Persian Dirty Face-HELP?????

[saphira]

Hi kt luvs kitties... Yazzmyna has this black stuff like fine coffee grounds around her mouth, her chin and a bit around her eyes. My Vet here said it is a fungal infection but she did not respond to antibiotics and the cream he perscribed. It kinds of looks like flea crap but is NOT-no fleas. Right now I am washing her face with Nizoral and cotton pads then putting on Fungisan (for cats). I gently comb out all the black stuff. Her face ends up raw and red for a few hours then looks clear until the next morning and its back. I feed her "GO Natural" kibble (made in British Columbia where I'm from) Every day she gets organic yogurt with ground dried liver and Omega 3 cap dripped on top-which she likes. Here eyes do the Perrsian run thing and I use kitty eye cleaner. As it happens I bought those wipes for my grandson who is visiting so I will try them immediately. Any thing you can suggest I will try. I've done the Vet trip with two different ones with no results. Now I am trying to find something natural. I put oregano oil on her and she had a massive bloom. My last desparate try will be prednisone but I hope it will not get to that. She has had her face shaved - that woirks for five minutes and she looks very weird. I hate shaving off her whiskers. It feels like an amputation to me. Thank you again. I've posted before but no one replied.

[kb2yjx]

Our Raven has EXACTLY what you described(the coffee grinds). I have kept her chin shaved. She eats a prescription diet for kidney disease(Hill's canned k/d). Just like the previous post suggested, I have been adding Dream Coat to her food. I also add lecithin, Vita Mineral Mix(also made by Halo). After each meal(twice a day), we wash Raven chin and face. VERY CAREFULLY with a flea comb, I very gently try to remove the " coffee grinds" from her chin, around her mouth , and eye area. It took several months, but now Raven's face and chin looks perfect!! Raven has never been on antibiotics or prednisone for this. I believe it is called Idiopathic Dermatis. Good luck and please keep us posted. Several months ago, there was another thread about the same thing. Perphaps you might be able to locate it. The thread had a similar title....

[karlyb]

The stuff around her mouth and on her chin sounds like kitty acne. I've never heard of kitty acne around the eyes, so suspect it is the Persian eye thing. To help get rid of the acne, use glass or porcelain feeding dishes, not plastic. And be sure to keep the dishes clean. I've used a toothbrush to brush the black stuff off my cat's chin and swabbed it with betadine. It can take awhile to clear up. Do a search for "kitty acne" on here and you should find lots of information.

[Medusa]

I can't be sure but it sounds like pemphigus. My Creamsicle is being treated for it and dermatophilus right now. The black coffee grounds can be around the eyes and mouth and inside the ears and on the pads of the paws and around the anus. Check those places, too. Dr. Lee has Cgirl on zeniquin and he gave her a shot of an anti-inflammatory and it's helped her tremendously. The big black spot on her lip fell off after only one day. If it's pemphigus, it's immune mediated and needs lots of antibiotics because it usually takes a month or more before it's totally gone. Hope this helps.

[saphira]

It is so incredible to get some new ideas to try! I have the dish thing covered. Glass only and very clean. I wash in hot water and bleach everything I use for her and wash again in hot water so no bleach remains(I don't want to reinfect her) like her comb and brush .She has been on an antibiotic for over a month also once for a shorter time. I will add lecithin to her yogurt. I am also giving her acidophilus I will find some Dreamcoat and Vitamineral and try that. I actually saw the thread on it last winter. It is so good to know that people have had sucess with it.She turned one year old last november and has had this since August. Does thes skin condition have something to do with kidney disease. I thought it was a fungus type thing (one of the vets I took her too tested it and told me that..But all the meds and treatments made absolutely no change, and it has cost lots of money with no help. Is it a genetic thing for Persians? I did have her spayed thinking it might have something to do with hormones but... My cats don't go outside except on a second floor little screened in porch I made them that they love. Too much traffic for kitties. I know it's their nature to hunt, I don't like for them to kill birds and eating them could give them diseases. Thanks again everyone!!!

[Catty1]

Saphira, if you go to Cat General, you will see a thread on Creamsicle going to the vet. That is Medusa's cat. She mentions the vet gave her a medicated shampoo which has really helped.

Read the whole thread, too - it might give you some ideas. Creamsicle is getting better!

[kt_luvs_kitties]

kb2yjx- I also use the mineral mix! I love Halo Products, and they are all natural too saphira.

I also think you could try sensitive skin OXY pads. I used to use them on M.E. and she had that black stuff also. It looked like kitty acne, but it was just dried dirt, etc. But it did clean it off.

I hope this advice helps! Katie and kits