The Strange Life Cycle Of The Cat Ear Mite
31 Aug 2010
The common ear mite is a tiny organism that resembles a tick. They can infect many species of animals, but are prevalent in the feline population. Infestation causes the animal to scratch at the ears. When dealing with ear mites, it can be helpful to understand their life cycle.
The adult mite is small and white, almost microscopic, but can be seen by the naked eye if closely inspected. Ear mites almost exclusively live within the ears, although can occasionally migrate to other parts of the body, most often the head. They live by consuming debris, oils and tissue from the ears. Females lay their eggs in the ear lining. They can deposit up to five eggs each day.
Ear mite eggs hatch after approximately four days of incubation, appearing as larvae. These larvae then feed on the same material as the adults for several days before molting into the first stage of nymphs. There are two nymph stages of the ear mite. One is the protonymph, which soon turns into a deutonymph.
The deutonymph has an undetermined sex. Whether it will be a male or female is determined following it’s mating with the male adult ear mite. Once mating has happened, the nymph will become a male, which then continues on to mate with other deutonymphs, or a female that will lay eggs as a result of the mating. This entire life cycle takes three weeks. The average lifespan of a mite is up to two months.
The appearance of a dark and waxy or crumbly substance within the ear can be a positive indication of ear mite infestation. An animal can pick up these pests from close contact with another animal that has mites. It can wreak havoc in homes with many pets. Boarding kennels and shelters can see large breakouts due to large animal populations.
A suspected case of these pests should be confirmed by a veterinarian. Once a positive diagnosis has been made, treatment of topical, oral or injected medication can be administered. All treatments must be done as prescribed by the vet, and may not be successful if not done as required, Failing to stop the life cycle will allow the mites to continue living and breeding in the ears. Animals that have scratched furiously may have areas of open skin and scratches that may require attention as well to avoid infections.
Having all pets in the home checked for mites is advisable, and if present, all should be treated in the same time period. If this is not done, the mites will spread from untreated animals and the life cycle of the mite will being again in another host.
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