Parasites, both external and internal, are one of the main enemies of the well-being and health of our pets in general. But, if we stop to think about the discomfort of having small beings that reproduce in our ears or skin, we can understand the importance of knowing the most of mites in cats, as well as the symptoms, treatment and contagion of this problem. .
To do this, Animal Expert offers this content that serves as a general guide to prevent this annoying pest or treat the problem while it is already present in your kitten.
- This mite (a species of tiny spider that seems to have the gift of ubiquity because it adapts to all possible environments).
- Lives in the ears of dogs and cats.
- But can appear with pulicosis.
- The most common external parasitosis in cats.
- Its life cycle is about 3 weeks:.
They live about 8 weeks, but are well used for intense reproduction
Its color is whitish and females are twice as large as males, never exceeding 0.5 mm. However, we cannot classify these beings as microscopic, because if the cat collaborates, it is possible to observe them with some ease by using an otoscope.
Although their habitat is the ear canal, severe infestations can spread to a wider area of the cat’s head skin and snout and, in some cases, some mites may be detected lost in other areas of the body, which is quite difficult due to their small size. They usually appear, especially, at the top of the tail, which is because cats sleep huddled.
The mite feeds on the outer surface of the skin of the ear canal (does not dig galleries) and its saliva causes irritation and itching, causing hypersecretion of its glands.
is one of the main causes of external otitis in cats, especially in young animals. The symptoms are easily recognizable and you don’t need a massive infestation to realize that your cat has this problem. In addition, there may be cases of hypersensitivity in these parasites (as well as fleas). The most common and features are:
Not all of these symptoms appear and, as mentioned, there is not always a correlation between the degree of parasitation and the intensity of symptoms.
As this is one of the most common parasites in cats, the veterinarian will perform an examination of the ear canal at each visit, and you will be able to see with the naked eye if you have enough time and if the cat is calm. They usually insert the otoscope without light, illuminating as soon as it is inside, to surprise the intruder without having time to hide in the secretions.
However, if secretions occur and no mites are detected, your doctor will take swab samples and you will be able to observe both eggs and hexapod larvae (3 pairs of legs) and adults (with 4 pairs of legs) under a microscope. Sometimes a drop of oil is used to lubricate very dry secretions and facilitate the leakage of arthropods from your hiding place.
Even if there are no intense secretions or do not appear at first, if you continue to notice diseases that are in line with the problem in your cat, the veterinarian will insist on looking for isolated specimens that may cause a hypersensitivity reaction.
The fact that they are not seen the first time does not mean that they are not present and, therefore, it is very important to explore the ear on each visit, especially in the first months of our cat’s life.
In addition to acaricidal treatments, it is very important to clean secretions with a suitable cleaning product at least twice a week at first. These cleaning products are usually oily so, in turn, they help mechanically eliminate parasites (drowning), an additional pest control aid that we must apply to our cat.
A small drawback is the accidental entry into the eye of some drop of these oils and cleaning products, so we recommend doing it with caution, as well as the appearance of Horner syndrome, after cleaning. However, this is rare and the benefits of cleaning outweigh the drawbacks.
In case of secondary infection with fungi or bacteria, it should be treated with specific products. There are optical suspensions that combine antifungals and antibiotics. Sometimes they think they have the power of caress, but they don’t. Its effect against mites is only the ability to drown them but it is a sometimes short treatment and can survive some. In this case, it is necessary to use a selamectin pipette, associated with the treatment of the infection.
Intimate and direct contact is the way of contagion. We’ve all wondered how it’s possible for our kitten, as little as 2 months old, to have mites. Her mother probably already had the problem and, as a child, she passed it on to her entire range. Meanwhile, there is close contact between the kittens and their mother, with continuous cleaning included and mites, as well as lice in children, are soon to reach the ears of all felines.
Although they can survive outside the ear canal for up to 10 days, infection with fomites (objects such as blankets, etc.) is highly unlikely, although it is not rejected. However, it must be an environment with a great lack of hygiene and a severe infestation.
We usually associate these parasites with stray cats, but it is quite common to find cats of excellent breeds with a lot of parasites in their ears and, therefore, we should never rule out this problem. They tend to suffer for years and can be confused with wax secretions typical of hairy cats: Persian, exotic …
If there is good proximity between the dog and the cat and if you spend the day together playing, sleeping and hugging, you should check the ears of all your pets. Not to mention ferrets!
Erythematous injury to the arms may occur by direct contact, but again, it would require a very dirty environment and extreme infestation. It is not excluded in case of overcrowding of cats or when a person is hypersensitive to Otodectes cynotis and is unlucky to come into contact with a street mite.
Briefly, we indicate other common mites that may affect our cats, less common in proportion, but just as important:
This article is for informational purposes only, in Animal Expert.com.br we cannot prescribe veterinary treatments or make any kind of diagnosis. We suggest that you take your pet to the veterinarian in case of any type of condition or discomfort.
If you would like to read articles similar to Cat Icarus: symptoms, treatment and contagion, we recommend that you visit our Parasitic Diseases section.