He used to like to be petted...

Question
Hello,
I live on an island in the Caribbean and the veterinarian only
comes once a month.  My cat "Monkey" has only had basic
vaccinations (when he was a kitten) and he's now about a year
old.  He is neutered and hardly ever gets in any fights.  He has
had painful submandibular lymphadenopathy for over 6 months
now.  He used to like being petted on the head, now he shrinks
away from it.  About 5 months ago I noticed that he seemed to
have an abscess on the right side under his jawline.  I gave him
antibiotics (doxycycline) and he got better, but the lump never
fully went away.  He had some pus come out of his mouth about
3 months ago and I gave him antibiotics again.  This time the
enlarged lymph nodes were on the left side.  I looked in his
mouth and he seems to have some reddened gums.  He also
scratches at his ears so I gave him some ear mite treatments,
but this seemed to REALLY bother him, and some bloody saliva
came out of his mouth and formed a bloody bubble.  This was
very alarming to me.  His ears don't look like they have ear
mites.  They seem clean, but I am no expert.  After the
administration of the ear mite solution, the lumps under his jaw
have become smaller, but still not completely gone away, and he
still doesn't like to be petted on the head, and he still winces
away when I gently palpate his lymph nodes and inspect his
ears.  His hearing seems fine - he responds to his name and
jumps when I clap my hands loudly above his head, and comes
when he is called....sometimes....mostly he just looks at me.  
The external ear is not reddened.  Sometimes it seems like his
jaw is painful - because he makes a funny growling/meowing
noise when he eats his dry food, like it hurts him to chew.  Ever
since I gave him the ear mite treatments he has stopped doing
this and seems to have almost no pain when he eats.

Can ear mites cause recurrent painful infected
lymphadenopathy?  Can they cause his eardrum to rupture,
which would alow the ear mite solution to enter his mouth
through his eustachian tube?  How is this related to his
reddened gums and the bleeding from the mouth?

I am puzzled by my cat's symptoms and would like to do
everything I can do make him feel better.

thank you in advance for your knowledge, time and advice.

Cara Voigt

Answer
Ear mites do not cause lymphadenopathy. They can cause a ruptured eardrum, though.  There are many reasons for enlarged lymph nodes...infection is only one of them.  Has the cat been checked for feline leukemia?  The vet should check the cat when he next visits your island.