Could kitten have given me ear mites?

[lljkk]

I've had a chronically itchy only sometimes achy, "full feeling" ear for weeks... just twigged that kittens are scratching their ears a lot. Neither of us has discharge or other obvious symptoms, no sign of fleas (kittens are treated).

I read that cat giving ear mites to human is very unusual but... not unheard of. One of the cats was chewing on my hair around my ear a lot a few weeks ago.

I tried to get appt with GP 9 days ago but they never rang like they said they would (had only offered telephone appt for my ear ache). So I can try again to see GP but not sure that can work. I could try walk in, maybe?? I read that treatment for human ear mites means referral to specialist and that wait to see specialist is like a year, right now (?!?!)

WWYD?
obligatory cute kit pic

Pop down to your pharmacist and get them to have a look whilst you wait for your appt?Our pharmacist has a consultations room.Take kitten to vet to see if she has mites.

I heard that whilst they can transfer to human ears they can't live in there for long. So if you manage to sort out the cats ears and avoid transferring any residual mites you may have in yours to the cats then the problem will resolve.

My kitten had severe ear mites when I got him. We were given ear drops by the vet to sort it out and also instructed to massage it in (externally) then clean out the outer part of his ears with wipes/cotton balls every day. We brought him to the vet every 5 days so they could clean the inside of his ears. He was given the all clear after a few weeks and hasn't had the issue since.

Take your cat to the vet to find out if they have ear mites.

Kittens got full checkup on 12 Oct & to some extent examined again when spayed on 20 October -- which coincidentally is about when my ear problem started.

Could the visually apparent symptoms be so minor that they were missed? I could ring the vet to ask if they do swabs, I guess. I gather that's only way mites get diagnosed in people.

Don't think either pharmacist in nearest town does any physical examinations, but I could ring around to see if any do further away. Pharmacist heard my symptoms & sold me pain relief drops about 2 weeks ago.

From the naked eye you're more likely to see wax buildup from the mites than the mites themselves. It's usually diagnosed via a swab and a microscope.

It is possible they picked up the mites at the vet hence the coincidence with the dates. Alternatively if this is the time at which the problem was beginning there may not have been enough wax buildup to indicate there was a problem.

Would definitely get them to the vet again and request testing for mites.

It is very unlikely that you have caught ear mites from the cat. More likely you might have a mild allergy to them which is irritating your nose and ears.