Dirty white persian

**Snowhound** · 03-18-2010, 10:21 AM

Thank you so much all of you for your helpful and encouraging replies. This Persian Dirty Face - feline acne thing confuses me somewhat, as it just looks like thick dark brown grime - I assumed it was because I often feed him wet food as he seems to prefer it to the dry stuff. (Very demanding cat when it comes to food, bless him.) Also feed him chicken and ham (he's mad about ham & bacon!) So is it not just staining - is it an actual skin problem?

Shady, thanks so much for your mention of "stud tail" - sounds like he definitely has it from your description. He's still an entire male and I am intending to get him neutered in the near future, once I pay my exorbitant dental bills (as am getting some very expensive work done on my teeth and it's bleeding me financially dry.) The grime on his tail starts from the base and goes about half way up - a thick greasy coating, almost mud-like but quite hard-set - just awful. And the grime around the corners of the mouth seem similar - washing won't budge it at all. When I can afford it (after the teeth) I will take him to be neutered & ask my vet about the brown slime (he's a very good ,experienced vet.)

Just a bit of information some on this site might be interested in - my black & white cat Annabel came in one evening some months ago after a stroll & I noticed her nose was full of raw & bleeding sores. I thought she had been in a cat fight as she is a feisty little thing but as days went by, the sores got worse & weren't healing at all. I took her to my vet, & believe it or not, he said she was suffering from mosquito bites. He also said she may have some fleas which were later exaccerbating the situation, as we have had a very hot summer here. He gave her a steroid shot & a thorough parasite spray & she has improved no-end. He told me the NZ climate might be lovely for us but can be pretty cruel to our pets. Just thought this might be of interest to some of you, as never knew mosquitoes attacked animals.

Many thanks again to all who replied.

Snowhound

**Shady** · 03-18-2010, 02:14 PM

Originally Posted by Snowhound

Thank you so much all of you for your helpful and encouraging replies. This Persian Dirty Face - feline acne thing confuses me somewhat, as it just looks like thick dark brown grime - I assumed it was because I often feed him wet food as he seems to prefer it to the dry stuff. (Very demanding cat when it comes to food, bless him.) Also feed him chicken and ham (he's mad about ham & bacon!) So is it not just staining - is it an actual skin problem?

Shady, thanks so much for your mention of "stud tail" - sounds like he definitely has it from your description. He's still an entire male and I am intending to get him neutered in the near future, once I pay my exorbitant dental bills (as am getting some very expensive work done on my teeth and it's bleeding me financially dry.) The grime on his tail starts from the base and goes about half way up - a thick greasy coating, almost mud-like but quite hard-set - just awful. And the grime around the corners of the mouth seem similar - washing won't budge it at all. When I can afford it (after the teeth) I will take him to be neutered & ask my vet about the brown slime (he's a very good ,experienced vet.)

Just a bit of information some on this site might be interested in - my black & white cat Annabel came in one evening some months ago after a stroll & I noticed her nose was full of raw & bleeding sores. I thought she had been in a cat fight as she is a feisty little thing but as days went by, the sores got worse & weren't healing at all. I took her to my vet, & believe it or not, he said she was suffering from mosquito bites. He also said she may have some fleas which were later exaccerbating the situation, as we have had a very hot summer here. He gave her a steroid shot & a thorough parasite spray & she has improved no-end. He told me the NZ climate might be lovely for us but can be pretty cruel to our pets. Just thought this might be of interest to some of you, as never knew mosquitoes attacked animals.

Many thanks again to all who replied.

Snowhound

You are quite welcome.

It is as exactly you described. Mine gets a few little brown bumps (as I said mild case at times, sometimes nothing, as long as I keep her lower jaw clean it's under control) that I can take my fingernail and gently scratch them off, however when that happens they havent been there long and havent grown into a cluster and spread..as she's washed constantly, which she's not fond of either. Keep cleaning them, they'll heal and the fur will grow again.

I would say then that the stud tail is so severe because he's intact. I have two males, one black and one silver tabby and they are neutered and there is no evidence whatsoever of stud tail. I would guess that neutering would solve your problem by 90% if not entirely. A good clean up with Dawn dishwashing detergent (or a few) should take care of it on an ongoing basis if it persists.

Here are my two females, one Chinchilla, and the other Shaded Silver.

Kewpie

Tinkerbelle

Good luck with both problems..

They are a lot of work, and a huge commitment, but well worth it.

**Catty1** · 03-18-2010, 03:05 PM

Snowhound, you might see if a local Humane society has vouchers for low-or-no cost spay/neuter. Or Google "free spay neuter" in your area and see what comes up.

I hope all your dental stuff goes well, and you don't have too many owies!

**Snowhound** · 03-19-2010, 08:09 AM

Thanks Shady & Catty for your kind posts. Shady, I will try again to "scrape" the marks off. Don't know if I can get hold of the "Dawn" detergent as haven't heard of it here in New Zealand - but will certainly look out for it.

Your Chinchilla & Shaded Silver Persians are exquisitely beautiful. I had a beautiful Chinnie in the UK but unfortunately had to part with him, as couldn't afford to bring all my cats to New Zealand. Magic was a beautiful Chinchilla but boy was he a nightmare to groom. Your one has very lovely jade green eyes - Magic's were emerald. I do so miss him but know he is in a happy home in England. Hope to get Yoda neutered soon so will keep you posted about the stud tail.

Cheers, Snowhound

**Anikaca77** · 03-22-2010, 02:49 PM

I would say I agree with the acne and stud tail.

My little man Hermes is almost all white and he has skin issues. We tried to bath his tail and he threw a big fit several times so we just try to keep him as clean as well with that area.

He gets these black spots around his mouth and that's the acne our vet said.

Good luck,
Melissa

**kb2yjx** · 03-25-2010, 01:13 PM

Our Raven, a dark chocolate Persian, had idiopathic dermatitis. It looked like she had coffee grinds on her chin. It was AWFUL. Like the suggestions, I GENTLY cleansed her chin, sometimes twice a day. When her chin was wet from the cleansing, with a flea comb, I would comb out the brown stuff. It was a TOUGH battle, but it was won with consistent care. GOOD LUCK!!!