Ear Mitesby Aimee Amodio | More from this Blogger 12 Dec 2006 11:11 AM There are several types of mites that can invade the ear canals of dogs and cats. In fact, ear mites can live anywhere on an animal's body! Although humans are not affected by ear mites, many other animals can be. Ear mites are extremely contagious and can affect dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, gerbils, mice, ferrets, and other furry pets. The most common ear mite seen in puppies and kittens is otodectes cynotis. Of course, that may only be useful information if you're going to be appearing on Jeopardy. The symptoms of ear mites are pretty easy to spot. Animals with ear mites will scratch around their ears and shake their heads. How much shaking and scratching you witness will depend mainly on the severity of the infestation. Check your pet's ears -- look inside the ear canal. A severe infestation will cause the ear canals to bleed, so you may see fresh or dried blood. The dried blood may look like coffee grounds. Finding material that looks like coffee grounds in the ear canals may also be a sign of a bacterial or yeast infection. Your veterinarian will know for sure. Ear mites are common, but serious. Untreated ear mites can severely damage the ear canals. The mites can also spread out of the ears to other areas of the body which your pet may or may not scratch. You must use an ear product with an insecticide to treat ear mites! Treatment may take up to four weeks in order to kill all the mites. You will also want to treat the entire body, just in case the mites have moved out from the ears. Treat the tail, too -- when your pet sleeps curled up, the tail may be dangerously close to the ear. If you find mites on one pet, you should probably treat all the pets in your household. Ear mites are highly contagious between pets but are not transferable to humans. Treatment of house and yard isn't usually necessary -- most varieties of mite don't live long once they're off the pet. More about healthy grooming habits. Learn more about Aimee Amodio  Aimee is a fiction writer... dog lover... music lover... Relevantpets tags User Comments No comments on this article yet. Be the first to comment! Community Tags ear mites, ear infections, grooming, head shaking, itching Discuss this article
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