh owner. Many people are perplexed as to why insects appear on pets. In this article I will describe the causes and symptoms of the disease in cats. I will tell you about risk groups, diagnosis and treatment. I will list the conditions for keeping sick animals and the necessary preventive actions. I will analyze the main complications and their consequences.
Risk group and routes of transmission
Tenacious. Outside a living organism they can exist for up to 14 days.
Adult cats and kittens are most susceptible to this disease, and less commonly dogs, foxes and arctic foxes.
Transmission routes:
The risk group includes cats under one year of age and long-eared dogs.
Causes of the disease
The main reasons include:
- Uncontrolled walks (bloodsuckers live in grass, basements, attics, and garbage containers).
- Communication of the pet or owner with infected specimens.
- Failure to comply with hygiene requirements: wearing shoes in a living space, staying at home in street clothes, irregularly washing the doormat. Insects are brought with sand, soil, and microparticles.
Symptoms of the disease
Let's look at the stages and symptoms by which otodectosis is recognized.
1st (first two weeks):
- shakes his head;
- constantly scratches the ear (scabies).
2nd (second-third weeks):
- rubs his head against corners, walls, rough ledges;
- scratches, abrasions and dark discharge similar to ground coffee appear on the inner surface of the ears and the base of the ear canal;
- a putrid odor emanates from the ear;
- loss of appetite;
- tilts his head to one side (bowheadedness).
3rd (21-41 days from the moment of infection):
- visible suppuration in the ear, when palpating the shell, a squelching sound is heard;
- high body temperature;
- convulsions and seizures.
Diagnosis of otodectosis
In everyday life it is revealed as follows:
- Using a cotton swab, carefully remove the contents from the ear and shake it onto black paper (cloth).
- Bring it to the light, hold it under the lamp, observe using magnifying glass. If white dots spread out, the diagnosis is confirmed.
Used accessories should be disposed of immediately upon completion of the experiment.
With otitis media, diagnosis is difficult because the bloodsuckers die in the purulent environment.
In the clinic, otodectosis is determined through examination and examination of scrapings.
Before going to the vet, do not treat it yourself.
The process negatively affects the results of the study.
Treatment methods
The best way is local, in strict accordance with the doctor’s instructions. The most optimal are drops (they eliminate the cause and fight bacteria).
Before administering medications, the hearing organ is wiped with a piece of gauze or a piece of cotton wool moistened with special lotions (otifri, leopard, phytolar) heated to 20-22 degrees.
Then the medicine for otodectosis is instilled into the cat's ear. In this case, the shell is folded in half and then massaged to uniform distribution. Both ears are treated.
Drops against ear mites:
- amit;
- otoferonol;
- ectodes;
- furizon;
- oricin.
Along with the listed items, ordermil and aversectin ointments, Amidel gel, a suspension of creolin, DE cream and dioxidine have proven themselves to be good.
Creolin - for the treatment and prevention of otodectosis Disinfection is carried out in cycles every 5-7 days until complete healing. A negative test result indicates recovery.
On average, anti-tick therapy takes a month. Based on the stage and course, antimicrobial, painkillers, and antihistamines are prescribed.
For example, for otitis media, medications that eliminate fungi and bacteria are required.
Treatment at home
At the first signs of otodectosis, you can help your pet.
Traditional methods are effective on early stages. Suitable for preventive purposes or in combination with medications.
Camphor, vegetable, and vaseline oils soften the contents of the ear. Makes cleaning easier.
Strong green tea has an antiseptic effect. Prepared at the rate of: a couple of teaspoons of tea leaves per 200 grams of water. The ears are wiped with the solution and instilled into the ear openings, 2-3 drops each for 1-1.5 months.
Rub the infected area with a mixture of garlic and aromatic oils (2 tablespoons per half crushed clove). Mint, almond, lavender are suitable. It is important to be careful not to cause further irritation.
Among amateurs natural products An anti-tick mixture consisting of 40 grams is common. raw pork lard, 16 gr. potassium carbonate and 30 gr. colloidal sulfur.
Timely initiation of therapy promotes cure in 95%.
Complications of the disease
An advanced form of otodectosis is fraught with the following complications:
- hematoma;
- lymphatic extravasation (damage to the lymphatic vessel);
- abscess or perforation of the eardrum;
- hearing loss;
- penetration into the lining of the brain, leading to inflammation and death of the patient.
Caring for a sick cat
Avoid communication with other fauna.
Thoroughly clean the home, disinfect the patient’s sleeping area and used items.
Provide balanced diet. Strengthen the immune system, including with immunostimulating injections. Include vitamins and minerals in your diet.
Is feline otodectosis dangerous for people?
Prevention
As measures aimed at preventing otodectosis, it is necessary:
- protect your pet from stray and infected animals;
- inspect your ears daily and clean out any debris;
- treat the hearing organs with lotion monthly;
- disinfect once a quarter;
- add menu;
- treat the home with antiseptics once a week and regularly wash the rug located at the entrance and the pet’s personal items;
- Wash your hands after touching foreign animals.
No matter how scary otodectosis may seem, modern drugs allow you to save your pet from illness. Careful observation of the behavior of your beloved furry will help to identify and diagnose an infection, as well as provide prompt and high-quality treatment.
