Please help me.. I'm flipping out a bit...

I'm a bit freaked out,, and need your help...

My cat Angel, is a completely white DSH. She has this spot on her lower left jaw right under her mouth that is jet black. It's like something black that is attaching to her hair.. I've tried to clean it off,, but it comes right back.. It's probably about 1 inch long by 1/2 inch.. Any ideas what it might be??

My vet can't see her till next thursday... So it's really buggging me.... Please tell me what you think it might be??? or what I should do?

Thanks!! Heather

Sounds like feline acne, which affects cats with white chins more than any other. Please do a search on TCS for feline acne, and see if this could be what you are seeing.

That's soo it........

I looked up pictures, and talk to my vet,, and that's it!!! Gosh I love you guys!!! Thanks soo much...

Now I'm trying to figure out what to do... They told me to clean it with soap and water,, and get rid of the plastic dish the girls have been using.. I need to throw it away,, I have ceramic, I just like the bowl because it was two compartments, I had no clue that it would do that to her... My pooorrr girl....

Ginger had it once, and I used just a little hydrogen peroxide soaked into a cotton ball, then I would rub the acne spot on her chin with it a little bit. I did that once a day in the mornings, and it cleared up within about 10 days, and there has been no recurrance.

My vet approved of the way I treated it - and I learned about it and how to treat it right here on TCS - just passing it along.

Oh - definitely dump the plastic - you can get a ceramic dish stand that holds two dishes on eBay.

It's the pimple monster!

PJ wouldn't let us wash her chin when she had it, so instead, we started treating her with oils (derm caps from the vet). That's what has worked for her whenever she has a skin problem (acne or crazy dander). If the cleaning works and the acne stays away, great! But if it persists, I've found that at least with my cat, oils really help keep her acne away. That, and we only use stainless bowls.

If you are using a plastic placemat under their dishes you might also want to get rid of that as well. I have about 8 stainless steel dishes and each feeding is put in a clean dish. Keeping the dishes clean is important. Mine go in the dishwasher after each use.

Aw, sending vibes that Angel will be back to normal soon

Don't bother with ceramic either...cracks in the glaze can harbor bacteria. Gizmo developed chin acne when she ate off a ceramic plate.

Steel bowls are the best solution.
Gizzy also has a small 'sushi-shaped' carpet under her dish that is vacuumed regularly; no plastic!

Definitely ditch the plastic, go to a stainless steel and sterilize those bowls in the dishwasher if you have one. My Pinky's acne flares up when I get sloppy about cleaning the stainless bowls.

Originally Posted by angelkitty

That's soo it........

I looked up pictures, and talk to my vet,, and that's it!!!

Gosh I love you guys!!! Thanks soo much...

Now I'm trying to figure out what to do... They told me to clean it with soap and water,, and get rid of the plastic dish the girls have been using.. I need to throw it away,, I have ceramic, I just like the bowl because it was two compartments, I had no clue that it would do that to her... My pooorrr girl....

Click to expand...

Yep. Plastic is bad. We use ceramic and I wash the bowls out with super-hot water every night right before refreshing them. I use anti-bacterial soap on them about once a week, I wash them, then rinse them, fill them up with water to sit for 30 minutes, then rinse them again very thoroughly.. Every night there is a slight coat of food-oils on the inside of the bowls and I use my hands to scrub it away. The plastic absorbs the oils and bacteria and will cause acne really bad.