Acne In Cats: Edit* Picture included

[CultureJunky]

I think Jack has acne on his chin. His chin is going bald and the fur is totally off under his bottom lip, so he has a bald pink chin.
I have looked up Cat acne on the internet and it also says they have black spots which he has had in the past and I think there are some there now.
I have changed his bowls to china, so he's not eating from plastic bowls that can harbour bacteria.
Does anybody know of any natural solution I'd be able to make up to wash his chin in twice daily to see if I can clean it myself to try and clear it up?
Then if this doesn't work I know he'll need a trip to the vets and maybe need anti-biotics.
It's not bothering him and he's not in any discomfort. He's not very good at cleaning his chin however and I think this may have also contributed to it.

Any advice and information from anybody who's experienced this with their own cat would be most grateful?

Apologies if this has been mentioned in a previous discussion, but I didn't have time to search through posts for anything.

I have added a picture I just took of his chin, as you can see it's bald and it has a brown mark on it, this is all spots together, I'm very worried about it? :confused: (also I'm not strangling him as it looks like in the picture!!!!)
Kate x

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y101/Razorbladebeat/JacksAcne.jpg

[krazyaboutkatz]

Yes, he has acne. My cats Sky, Sunny, and Pearl also have feline acne and they eat out of stainless steel bowls. I've tried almost eveything and it usually clears up and the reoccurs later. Some people use the stridex acne pads but I haven't tried them yet. Just washing it with antibacterial soap and keeping it clean should help. My Sunny tends to break out due to stress. Starr's foster mom told me that using salt water may help too but I haven't tried this yet. If you find a good solution I'd also like to know. Good luck.:)

I forgot to add that I also tried Animax cream from my vet and it turned Sky's white chin fur yellow.:eek: It helped Sunny but then he broke out again.

[kb2yjx]

Yes, acne is a very frustrating thing to have to deal with !!! In the past, I have used Tresaderm(from the vet). I usually keep the area clean with daily light scrubs with hydrogen peroxide. When things act up and the black debris appears, I have found succes by scrubbing(lightly) with a cotten ball that has water and Aveeno's Positively Radiant Cleaner. I had some left in the bottle that I was using and it did help.Of course, be sure to rinse off the chin. I would use a piece of a paper towel with water on it. I have on cat, Tina Peepers, whose acne(really bad) was caused by food allergies. That is being treated by a special protocol by a Dr. from California. She is now on 2.5 mg of Prednisone every day and the acne is under control. GOOD LUCK!!

[catnapper]

Allen had that very bad last year! I swore it was never going to clear up, but it did. I used rubbing alcohol on his chin twice a day much to his displeasure. It DID clear up. I bought Stridex pads but my teenage daughter swiped them for herself :p so I never got the chance ot use them on Allen. The rubbing alochol worked anyway :)

I check his chin once a week or so just to make sure new bumps aren't developing.

[CultureJunky]

Thanks for all your help and advice, it's good to know that other cats have had success in treating their acne.
Does anybody know of any online vet pharmacies I could order stuff to treat his acne from?
It may be cheaper than getting something prescribed from the vet?
They'd also have to deliver to Britain?

[rosethecopycat]

Hydrogen peroxide, 2 times a day

[catnapper]

Hydrogen peroxide, 2 times a day
No, don't use that! It causes them to vomit, and since you're so close to his mouth, you'll likely get it in his mouth and then he'll vomit. Trust me, I speak from experience.

[CultureJunky]

Hi

I have found a rubbing alcohol solution on Ebay, this is a human one that is used on skin by tattoists. Will this be okay to use on Jack's acne? Diluted obviously, what do you think?
Here is a link to it:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Rubbing-Alcohol-70-Isopropyl-alcohol-IPA-500ml_W0QQitemZ230017461528QQihZ013QQcategoryZ3391 6QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[kittykay]

My boycat Mau gets little scabs on his chin from time to time. I rub the scabs gently with Cortaid and within 3-4 days they're gone. Rub it in well so he can't wipe or lick it off.

[csanchezveloso]

Hi! I just went to the vet last week for a checkup with my kitties and I mentioned my girl's acne. He gave me OxyDex Topical Antibacterial. I apply it twice a day. So far I've only been using it one week and I don't really see a difference but I'll keep you posted!

(It was caused by a plastic bowl! :p)


Here's a thread where I initially asked about the acne (originally I thought it was a scab!!)
http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthread.php?t=94381&highlight=scabs

[CultureJunky]

That's interesting to know, it's so odd cause until Jack had this I really didn't think that cats could get acne so bad.
I tried to get rubbing alcohol in the chemists over her and when I asked the pharmacist said he hadn't heard that expression for about 40 years! They don't sell it like that in Britain, well in Wales anyway.
So I managed to find a skin balm in Pets at home which has alcohol in it and also tea tree oil, I've been putting it on him twice daily, and he's such a good boy, he lets me do it even though he hates it.
Hopefully we'll see an improvement soon, fingers crossed.

[jenluckenbach]

Hydrogen peroxide, 2 times a day
This is what my vet recommends. (even though there is a possibility of vomiting, the amoung of peroxide you use is rather small)

DaVinci just had a case of acne. I treated it once or twice. but it healed on its own.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I've been using rubbing alcohol on both Sunny and Sky. They hate it but it seems to be working for Sunny since he doesn't have it as bad. Sky's will take awhile to improve but I think it will in time. Good luck everyone.:)

[kittykay]

Wow, I would think that using alcohol on scabs would send a cat through the roof!

[rg_girlca]

Wouldn't the rubbing alcohol sting?

My Chipper also suffers from acne. The vet said that it's from him drinking from the bathroom faucet, because it keeps his chin moist from the water dripping on his chin.

I also use Hydrogen Peroxide 3% and I have never had a problem with Chipper vomiting from it. I just make sure I put a little bit on the cotton ball and keep it away from his mouth. Within a few days, it is gone. Trying to get him NOT to drink from the tap is a different story. I can't resist his pitiful widdle mew's.

[Jayna78]

I was just going to post about this and I stumbled upon this thread - I was wondering about it b/c our Vincent has a touch of acne on his chin. I am not sure what we'll use, but we need to try something. Vincent just has little black marks from the acne - no scabs and all of his hair is there under his chin. I can definitely sympathize with him on the blemishes, as they bother me all the time!

I know they say glass and metal bowls are better than plastic, but he had the kitty acne coming into our house before he ever ate out of the plastic bowl we have. The reason we love our bowl is that it has one of those reservoirs on it, so we're not constantly having to fill it up - we just shake more down when the bowl part gets empty. Does anyone know of any stainless steel or glass versions of pet bowls with reservoir tops on them like ours has?

None of our other kitties have had feline acne before.

If anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them...

[RobLynn]

Why woul dyou have to go to eBay for 70% isopropyl alcohol? You can buy it at basically any pharmacy.