Cat Ear Mites Symptoms and Treatments

When a cat has ear mites the ear will look dirty/black

An ear mite is a spider-like parasite that you cannot see.  These mites are attracted to the wax in your cat's ear, When it comes to a cat the mite will bite the cat's ear, or around its neck. The mite will cause bites that look like a blister that are small and red.  

These bites are annoying to the cat and the cat will shake its head and scratch its ear. Your cat's inner ear may look bloody or swollen. Ears that are infected with mites must be cleaned to remove the mite and a veterinarian may prescribe an ear drop treatment. 

View this video to learn how to clean the ear. Treatment for ear mites.

Recently we took in a rescue cat that had mites in its ears and on the body. We knew this because another symptom of mite on the cat's body is to look for dandruff-like flakes in your cat's fur and there were large patches of hair loss. These symptoms are due to the Demodex mite and this mite bites the cat's skin. If you have a multiple cat home where cats are indoor / outdoors chances are you have this mite.

Know that if one cat has ear or skin mites then all of your cats and even your dog has mites. Mites can also get into human hair and this parasite will cause a real problem so I would recommend that you contact your veterinarian if you suspect mites.

See the photograph of the rescue cat with mites, you can see that she is missing fur. She had mites around her neck, in her ears, and on her backside. I suspect she got them from being out in the woods or spending time with other cats that were infected with mites.

From our experience in taking care of the rescue cat that had mites, we learned that the best way to prevent your cat from getting mites is to apply the topical Revolution monthly. Revolution will prevent ticks, fleas, mites, and sarcastic mange. Revolution will also prevent internal and external parasites including heartworm. You can also give your cat a sulfur dip.  My friend told me that she has used sulfur for the treatment of cat mites, that it does work but you must put a cone-shaped recovery collar on your cat to prevent them from licking their fur and ingesting it.

This rescue has a cone-shaped recovery collar on

 

Stray Cats Diagnosis; Inflammation of Bladder

Two days ago a stray cat that is a regular and my cat shelter showed signs of not being able to urinate. I observed this when I thought he was going to urinate outside of the litter box. I discovered there was no urine but instead a drop of blood. Warning flag and of course this meant that cat would be rushed to the veterinarians where they took him immediately to the exam room to check him for blockage.

Stray cat in the garden

The stray cat was kept at the animal hospital for two nights and during that time they did an exam, and tested his urine, blood and did a combo test for Feline Leukemia and AIDS. The test came back and showed that the cat had inflammation of the bladder and this is why he has the need to strain to urinate.

The stray cat was diagnosed with Feline idiopathic cystitis or commonly known as sterile cystitis. This condition is inflammation of the bladder. The veterinarian checks the cat’s urine to determine if the urine is sterile or if it has tiny crystals or sand like particles in the urine. - See more at: http://storyofsambysusangolis.blogspot.com/2012/01/cat-health-feline-idiopathi-cystitis.html#sthash.7UPvqPNI.dpuf

The veterinarian that treated the cat said this 16 year old cat was under stress and needed to eat special diet to calm him. She recommended royal canin veterinarian diet calm cat food. Know that this food benefits cats as it will prevent urinary tract infections, hairballs and if you have multiple cat homes it keeps all the cats in harmony.

My one friend said she fed this calming food to her 7 month old kittens and the kittens stopped climbing her drapes. While the pet food sounds good, it is expensive $52. for 8.8 pounds is the asking price at my veterinarians.

I did an online search for the Royal canin veterinarian diet calm cat food and found that Chewy.com Regular price was $49.38 and then if you signed up for auto ship you got another discount. If I signed up for auto ship today the food would cost me $46.91 and then I would have to spend $3.00 more to get free shipping. The Chewy website offers the best prices on cat food and products.

We cannot afford to feed this stray cat the special diet. However we plan on buying one bag of the food. We will feed the cat so he starts to feel better and then I can rehome him. I really do not like changing a mature cats lifestyle but think finding him a forever home would be best; a home where they can afford to buy this cat the food that he needs.  

I feel bad since I have watched over this cat for the last two years, well since he was abandoned but such is the life of a cat that is left behind when their people move.  Read the first post about this stray cat to learn about his symptoms and when we realized something was wrong.   

Stray Cat Goes to Veterinarian; Cannot Urinate

There is a stray cat that is a regular at my garage shelter, he arrives at night before the door is shut and sleeps in the same bed. This cat is older and we have paid for his vaccines, however he was somebodies cat at one time because he came to us neutered. We suspect that his people moved and left him behind.

 Anyway this cat's behavior has changed and today I noticed that he was trying to urinate on the walls, I rushed to him and said no no kitty, picked him up and put him in his litter box. He tried to urinate there and I noticed that he could not. No urine was coming out and I knew that this was not a good sign.

Since this cat is old I thought maybe it was a senior cat deal, so I fed him his canned food and gave him fresh water and watched him, when he strained to urinate I then called the veterinarian. Know that when a cat cannot urinate it could due to blockage and this is a serious condition.

We rushed the kitty over to the veterinarian and when they went to exam him he did urinate all over himself, the exam table and in other words there was no blockage. The veterinarian said that they would like to keep the cat overnight to get urine in the morning, they also took the cats blood to make sure nothing else was going on.

We are not the type of people who euthanize cats because they are sick, and to make room for other stray, abandoned or feral cats. We always have a sick cat evaluated by a veterinarian and then follow their advice.

Know that if you cat shows signs of straining to urinate and or no urine or little urine is coming out then this is a red flag and you must take them to the veterinarian as there no way of knowing if there is a blockage.