Ear Mite Medicine for Cats without Vet Prescription
The average life expectancy for a cat is 15 years. When one lives that long, owners will likely be inclined to say that he or she 'lived a good, long life.' No matter how old they are, any type of parasite is an unwelcome guest on your cat. Eat mites are just like fleas, ticks, and any other parasite. The good news is that while cats nearly always get well past the age of 10 at the very least, the average life span of an ear mite is all of 3 weeks. However, they can be one heck of a nuisance during that time, so what's the best ear mite medicine for cats?
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We’ll look at some of the best choices here. The fact that ear mites don’t have nearly the notoriety that fleas and ticks do also means that most pet owners aren’t as familiar with them, so we’ll spend a little time discussing these little critters too. One plus is that the symptoms of ear mites in cats are fairly easy to identify.
And how about a few other tips on how to eliminate ear mites in cats naturally? Its good information to have, and many veterinarians believe that pairing these homemade solutions with a course of effective ear mite medications like Advantage Multi Cat, Revolution for Cats, or Heartgard Chewables. Many cat owners have reported getting better results when taking this approach to using ear mite medicine for cats.
What’s with Ear Mites?
As mentioned, the ear mite has only 3 weeks to do whatever it is it wants to do with its life. Of course, being a parasite that means the only interest it has is finding a warm-blooded host where it can set up and be, well, - parasitic. Your cat – or dog – is an ideal location for such purposes and that’s why you may well find yourself wondering what to do when my cat has ear mites.
Ear mites are the most common cause of ear problems in cats, and the reason they choose their location of choice is because they can feed on ear wax and skin oils in the cat’s ear – when they’re not biting them, of course. Further, ear mites are microscopic insects, and this means that they can be very difficult to spot with just your eyes. So much so that vets use a tool called an otoscope to find and confirm the presence of ear mites.
If left unchecked, ear mites can pose serious health risks to cats. These include deafness, long-term coordination and balance issues, and permanent ear scarring. They can also increase the likelihood of the cat developing other ear infections.
Ear mites are also very easily passed between cats, making ear mite infestations very contagious if your cat comes to be in the vicinity of another cat or different type of animal who has them. All the more reason to know the best ear mite medicine for cats. However, the good news is that there is no risk of a human getting ear mites from an animal.
Symptoms of Ear Mites in Cats
The first step in dealing with this problem is to identify the symptoms of ear mites in cats. These include:
- Excessive scratching of the ears, or claw mark sores around ear from excessive scratching
- Fresh or dried blood in the ear canal, which can look like dried coffee grounds. Small white dots seen in the matter may be the mites themselves
- Cat shaking its head excessively and overly frequently
- Cat experiencing ongoing dizziness or loss of balance
- Lopsided standing or sitting position where the cat prefers to keep one ear up and the other down
- Flattened ears
- Unpleasant odor coming from ears
Any of these symptoms can be reason enough to take your cat to see a veterinarian, and that’s the best idea as making any type of self-diagnosis about your cat’s health is inadvisable. You can however begin to look into the best ear mite medicine for cats. So, let’s switch directions and get right to that.
Weighing Each Ear Mite Medicine for Cats
We’ll start by looking at Advantage Multi. It is first and foremost an effective flea and tick medication for cats, but it’s also popular because it kills parasitic worms and ear mites too. Advantage Multi gets great consumer reviews for its effectiveness, but one thing you have to keep in mind is that it is a topical application only. You spray it onto the skin of your cat, and you do so even if your only aim with the medication is to treat an ear mite infestation.
You do not apply this ear mite medicine for cats directly into the ear canal, and that goes for any other type of topical ear mite spray.
Next up is Revolution Plus. It’s also a very well-regarded med and worthy of a nod as the best ear mite medicine for cats. Like Advantage Multi it is primarily a flea and tick medication for cats that also works for ear mites. You apply it topically to the skin in exactly the same way too, and consumer reviews for Revolution are just as favorable as they are for Advantage Multi.
One big difference here though and might be the difference maker for some people deciding on the best ear mite medicine for cats – Revolution is available without a prescription, while you will need to purchase one for Advantage Multi. The next consideration here for owners will be price, and it’s true that Revolution is a little less expensive than Advantage Multi.
There are some who suggest that the higher price for Advantage Multi is a reflection of it being a better product for multi-parasite protection for cats, but industry reviews tend to see them as pretty much equals when it comes to effectiveness. One last consideration for you with which one is the best ear mite medicine for cats might be how quickly each begins to work.
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Advantage Multi usually begins to take effect killing ear mites in cats within 2 hours of application, while Revolution Plus is not quite as speedy – it begins to work within 6 hours of application.