Cat Acne

[moosmom]

Yup! Know it well!! First, get an old toothbrush and gently scrub the chin with warm, soapy water. Rinse well and towel dry. Get some acne pads and use those, or take some 10% Benzoil Peroxide (any CVS or drug store has it in the acne cream isle) and but it into the chin. It'll clear it up. Keep doing it till the chin clears up.

Actually, acne is more prevelant on cats with white chins or totally white because colors hide things.

[Cataholic]

Also, no plastic bowls for food or water. They harbor bacteria. Wash your food stuff more often, too.

[moosmom]

Oh yeah, I forgot about that. I use stainless steel.

[Shady]

Here's a lengthy discussion.

http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthread.php?t=159956

It's often called Persian Dirty Face, because the dirt and food gets trapped in the long hairs around the mouth, it is not limited to Persians and is referred to as cat acne.

You can soak the crusties off rather than using a brush which may irritate the area even more and you dont want it to bleed, and risk a deeper infection. Just keep bathing gently with warm water and a textured cloth (like a face cloth, it does take time though.

Once you get it under control, the key is to keep the area clean and free of debris (food and dirt) by washing / gently bathing the area routinely. I have one cat that is chronic, she used to have frequent outbreaks, by washing her wee face every day or every other day, I avoid the outbreaks and she tolerates the washing much better than the outbreak cleanups.

I do, and have always used stainless steel dishes, I have four persians, and only one is chronic even with the precautions, she'll have an outbreak if I fail to keep it clean.

[Catty1]

Right now Zoe has a small glass bowl; my boys have stainless steel. I'll get Zoe one tomorrow.

I'll look up that OTC stuff also. The warm cloth soak helps some, but that acne needs an extra kick!

Thanks everyone.