Anyone know a home remedy for feline ear mites??

My poor little 'Precious' is having a terrible time with ear mites in one ear. He's probably 16 years old and there's no way I'm putting pesticide in there. I bought some kitty ear wipes and will clean his ears good when he settles down a little, but of course that won't fix the problem long term. He's scratched down to bare skin behind the ear and I'm treating that spot with blue lotion.

We almost lost Precious during the dangerous cat food event in late '06. He developed renal problems, fortunately only temporarily, but he lost so much weight while he was sick. We give him special high fat/caloric food from time to time and though it has helped, he'll never again be the size he was. We lost one of our older cats. She was already puny and just couldn't pull out of it.

Any home remedies or tips you can share is most appreciated! :wavey:

 

Thanks so much for the advice, ladies and gents! I will definitely be using oil instead of a pesticide. :thumbs:

 

Many thanks to each of you for taking time to share advice on ridding feline ear mites. However, I never had the chance to use the corn oil in his ears for Precious passed away this past Friday. My boys reminded me that Precious was born in October of '91 so he lived a good, long life. Especially in our house, where cats are clearly the property owners and humans are merely their pets. We still have 2 more fur balls, who'll be glad to absorb Precious's attention.

Oh, and I did corn oil Spanky's ears on Saturday, even though they didn't look bad. Figured if one cat had mites, all three did. Gotta have help doing Gunnar's ears - she's a fireball and won't sit still long enough that I can do the job solo.

Thanks again!
- Pam