Doesn't your vet have any medications for ear mites?

I'm trying to avoid a vet charge. Just paid $102.00 today for the kitten.

Carla

Contact the shelter where you picked up your ginger kitty (innocent looking but the devil incarnate - it was always our ginger kitty who got into trouble) and ask them for assistance.

You need to get medicine from a vet for the ear mites, and to learn how to use it.

Avoiding vet charges is not so good for your pet, especially if they need a vet. Also: most shelters require the adopted animal to be taken to the vet within a few weeks of adoption, to finish off vaccinations that they may not have had the opportunity/money to administer.

Maybe you can tell the shelter about her nites and they can help?

Thank you both. I will contact the shelter. I suspect they might have those treatments too.

Carla

The medicine for ear mites is prescription. The vet will take a sample of the crud in the ears and look at it under the microscope so they can tell exactly what's going on. Then they will clean out the ears and put the first dose of medicine in there. Your job will be to clean out the ears (q tips and a cleansing solution from the vet) and put more meds in every day for a certain number of days.

It's a good idea to clean out the ears every month or so.

YES, the shelter is the first place to turn to. Our shelter here (where I volunteer) provides free health coverage for about 2 or 3 months (of course only certain things covered), and a first free visit at a participating vet.
I don't think Advantage would be of much (if any) help on ear mites. Our shelter uses Revolution. However, you have got to consider that you have a young kitten, and that it might not be safe for a kitten. Hence, check with your vet. Do not use anything but what a professional recommends.
Good luck, Anne-Marie

If the shelter can't/won't give you medicine, you can use mineral oil (baby oil will work, but it seems like baby oil has perfume in it).

Just drip some from your finger into the ear, squish it around, & wrap a tissue around your finger to clean it out.

The light coating of oil will smother remaining mites.

I wish you the best.

Thank you Sylvia. :-) I did take it back to shelter but they took the kitty back to a room, sounds kinda menacing doesn't it. Also, there is a tatoo in it's ear. I didn't expect that but whatever. Anyway, the ears look better but I will get some mineral oil right away. I really hope this kitty will be okay, it's been coughing too. My daughter has already bonded with it.

Carla

Good grief, what did the shelter give you & this kitty in return for your $102.00?

Coughing is much worse than ear mites:

Their vet should give you some anti-biotics (or something) for the cough.

Sylvia, I don't know. It's disheartening. The kitten is eating and drinking. It sleeps a lot. I'm going to have it checked Mon. if not before by the ER vet. This is something I didn't think about, going to the shelter is a crap shoot of sorts. Could they legally adopt out pets that are sick? I assumed since it's been spayed it might have been checked but then again, it was in a room full of cats so...
AND, it was spayed in Aug. so could have been fine then and I have no idea what diseases they spread. Sigh.
Carla

Okay. The best description I can give is it acts like it's trying to cough something up.

Carla

sorry, been away from puter.

Kittens do sleep a lot, but when they're awake they should be lively & curious.

Trying to cough something up could be congestion or something more serious.

I agree;
if kitten isn't better, take it to a "real" vet.

Best luck!

I took the cat to vet. Upper respitory infection.
The vet said mineral oil would not cure ear mites.

Carla

Sylvia, now this is a $102.00 cat. If this keeps up I will have spent enough to buy a full breed Himalayan!

Carla

See if the shelter will provide the necessary antibiotics!

URI is very common in cats from a shelter and is easily treatable. Eh... life in a shelter is stressful for cats!!! Some shelters may have more resources than others, but it is almost impossible to keep URIs out!!! You did a good thing adopting from a shelter, and... a Himalayan cat would have cost you MUCH more with NO garantee of extra bills on health issues!

By the way, years ago we adopted a cat from our local shelter (where we lived before) and she did get a URI about a week later: we had to take her to emergency clinic on a Sunday night--of course things always happen on weekends! It cost us much more, but we never regretted the extra expense. She quickly recovered and has been our healthiest cat!! When it comes to the well being of our cats, we do not mind sacrifices..
Hope your kitty recovers quickly..
Anne-Marie

Here is a better pic. She's very entertaining. I spoke to the vet about shelter saying they fed Science Diet, I think the shelter lied because she's having some diarrhea issues. Anyway, I hope after this URI she'll be fine. I overheard another doctor talking to a woman about her cat and all kinds of diseases were mentioned, cushings, thyroid, I knew about thyroid. Hope our kitty stays healthy.
Thank you all for your help.
Carla

Very cute young lady!!
Diarrhea is probably due to change of diet or antibiotics (don't know when either one started). You don't seem to have a very high opinion of your shelter.. These people do work very hard and do their best. Our shelter also feeds the cats Science Diet. But, of course, they may also feed other foods people donate -especially in the area of soft food. How about volunteering there or donating some good food?
Enjoy your kitten,
Anne-Marie

Anne-Marie, thanks for your comments. I know the shelter is a good thing, I just wonder how much truth is really told. You have to admire people that give of their time and energy to save animals. I just wish the general public would do their part, spay and neuter. After all, most animals really can't defend their rights.

Carla

When our outdoor cats get mites (ears are inflamed and hot) I wash them with peroxide and douse them with mineral oil. I do it once and then again a few days later and that has always taken care of it.

Diatomaceous Earth in the ears once a month seems to keep the problem from showing up as much as it used to.