Yummm… The smell of coffee in the morning. The sight of coffee ground-like debris coming from your pet’s ears?! Not so appealing! If your cat or dog is scratching at his or her ears, and if you notice dark brown “dirt” in your pet’s ears, he or she may have a parasitic infestation of ear mites. In this speedy overview, The Meowing Vet explains what signs to look out for and how and why ear mites are treated.

Learn more below… 🐱🐶

If your cat or dog is obsessively scratching his or her ears or has dark brown ear discharge, he or she may have ear mites. Otodectes cynotis is the scientific name for the microscopic ear mites that can cause extreme itchiness inside your cat or dog’s ear canal. These parasites may even take up temporary residence on your pet’s neck or base of the tail. Humans are not affected.

Infestation (termed Otoacariasis) is very contagious among pets, who often suffer from intense itchiness (pruritus) and may have secondary bacterial or fungal ear infections. You may observe a dark brown discharge of ear wax, blood, and debris coming from your pet’s ears that resembles coffee grounds.

Diagnosing ear mites involves swabbing your cat or dog’s ears to obtain a sample to analyze under a microscope. Your veterinarian will see the adult ear mites moving around.

Treatment for ear mites involves cleaning out your pet’s ears and using veterinary-prescribed ear drops (such as ivermectin or thiabendazole) usually over the course of three weeks (the length of the ear mites’ life cycle). Other treatment options include either injectable ivermectin or topical treatments, such as milbemycin in dogs or selamectin (such as Revolution® by Zoetis) in dogs or cats. All dogs and cats in the household must be treated to prevent re-infection.

– Maranda Elswick, DVM

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This article originally appeared as a post on The Meowing Vet’s Instagram profile, @themeowingvet (June 28, 2017).