How will I treat ear mites in stray cat?

MsFifers

Once again I seem to have been "adopted" by the local stray cat! He waits outside my door every morning & evening to be fed, and he is getting quite friendly - I can give him one or two pets before he runs off.

He's pretty neglected - matted & itchy, but not too thin as I think a few different neighbours feed him. I've managed to get Advocate spot-on on him but I think he has an ear mite infestation - a lot of head shaking, his ears are dirty looking, and yesterday I noticed he has a raw looking sore spot on the base of one ear. I presume its from scratching so much.

I'm not sure the Advocate will do the job if the infestation is bad - does anyone know?

I know the usual thing is to give ear drops - but I think he'll rip my hands off if I were to try this . There is no way I can pick him up.

Any suggestions on what can be done?

boomerang

The Advocate will do the job if it's ear mites - it's what we always use - and if you think it's a particularly bad infestation you can repeat it in 3-4 weeks time. If he's still scratching at his ears and shaking his head at that stage, then it's probably an ear infection, for which he'd need ear drops for up to two weeks. I know that's asking the impossible! Maybe he'll become more tame and trusting over time though.

If eventually you want to trap him to have him neutered, you could ask your vet to clean out his ears while he's sedated. He'll feel much more comfortable then.

I'm very glad the poor fella has an angel looking out for him!

Dixie Chick

I found that once the mites are under control that then the spot on is effective. It took me a lot of ear baths to get my strays ears back to health. And cats do be always itching their ears anyway i find.