FIV+ boy with really bad chin acne

Honeybun is just driving me nuts!! He will NOT let me get anywhere near his chin to put peroxide on him, and for 14yrs old, he's strong as an ox!! His chin looks really really bad! It started off as just one or two areas that I saw by his lower lip area, and I thought it went away, but HOLY COW :eek: when I looked at it last week, it was all under his chin and has big black scabby areas. It is soooo gross!!!

He's a super sweet cat, but when it comes to medicating him, looking at his paws (he has cutaneous horns, some kind of fungi that he can't fight off cause he's FIV+), anything that involves looking at an area that is not healthy I guess, he gets fiesty as all heck, and fights you off and will scratch the crap out of you or bite you (with all of the 4 teeth he has, lol).

I don't know what to put on him at this point, or how to get whatever it is on him?? My one friend said her one cat had the acne so bad he had to be on clavamox! I know people on here said clearasil or other pimple meds, but I'm just so scared that that will make him have a bad reaction. I know how my skin reacted when I tried clearasil the first (and the last) time. Thank goodness I don't have to deal with acne meds, but I don't know what to do for Honeybun, and it looks painful! :( :o

Here's a pic of the stinker!
http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t...n/HPIM0617.jpg

And yes, his eyes are forever gunky, and his ears are forever dirty... don't know why! It drives me nuts! I clean his eyes at least twice a day and have wipes for his ears. Those ears are forever gunky! :rolleyes:

Jenn- I did a search here under "acne" and found lots of threads, one that you had posted in about poor Honey.

Here are some excerpts, you can search the others if you want. I like the warm washcloth one. Food bowls and food seem to factor in as well.

Here goes!

************************************************** *********
Idiopathic Dermatitis

Pepper gets chin breakouts every now and then. The vet didn't prescribe any medicine. He told us to get a warm, wet washcloth and hold it to her chin to steam open the pores. After a few minutes, gently rub it with the wash cloth to get all the black gunk off. Pepper actually enjoys it and will rest her chin on the warm washcloth. (CC – my mom’s cat loves the warm washcloth on his face…he’ll lean right into it!)

He gave me wipes, similar to Stridex pads, to wipe over her several times a day. And she's on Zeniquin and Chlorpheniramine.

We " wash " her face after each meal(twice a day). I have found that using a flea comb helps remove the debris.

We rub neem oil into it and that really helps.

Also – ceramic and stainless steel dishes, not glass or plastic

Thanks so much for your good wishes and concern for Frankie! Well, its been almost 3 weeks since he's had a steroid shot and change to Innova food and Im continuing with the anitibiotics. He continues to do well, although, Ive noticed just a minimal amount of crusting on his chin which Im able to remove by wiping and using a flea comb. I do clean his bowls daily and wipe his face and under his chin a few times a day. His face still looks great, no breakouts there! His energy level is good and has been very playful and loving:-)


Our sweet nearly 11 old Persian, Raven, has not had an outbreak of the crusting, she gets it around her eyes, side of mouth, and her jaw, since I started to add the following to her food(Raven is a kidney kitty that eats Hills k/d wet food(she has no teeth, but can gum the dry food). OK, about a half tsp of Dream Coat, Anitra's Vita-Mineral Mix(both are made by Halo-www.halopets.com), for Cats Nu-Pet Feline Granular(www.arknaturals.com)and lecithin granules. This has to be increased s-l-o-w-l-y in about 4 tsps of water(since Raven eats wet food the whole thing can be mixed together!! Besides the black coffee ground crusts being gone, he coat is so fluffy and shiny!!! Please let me know if this helps. Raven has NEVER been treated with antibiotics or steriods for the crusting, but what a HUGE surprise to see that this worked!!

Smudge had really bad chin acne, but it wasn't getting worse, so I didn't ask the vet about it. But when she suggested I give him chlorpheniramine maleate for his allergic dermatitis, it really helped with his chin as well. Pretty much cleared up his constipation too, but if your cat tends in the other direction - well, you'll want to ask your vet anyway! The trick was finding food smelly enough to cover it that was also low enough in magnesium, as Smudge is the classic Unpillable Cat. But he really enjoys Triumph Beef/Tuna/Chicken twice a day, and his c/d kibble the rest of the time. I grind up a third of a pill (supposed to be 1 mg, a quarter of a pill, but he seldom finishes off all his wet food) in a mortar & pestle, dissolve in a little bit of water, and mash it into his wet food. His face & neck have all healed up except one tiny bit between his eyes, and he's more handsome than ever!

I see the post I wrote for Raven is in there!!! YES, if you can add the Dream Coat to Smudge's food that may help. I also add about a teaspoon of lecithin granules to Raven's food. Not only has that helped with the crusting, her fur is soft, shiny, and fluffy!!! GOOD LUCK!!

Maya Linn had terrible kitty acne on her chin. I washed it with a somewhat rough (to exfoliate) sponge containing warm soapy water. Then I put on 10% benzoil peroxide I got at CVS. You can also ask your vet for wipes that are basically alcohol (and expensive). I also try to squeeze any stuff out, if there's a big lump. Sounds gross, but it works.

My Siamese boy, Mau, gets a little scabbie under his chin now and then. I rub in just a dab of Cortaid and in a couple of days, the scabbie is gone! I've never asked a vet about this, since the Cortaid seems to clear it up so well.