I think Tilly has acne

[Nomilynn]

Hi all,

After searching the forums and reading up on what has been said about acne in the past, I think Tilly has acne. I have noticed some black specs on her chin and today she actually let me scrape some off. I scraped it onto a tissue and I think it's acne. It's kind of gooey (they aren't scabs) and it's only right under her chin. She is indoors only and I know no one has fleas here. Should I make an appointment at the vet for it or can I treat it alone? I use all stainless steel or glass bowls that aren't deep - Tilly has also had a "rodent ulcer" before so after that I switched to non plastic bowls. Could it be that she is just prone to this kind of thing?

Any advice would be appreciated! My other two cats don't have it. It's just little Tilly!

Thanks!! :D

[Uabassoon]

My roomates cat had kitty acne so the vet gave her some antibiotics and it cleared up pretty quickly.

[krazyaboutkatz]

My cat Sunny also has this. I think that his has been caused by stress. I've been living in a very stressful situation for the past month but now it's finally stress free. I've been cleaning the area with peroxide. I think that some cats are just more prone to this. I don't want to take Sunny to the vet and stress him out even more so I'm just cleaning it and watching it. Good luck. :)

[Nomilynn]

I have to go to the vet's office tomorrow to get some food, so I think I will ask about it then. I don't really think it's stress, although it did show up after I got Nutmeg. However, Tilly is very laid back and easy going. I will have to do some investigations!! :D

[sasvermont]

I would clean the area a few times a day, with peroxide and water. Use a flat dish - not plastic, but you know about the plastic. I use completely flat dishes since their furry chins must sit in the food if it is a bowl. Other than keeping the area clean of debris, there is not much else you can do. Your cat MAY NOT have acne, but it surely sounds like it. The peroxide should do the trick.

Keep us posted!;)

[moosmom]

Nomilynn,

SAS has give you good advice. Two of my cats had acne pretty bad. Casey's (the oldest boy) went away on it's own. Maya Linn however had a BAD case of it. I end up taking her to the vet and he gave her antibiotics and kitty acne pads. It finally went away. Some cats are more susceptible to kitty acne than others, at least that's what my vet said. And it can be brought on by stress. I knew that it wasn't their dishes because they are all stainless steel. Another thing I found was to wash out their dishes every day. I wasn't doing that since they only eat dry food out of them. Bad mommy, baaaaaaad mommy!!!

If you want to to get rid of it on your own, wash the kitty's chin with an anti-bacterial soap twice a day and then put 10% benzoil peroxide cream on it. If it doesn't clear up, then it might be time for a trip to the vet.

Good luck.

[Nomilynn]

I went to the vet today and they gave me some soap with peroxide in it. We haven't tried it yet.. I'm not sure how Tilly will take it! :D

[catland]

Yes to what SAS said - don't give water in plastic bowls. I had this problem once and the vet said that some plastics can cause the acne.

I switched to stainless steel and the acne cleared up on its own.
(But I don't have this problem with dry food and plastic)

[Nomilynn]

I don't use plastic anymore at all, but Tilly's acne isn't really getting any better. I've been using the vet soap for about two weeks and I haven't seen all that much improvement. I'm going to call the vet on Monday if it doesn't clear up. It's not getting worse - it's just staying the same.

[smokey the elder]

Poor kitty. She may need some high test stuff, like the feline equivalent to Oxy 10.

[krazyaboutkatz]

My Sunny also has some feline acne. I haven't taken him to the vet. His has cleared up a little bit but it also seems to be lingering. I clean it 2 times a day with peroxide or some stuff that I use on my face. I may call the vet to see what they would recommend.

[Cataholic]

Tex had this, and sometimes gets it now. I do think a constant and regular cleaning of all bowls helps. I used the soapy stuff from the vet, too, with success. Good luck.

[shais_mom]

Did your vet tell you that RODENT ULCER can come back? Is it possible that it is a reaccurance of it? Kylie has had SEVERAL flareups of the R.U. and I usually clean it with peroxide and put hydrocortisone cream on it. If it gets too bad I Take her to the vet. She is now on a half a pill a week of an antibiotic (maybe). She has also had the skin form. She gets large open scabs, around her neck. Therefore the vet said since she has such sensitive skin to forget about her collar. Whenever she wore one it irritated it.
One of my friends has Kylie's sister, and she had this under her chin also and she squeezed it and said it was like a very large blackhead or whitehead. Kylie has never had that, It is just flaky, that you can flake off with your finger.

Good Luck!!

[krazyaboutkatz]

I just picked up some medicine for Sunny's acne. It's called Pyoben Gel. I just have to clean his chin and put it on the acne two times a day. The vet also recommended that I use stainless steel bowls so I bought one for their food and one for their water. They also have a drinkwell fountain too but Sunny usually drinks out of the spout so I'm not worried about it. I sure hope that this helps to clear up Sunny's acne.