How to take care of cat chin acne?

August 2, 2005 8:53 AM

Recently adopted cat has had a dramatic out break of acne on her chin/mouth. I need an education on the best ways to: - Identify the cause? - Best method(s) to prevent outbreaks? - Best method(s) to treat outbreaks?

3 months ago we adopted a calico female cat, about 2 years old. Fairly small, could be mistaken for an adolescent cat. Came "fixed" from the animal shelter.

About month and a half ago I started noticing black flecks on a spot on her chin. At first I thought she might have fleas but closer examination (as could best be managed) showed she had blackheads on her skin underneath that area.

The affected area has gradually but steadily spread to her entire chin and is now encroaching on her upper lips underneath her whiskers.

Some initial research on the net revealed that plastic food/water dishes can be a cause of acne. We replaced the plastic dishes we had with stainless steel ones and wash them every other day. This was done about 2 weeks ago and seems to have had no effect.

The only other possible cause that springs to mind is that we have a carpeted cat tower with a top level that has low walls. She spends a lot of time sleeping in the top of the tower with her head/chin resting on the top of the wall, so I'm wondering if she might have an allergy to the carpet.

I've had several cats but this is the first time I've seen an acne outbreak spread so steadily and dramatically. Her previously white chin now looks a dirty grey and her hair is thinning in the affected area.

I'm taking her to the vet this afternoon. I'm dreading having to apply any cremes to her. She is very affectionate, loves attention and is not shy at all. However, the instant she realizes that you are "examining" her instead of petting, or if you restrain her even slightly, the claws and teeth come out in force.

posted by de void to pets & animals (9 comments total)

I have found tons of good info in the About Cats Forum. You have to become a member. This link is to an article about cat acne on that site.
posted by Ferrari328 at 9:05 AM on August 2, 2005

Start washing her dishes every day or buy a second set of dishes so she's always fed from clean bowls. I'm sure your vet will give you more good advice, but I also found cleaning the area every evening with hydrogen peroxide, brushing away any debris and checking for large developing sores helped resolve the condition.

One of my cats developed acne quite suddenly last November and it took about four months of this routine to cure him of it entirely. Occasionally, he would develop large, sore areas on his chin, which would need to be expressed and cleaned. I just read the other day that if acne is not addressed, it can develop into abscesses, so you're right to be seeing your vet.

Work on developing your cat's tolerance for cleanings. Use praise and treats to increase her comfort level; when she starts showing signs of distress let her ago and approach her again later. Make sure you're also showing her attention outside of these cleanings so she doesn't begin to associate you only with unpleasantness.

She'll adjust to it. I adopted a female cat last year that had been abused as a kitten and was thus afraid of people. She developed a bad eye infection within the first few months we had her, which ultimately resulted in having to rub ointment into her eye twice a day for eight weeks. She absolutely hated it but she bore no long-term grudges against my husband and me. A year later, she's a sweet and affectionate (if still a little skittish) cat.
posted by Sully6 at 9:37 AM on August 2, 2005

My previous cat had chin acne when he was really old - I washed his chin every night with Cetaphil liquid soap and it seemed to clear up. If I missed even one night, however, it flared up again. The vet thought it was drool-related - we never sorted it out because he hated going to the vet so much and had various other ailments that were more serious and less easily treated.

As a cat-management aside, my cat hates having her nails trimmed. I simply roll her in a towel and extract one limb at a time. This transforms a snarly bitey beast into a purring softie - something about being restrained in a towel makes her a lot more manageable.
posted by some chick at 9:48 AM on August 2, 2005

Ferrari328 - Thanks for the link to about cats; I had already been there but I'll consider subscribing to the forums.

Sully6 - thanks for the advice on building tolerance. We're on that route currently with clipping her nails. We're still at just getting one at a time.

some chick - Thanks for the link to Cetaphil, I'll mention it when I visit the vet. Wish our cat enjoyed the towel like yours does; she hates it and rivals Houdini in her ability to squirm out of it.
posted by de void at 10:13 AM on August 2, 2005

I had a cat that had feline acne. We got some oral steroids form the vet that cleared them up, but at the prospect of having to jam peanut butter-coated pills down his throat, we switch his food to IAMS (from Science Diet, IIRC). Acne went away.

We also later discovered that poultry made him fart, so we cut most of the chicken/turkey out of his diet and that problem went away. It was really a problem for us, not him. He was quite content to sit in our laps and purr and fart, but it was naaaasty.
posted by plinth at 10:28 AM on August 2, 2005

I've not had to deal with acne, but I have dealt with restraining a cat effectively. If you end up needing to restrain her, three words: Klaw Kontrol Bag. We use it on both of ours for nail-cover application, meds, whatever. They're safe, we're safe, and it's far less traumatic.
posted by Medieval Maven at 10:50 AM on August 2, 2005

My cat is prone to acne. At the first sign of outbreak, we wash her chin gently with Cetaphil or the like. Sometime we daub gently with something like Stridex.

We switched from plastic to glass (eventually to ceramic bowls when the glass bowl broke) which we wash frequently but not daily. It did take a few months after the plastic to notice that she was less prone to acne than before. She eats dry IAMS, BTW.

It usually goes away on it's own, unless she starts messing with her chin. She's also prone to sores called rodent ulcers, which also sometimes go away on their own. Our vet prescribed us a bottle of oral antibiotic and let us know when it was appropriate to dose her for a five-day stretch.

When she manages to irritate the whole area she gets a trip to the vet for a steroid and/or antibiotic shot, which clears it up right away. After that, it doesn't return for a good long while.
posted by desuetude at 11:37 AM on August 2, 2005

One of our cats gets the ca-cne on occasion - acne cleansers didn't work, but a combination of a change in food (Iams or better) and occasional doses of cod liver oil worked pretty well. He got a LOT more outbreaks when we lived in an apartment with lots of carpeting, and hasn't had much of an issue since we moved into a house with wood floors.
posted by sluggo at 2:34 PM on August 2, 2005

However, the instant she realizes that you are "examining" her instead of petting, or if you restrain her even slightly, the claws and teeth come out in force.


"Scruff" her - grab her firmly on the back of her neck. This will trigger the reflex that made her go limp as a kitten when her mother picked her up to carry her. She will be temporarily immobilised and, if you have the creme all ready and dabbed onto the index finger of your other hand, you can rub it in quickly while she is 'scruffed'.

Then when you are done, give her a little treat as a reward for enduring the ordeal.
posted by essexjan at 2:46 PM on August 2, 2005