Weird bumps under cats chin
July 13, 2017 10:39 AM Subscribe
One of my cats is allowed supervised outside visits and the other one is an indoor only kitty.
Binky, the one who is allowed out, was scritch-scratching a lot the other day and upon further investigation, I noticed some very small scabby bumps under her chin and on the sides of her neck. What could they be?
At first, I assumed she and her brother had got into a little scrap and she had a small cut that was healing over. However, I don't think that's the case anymore because she has more bumps now, on both sides of her face, and has been scratching much more.
Binky only comes outside for maybe 2 hours a day and literally sits in the grass while we are in the garden. She doesn't do much exploration and is not allowed out on her own. Upon close examination, the bumps are very small, raised patches that are a scabbing over with the constant scratching.
She has them mostly on her neck behind her ears but also I've notice a couple under her chin.
Our second (indoor) cat has been scratching lots too in the last couple of days and yesterday I notice a couple of small bumps on him, behind his ears too.
Google told me it could be a flea allergy, so even though we've seen no evidence of fleas, I've fully treated both the cats and done a full house clean.
Apart from the scratching, both cats are looking extremely healthy, are eating and drinking and pooping normally. There isn't any hair loss really, although the indoor cat does have a bit of a weird patch on his back, at the base of the skull, but you really have to LOOK for it to see it.
Skin disorders seem to be relatively hard to diagnose and neither of my kitties loves going to the vet, in fact Binky is terrified of the vet and pees herself as soon as we get her in the carrier. We JUST treated both cats for fleas on Monday and Binky definitely seems to be improving somewhat, but I'm wondering if you think this still merits a trip to the vets, or if I can just play it by ear and wait and see?
Alternatively do any of you lovely people know what this could be? It's not kitty acne as far as I can tell. Given that it has spread from one cat to the other, I'm erring towards fleas or a parasite of some sort..... urgh - I'd really love to avoid a vet trip if possible, but obviously I'll take them in the next couple of days if I don't see any significant improvement. Have you had a similar experience with your own cats or have you any idea what this could be? Help!
At first, I assumed she and her brother had got into a little scrap and she had a small cut that was healing over. However, I don't think that's the case anymore because she has more bumps now, on both sides of her face, and has been scratching much more.
Binky only comes outside for maybe 2 hours a day and literally sits in the grass while we are in the garden. She doesn't do much exploration and is not allowed out on her own. Upon close examination, the bumps are very small, raised patches that are a scabbing over with the constant scratching.
She has them mostly on her neck behind her ears but also I've notice a couple under her chin.
Our second (indoor) cat has been scratching lots too in the last couple of days and yesterday I notice a couple of small bumps on him, behind his ears too.
Google told me it could be a flea allergy, so even though we've seen no evidence of fleas, I've fully treated both the cats and done a full house clean.
Apart from the scratching, both cats are looking extremely healthy, are eating and drinking and pooping normally. There isn't any hair loss really, although the indoor cat does have a bit of a weird patch on his back, at the base of the skull, but you really have to LOOK for it to see it.
Skin disorders seem to be relatively hard to diagnose and neither of my kitties loves going to the vet, in fact Binky is terrified of the vet and pees herself as soon as we get her in the carrier. We JUST treated both cats for fleas on Monday and Binky definitely seems to be improving somewhat, but I'm wondering if you think this still merits a trip to the vets, or if I can just play it by ear and wait and see?
Alternatively do any of you lovely people know what this could be? It's not kitty acne as far as I can tell. Given that it has spread from one cat to the other, I'm erring towards fleas or a parasite of some sort..... urgh - I'd really love to avoid a vet trip if possible, but obviously I'll take them in the next couple of days if I don't see any significant improvement. Have you had a similar experience with your own cats or have you any idea what this could be? Help!
Could be acne, with the timing of the onset purely coincidental. My little guy got chin acne pretty bad and it cleared up nicely after I replaced my plastic water fountain with a metal one.
posted by jackbishop at 10:59 AM on July 13, 2017 [15 favorites]
posted by jackbishop at 10:59 AM on July 13, 2017 [15 favorites]
Same here: Our indoor-only cat also had these bumps on his chin, and they were resolved by changing his food bowl from plastic to metal.
posted by ignignokt at 11:02 AM on July 13, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by ignignokt at 11:02 AM on July 13, 2017 [2 favorites]
Yes, one of my cats gets cat-acne on the chin if I don't keep the food bowl clean. It sounds just like you describe; little scabby bumps/dots on the chin. Try switching to metal and keeping the bowls extra clean.
posted by The otter lady at 11:41 AM on July 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by The otter lady at 11:41 AM on July 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
Yep, cat acne - it generally presents as scabby, and if they're sharing food or water bowls they could be sharing the same bacteria. Switch to ceramic or metal bowls, and wash them regularly. If the cats tolerate it, trim their back claws every few weeks so their scratching isn't as hard on their skin.
posted by Metroid Baby at 11:44 AM on July 13, 2017
posted by Metroid Baby at 11:44 AM on July 13, 2017
Response by poster: Thanks for the responses everyone - the reason I don't think it's cat acne is that we already use ceramic plates for the cats and ceramic bowls for their water... nothing plastic at all.... and the bumps started behind the ears and on the neck before progressing to the chin.
BUT - they are on wet food and it is hot out, so I'll make sure I'm much more diligent in keeping the bowls clean and fresh. This is a good reminder.
posted by JenThePro at 11:59 AM on July 13, 2017
BUT - they are on wet food and it is hot out, so I'll make sure I'm much more diligent in keeping the bowls clean and fresh. This is a good reminder.
posted by JenThePro at 11:59 AM on July 13, 2017
As far as mystery bumps go: our older cat once got bug bites of some sort (not fleas) that caused a mild allergic reaction, although I don't remember what the eventual treatment was, perhaps just a shot of an anti-histamine? Our younger cat has mild feline acne even though we use only ceramic and metal bowls for food and water, although it's confined to his chin.
As far as your terrified-of-the-vet kitty--our vet is happy to call in a prescription to our pharmacy for a small amount of tranquilizer that we can give our scaredy-cat and hour or so before putting him into the carrier.
posted by telophase at 2:39 PM on July 13, 2017
As far as your terrified-of-the-vet kitty--our vet is happy to call in a prescription to our pharmacy for a small amount of tranquilizer that we can give our scaredy-cat and hour or so before putting him into the carrier.
posted by telophase at 2:39 PM on July 13, 2017
Yeah, that sounds like acne. Bowl material doesn't necessarily matter; my Siamese gets it from shoving her face into her wet food. The only thing I've found that really helps is wiping her chin/upper neck with a damp paper towel now and then, to get rid of any food residue and scabby crud that occasionally builds up anyway.
posted by aecorwin at 6:07 PM on July 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by aecorwin at 6:07 PM on July 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
I had a cat who died in 2008 who used to get cat acne on her chin despite the fact that she never in her life ate or drank out of anything plastic. It would come and go kind of randomly. Then she got old and died so I never did figure out what precipitated the acne episodes.
posted by janey47 at 8:55 PM on July 13, 2017
posted by janey47 at 8:55 PM on July 13, 2017
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It may help - if you can do it without serious bodily harm - to try to wipe their chins/necks down with a damp washcloth. First there's the bite that itches, then there's the healing scratches that itch and it can help to clean away some of the scab and gunk. My cats would not stand for that but were happy for me to use the flea comb there, which will comb out those bits of gunk and also provide a very thorough itch-scratching (in fact, start gentle in case there's some real sticky scabs under there).
posted by Lyn Never at 10:50 AM on July 13, 2017 [4 favorites]