Cat acne?

Hey my cat Hope gets these black blotches on her chin, it looks like dirt and it come and goes. I googled it because I thaught maybe it was some kind of skin infection. From what I can tell it's cat acne. it doesnt seem to affect her at all other than maybe a little itchyness. I was wondering if any of you have come across this and how you have dealt with it.

Feline acne is a common problem and a lot of people here have gone through it. It seems to happen more often to cats with white chins for some reason.

It is usually caused by bacteria in their food/water dishes. Plastic harbors bacteria more so than any other material, so the recommendation is to first replace any plastic bowls with stainless steel, ceramic or glass, then sterilize those bowls (e.g. dishwasher) on a regular basis. Mine have even gotten it from plastic matts that I used to put under those bowls. I threw them out also. This alone can stop acne, but sometimes you do need to wash their chin (think of people acne), and if it gets bad enough to be infected, then you will need medication from your vet.

It's very easy to control with a little dilligence on your part.

my cat is all white on her throat and has a little patch of black hair on her chin and she has the same thing, i'm going to replace all her plastic bowls with stainlesss steel :]

Moose used to get an annual acne "attack" and I would gently massage his chin with a clean washcloth & warm water to loosen the black flecks and open any pimples and finish by applying hydrogen peroxide with a cotton ball. He hasn't had any chin problems for a few years now.
I was fortunate that he would sit on the kitchen counter by the sink and let me do all this!

Lots of info http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...highlight=acne and pics in that thread.

Very common with plastic bowls, or bowls not cleaned regularly or throughly.....

Also, I don't think acne happens more often in cats with white or light colored chins -- I would just say that it's more noticeable on cats with white or light colored chins, as those with darker chins the acne might not even be visible.

Be sure to clean your cat's bowls every day (after every meal) to prevent bacteria from forming in the bowl..............