Our question this week was:I have just received some information via e-mail from a friend and wanted to ask you about this before I tried it out. They say that a few drops of Wesson oil massaged into a cat's ears then wiped out with a cotton ball conditions the ears and eliminates ear mites? Have you heard of this before? I have 2 feral cats that I take care of and want to try this out, but want to make sure I am doing the right thing first. Please advise.
Thank You,
Barbara PicardAnswerHi – thanks for your email. I have heard of placing "oil" in cat's ears to try to treat ear mites. The theory is that the mites essentially drown in the oil. In my experience, it can help with the mites but not eliminate them completely. There are some very good and safe ear mite medications that work really well e.g. ivermectin (Acarexx®).
On one hand, it probably won't hurt anything to try the oil. On the other hand, there are more effective drugs that work really well. Talk to your vet about a prescription for an ear mite medication that they recommend.
An article that might be helpful to you is
Fighting ear mites in cats.
Best of luck!
Dr. Jon
P.S. – Do you have any great pet tips for dealing and treating feral cats that you would like to share?
Send me your pet tips!
To read most recent questions
Click here!Click here to see the full list of Ask Dr. Jon Questions and Answers!
