Well as far as how its caused Im not so sure.. Doubt that its mite related because my Tig has one Califlower ear and has never had mites. I know he's had it since 10 weeks old which is when we got him. As far as the taking care of it goes.. I just have to clean that ear more often to prevent ear infections which he's more prone to getting because as Doc says "not enough air gets in there" but other than that I can't say he's or it's been more of a problem. When he was young he had one bad ear infection but after that cleared up we've had no problems. We just pay more attention to that one ear. I surely hope that this would not keep you from adopting these precious babies. Dooks Leanne B Cali, Tig, Rascal, Cocoa, Jewels, Pugsly, Sammy and Snoopy [Posted in FML issue 4049]