Persian with severe face acne

alleygirl

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I may be fostering another cat soon. He is a 1 yr old Persian with severe face acne. He was a pound rescue, so no idea of his past history. He has had several trips to the vet, his most recent one yesterday where he received a steroid shot.

He gets daily eye medicine (will have to ask the name). His has a flat face with black acne all over it, not just his chin. It is in the creases of his face all around his mouth, nose and eyes. He is solid white, but his little face is black


Other than the shots, he is being wiped each day with wet wipes. We are limited to the number of vet visits, money spent, etc. so at home care is his only option at this point. What do you recommend using on his face each day to clean? The vet did not give any sort of cream to put on his face, just told them to clean it every day and make sure he didn't eat off plastic.
 

kiwi kat

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Milo gets chin acne, and the vet said to just use alcohol swabs on it twice a week and that has kept it under control. But, he said to only use it if there were no open wounds as it would sting really bad.


I'm not sure what your options are for clearing up open sores......
 
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alleygirl

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I don't believe they are open sores. It is just black stuff for the moment. I didn't get a great look at him yet, so will know more tomorrow.
 

2furbabies

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Hi - I'm not certain about what to put on the face to actually clear the acne, but the most important thing with persians is keeping the face clean. I have 2 persians and can clean their little faces one minute and the next it looks like they haven't been cleaned in days! I just use a warm washcloth. Maybe once his face is cleaned regularly, the acne will improve.
 
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alleygirl

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He has been cleaned and treated for about a month now with no improvement, which is why they started him on the steriod shots yesterday. I'm wondering if this is a chronic thing that may always be an issue for him.
 

arlyn

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Vash has an acne problem, his vet has us scrubbing his chin 2-3 times a day with Phisoderm acne cleanser.
 

persi & alley

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Originally Posted by AlleyGirl

I may be fostering another cat soon. He is a 1 yr old Persian with severe face acne. He was a pound rescue, so no idea of his past history. He has had several trips to the vet, his most recent one yesterday where he received a steroid shot.

He gets daily eye medicine (will have to ask the name). His has a flat face with black acne all over it, not just his chin. It is in the creases of his face all around his mouth, nose and eyes. He is solid white, but his little face is black


Other than the shots, he is being wiped each day with wet wipes. We are limited to the number of vet visits, money spent, etc. so at home care is his only option at this point. What do you recommend using on his face each day to clean? The vet did not give any sort of cream to put on his face, just told them to clean it every day and make sure he didn't eat off plastic.
Here is what my cat book says:

Put a warm, moist cloth against the cat's chin to open the pores, and then clean it with hydrogen peroxide. Don't pick at or squeeze any of the sores, and don't use human acne medicine because it can poison your cat. If you don't notice an improvement in a week, see your vet. The cat's acne may have become infected and need antibiotics.
 

goldenkitty45

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I'd just use a very warm, almost hot wash cloth and a mild soap (like Ivory) to wipe his face. If the acne is close to the eyes you don't want any hydrogen poroxide near there!

Good luck cause he's gonna hate you washing the face all the time. Be as gentle as possible.
 
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alleygirl

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Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

I'd just use a very warm, almost hot wash cloth and a mild soap (like Ivory) to wipe his face. If the acne is close to the eyes you don't want any hydrogen poroxide near there!

Good luck cause he's gonna hate you washing the face all the time. Be as gentle as possible.
Thanks!

I have not decided yet if I will take him. He is also declawed and I worry about Riley bullying him (like he does with every other cat
)

I will find out on Sunday which one I will be taking home, if any! The one I wanted is a beautiful medium hair, blue lynx point kitty but he hates other cats
 

sakura

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Matilda is part Persian and has had chin acne since I adopted her in October (so this has been going on for 4+ months). Now it's a bit over her lip too.

The first thing we tried when it was just blackheads was Chlorhexidine scrub 2x a day. Didn't help. Then we tried Cerumene to remove waxy buildup on her skin in addition to Chlorhexidine...didn't help. The Cerumene was better about getting rid of the blackheads but they just came back the next day. Then she started her first round of antibiotics (Clavamox) and the blackheads went and turned into red cystic bumps. This was at the end of November. At that point she started using Animax ointment too. The red bumps are still there, but they were the worst in January. (She has gone on 2 more rounds of antibiotics since that started). I've tried stress relievers also (Rescue Remedy, Feliway, etc.). I also tried alcohol-free acne pads (salicylic acid, vet's recommendation) to clean the blackheads, they were ok.

100% witch hazel is supposed to work well for cleaning the blackheads but you have to order it online, most stores carry only 86% witch hazel (14% alcohol). I've tried the warm compress thing, and some will recommend doing that with epsom salt to draw everything out.

Our next step is a skin biopsy (but I am going to ask for a skin scraping first).

Right now she still has red bumps & blackheads. The red bumps aren't as bad. I am cleaning her chin with hydrogen peroxide and putting 5% benzoyl peroxide cream (vet's recommendation) on her daily. I am trying to leave her chin alone as much as possible and let it heal. This means that lately the red bumps have been bleeding and she has huge scabs on her chin. I just started her on a grain-free diet too. I would be thrilled if she just had blackheads on her chin, because at least those don't hurt her.

Oh, and stainless steel bowls always.
 

yosemite

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If you are using hydrogen peroxide, dilute it before using it. It burns the tissue, even healthy tissue.
 

pookie-poo

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Every one of my cats have had feline acne. None of them responded to washes, ointments or systemic antibiotics. Every one of them eventually turned out to be related to a food allergy. Spooky's was so bad (open, purulent draining sores) that we did a biopsy. Hers cleared up when I switched from Meow Mix to Anergen (hypoallergenic). Maggie and Lola were both sensitive to Purina One. I think Cleo's was also from Purina One, however, she was never "officially" fed it, I think she stole some from time to time. Once I eliminated it from the house, everyone's chin acne disappeared, and so far, hasn't returned!
 

mzjazz2u

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I don't have experience with feline acne but I found this article. It mentions Persians specifically and how they get it on the face and the folds. It has a little information on treatment. It also mentions that it can be controlled but not cured.

http://Feline AcneFeline Acne
 

jellybella

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When Bella had it all over her chin, the vet had me rub her chin every day with a gentle oxy pad (not the maximum strength ones).

That plus using metal dishes has reduced her outbreaks considerably.
 
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alleygirl

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Thanks everyone!

It looks like I won't be fostering this particular kitty, but I will forward all this info to his new foster mom. He really is a beautiful kitty. I'm sure he will look even better if we can get rid of that black face!
 
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