A Safe and Effective Home Remedy for Eradicating Ear Mites from Your Cat's Ears

Whether you have 1 cat, or 6 cats like I do, part of being a responsible pet owner is monitoring your feline's health. Fleas are probably the worst nuisance to your cat. But Ear Mites run a close second place. Read this instructive article and learn a safe and effective home remedy for eradicating Ear Mites from your cat's ears!

What Are Ear Mites?
Just like Fleas, Ear Mites are troublesome parasites. The proper name for these microscopic, eight-legged creatures is "Otodectes cyanotis". Instead of feeding off your cat's blood like Fleas do, Ear Mites feed off wax and other debris found in the ears. These freeloaders are contagious, and can be passed from one cat to another.

Symptoms and Signs of Ear Mites
If your cat has Ear Mites, you'll notice that s/he will typically shake its head. It will also scratch its ears in an effort to relieve the irritation. If you carefully hold your cat's ears back and look inside, you'll probably see black, crusty matter. Their inner ears may also be red and be inflamed. If you look hard enough, you may also see the tiny white Ear Mites.

Safe and Effective Home Remedies for Eradicating Ear Mites From Your Cat's Ears

Use Natural Oils
The easiest, and most effective home remedy I've found for killing Ear Mites in my cats' ears, is, to use warm oil. Olive, Canola or Almond Oil are probably the best to use. In a pinch, you can even use a vegetable oil such as Crisco brand. If you have some Vitamin E on hand, you can add a few drops of that to the original oil. Vitamin E, which is a natural antioxidant, will promote healing and help reduce inflammation.

How to Warm and Apply Natural Oils
To kill Ear Mites, fill a metal teaspoon about half full with the oil of your choice. Then, light a wooden match and hold it a few inches away from the underside of the spoon. Move the match back and forth to warm the oil evenly; it doesn't take very long. You really don't have to warm the natural oil first, but I think it works better. It's soothing to your cat, as opposed to using cold oil in this home remedy. Make sure the oil is just warm, and NOT hot before you proceed to the next step.