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Feline Acne

post #1 of 24
1/19/11 at 10:33am
Thread Starter 
turns out one of my babies (Bonnie) has feline acne. has anyone else experienced this with their animal? the vet gave me an antibiotic and told me to get some oxy swabs and apply it a few times a week.

just wanted to get some insight thanks!
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post #2 of 24
1/19/11 at 11:25am
This is a fairly common problem. The first thing I did was get rid of all the plastic food and water bowls. It seems that bacteria grows better in those. I now use either stainless steel or ceramic dishes for everything.

I haven't found the perfect solution yet for clearing up the acne, but I'm working on it. For now I have a combination that is fairly effective.
First I use a flea comb or an old toothbrush to clean the black bits out of their fur.
A friend who shows cats recommended Stridex pads. I scrub the chin gently with a pad until the fur is pretty well soaked and I can see the acne on the skin. I'll usually comb it through afterward as well. The kitties don't seem to mind the smell or taste of the Stridex.
I alternate the Stridex with an enzyme cat toothpaste. Put a dab of toothpaste on the toothbrush or fingercot and gently scrub the chin. Leave it on for a couple of minutes, then rinse and comb out. If you leave the toothpaste on it will dry into a hard clump and you have to really soak it to get it out later.

Hope this helps.
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post #3 of 24
1/20/11 at 6:51am
Thread Starter 
i read about that, the plastic food bowls. ive never used plastic, ive always used stainless steel food bowls and ceramic water bowls.

you know ive had her for almost 3 years, since she was a kitten and shes never shown this problem. does it just come and go during certain circumstances? before reading this i actually went to the store and bought some of those round stridex pads for sensitive skin, the vet said oxy but they didnt have any for sensitive skin.. so yay! when i got home i gently scrubbed her chin with a pad and boy she did not make this easy!!! i dont have a comb, and i think the toothbrush (its a medium i think) i used before may have been a little rough so i used the cat brush that i have. the bristles are a tad softer. i wasnt able to get all of the black out but i got most of it, but i didnt really see any acne, or maybe its just not what im used to looking for? the hair is a little thinned but not a whole lot.

what does the toothpaste do? the vet also said i could use a triple antibiotic after applying the stridex. have you used those creams?
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post #4 of 24
1/20/11 at 8:07am
My 16 year old girl started to develop acne on her chin a few years ago. I replaced all of the dishes with ceramic and that helped, but she still gets inflamed every now and then. When it happens i usually hold a hotter cloth on her chin to soften it up and then use a triple anitbiotic on it. Within a day or so it's cleared up. Of all of our cats she is the only one to ever develop this, and the vet thinks she is more more sensitve than the others.They wanted to put her on steroid meds for a while, but personally, I don't want to go that route, she is old and I think at this point in her life it's not a good idea to put her on such strong medication. I can handle it with what I'm doing and unless it got out of control I will just keep doing what I'm doing. Preventative maintance seems to be the secret to keeping it under control. For her, it's daily cleaning.
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post #5 of 24
1/20/11 at 8:15am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hope13135 View Post
My 16 year old girl started to develop acne on her chin a few years ago. I replaced all of the dishes with ceramic and that helped, but she still gets inflamed every now and then. When it happens i usually hold a hotter cloth on her chin to soften it up and then use a triple anitbiotic on it. Within a day or so it's cleared up. Of all of our cats she is the only one to ever develop this, and the vet thinks she is more more sensitve than the others.They wanted to put her on steroid meds for a while, but personally, I don't want to go that route, she is old and I think at this point in her life it's not a good idea to put her on such strong medication. I can handle it with what I'm doing and unless it got out of control I will just keep doing what I'm doing. Preventative maintance seems to be the secret to keeping it under control. For her, it's daily cleaning.
the hot rag is a good idea!!! i hate to rub it off of her, which is why i couldnt get it all off yesterday. i wouldnt want my skin being rubbed continuously. ouch. do you dont use any kind of medicated wet pads?
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post #6 of 24
1/21/11 at 9:35am
Use only ceramic bowls or stainless steel. If you use any porous bowls they will harbor bacteria and this causes the chin acne 90% of the time. Just gently wash the chin a couple of times daily and dry throughly. Then apply a triple antibiotic ointment (thin layer) just for a few days. This worked great on one of my cats who developed this problem. Keep the bowls washed and clean eachday.
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post #7 of 24
1/21/11 at 9:40am
Thread Starter 
thank you! it turns out all 3 of my cats have this problem! Its just not nearly as bad. two of them are sisters so I'd understand if it was hereditary but the new one I just got, Leylah has it and she isn't related. what could cause all 3 to have it?
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post #8 of 24
1/21/11 at 9:54am
If you have ever watched a cat eat, you will see they tilt their chin so the food drags into their fur. Because they can't clean under their chin, the bacteria of the food sets on the fur and the acne takes hold. I feed on cookie sheets and I wash them after each feeding. I don't use medicated anything on feline acne (when I was dealing with it) I used Hydrogen peroxide and warm water mix and scrubbed the area gently twice a day after each meal.
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post #9 of 24
1/21/11 at 10:31am
I've never used the medicated wipes on her, but the vet said I can use them if I feel it's needed. so far I'm finding the cleaning with a wet warmer cloth is doing the job. and when it's red or inflamed then add the antibiotic. She's 16, so i really hesitate to do anything beyond the basics because she is a bit of a "princess"!
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post #10 of 24
1/21/11 at 10:38am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by hissy View Post
If you have ever watched a cat eat, you will see they tilt their chin so the food drags into their fur. Because they can't clean under their chin, the bacteria of the food sets on the fur and the acne takes hold. I feed on cookie sheets and I wash them after each feeding. I don't use medicated anything on feline acne (when I was dealing with it) I used Hydrogen peroxide and warm water mix and scrubbed the area gently twice a day after each meal.
so how much did you mix? did you rinse it off afterwards or just dry it?
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post #11 of 24
1/21/11 at 10:43am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hope13135 View Post
I've never used the medicated wipes on her, but the vet said I can use them if I feel it's needed. so far I'm finding the cleaning with a wet warmer cloth is doing the job. and when it's red or inflamed then add the antibiotic. She's 16, so i really hesitate to do anything beyond the basics because she is a bit of a "princess"!
I would be causious also considering her age! I'm going to try a warm water mix on the other 2 of my cats since it's not real bad on them. it's probably my fault because I didn't clean their bowls very often :/
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post #12 of 24
1/21/11 at 11:25am
it's a 50/50 mixture, you scrub it and let it air day. If it is bad acne and bleeding put a very small amount of neosporin on it and leave it be.
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post #13 of 24
1/21/11 at 6:28pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by hissy View Post
it's a 50/50 mixture, you scrub it and let it air day. If it is bad acne and bleeding put a very small amount of neosporin on it and leave it be.
I tried this tonight. I'm afraid I'm not getting enough of it off, I'm getting most but I can see there is still a faint color. are you able to get it all gone when you do it? although it's harder to see on Peaches since she is orange but I know none of them have it bad enough to where it's bleeding. Bonnie has it the worst and it's just a lot of black.
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post #14 of 24
3/25/11 at 5:52pm
Captain Hook has had a "sore" on his chin as well and it seems that he has what you are all talking about. I just washed his chin with warm water using some non-medicated cleaning pads of Linda's and it came really clean. I put a tiny drop of neosporin on it to see if that helps.

Our "rescued" SPCA is so loving and gentle - I can't believe he lets me groom him so easily.

So, in addition to his ear drops, I guess I have to wash his chin each day now too.

Oh well.

We love that cat!

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post #15 of 24
3/25/11 at 6:26pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaOldGuy View Post
Captain Hook has had a "sore" on his chin as well and it seems that he has what you are all talking about. I just washed his chin with warm water using some non-medicated cleaning pads of Linda's and it came really clean. I put a tiny drop of neosporin on it to see if that helps.

Our "rescued" SPCA is so loving and gentle - I can't believe he lets me groom him so easily.

So, in addition to his ear drops, I guess I have to wash his chin each day now too.

Oh well.

We love that cat!

Is that your kitty!! beautiful!! Bonnie had the specs so I started usi g stridex pads but then switched to the 1/2 water + 1/2 peroxide. If you don't keep up w/ it then it may get bad. Bonnie's went away I thought, so I stopped cleaning it. Well now it's worse than before, since i started cleaning her chin again the blackheads are actually coming out leaving small intentions. I'm using peroxide & a cotton ball. I was using acne wipes but they were hurting her. What I'm doing now seems to be helping.
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post #16 of 24
3/26/11 at 10:30pm
The best thing I have ever found for acne is calendula. Most health food stores carry these tinctures. Put about 6 drops in an ounce of water (this doesn't have to be exact) and wipe the chin with the solution. It will probably bleed a little...just keep gently wiping away the "crud" and try to hold the pad you use on there for several minutes after you get the chin cleaned (if your baby will stay still long enough for this ). I usually do it a couple of times a day until it clears up. It works so fast, you won't believe it! I had been through all kinds of creams from my vet (which didn't work) and when I used this, it cleared my cats acne up almost immediately. It's amazing and very safe.
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post #17 of 24
3/26/11 at 11:15pm
I've always used "Hibiclens". It's a surgical cleansing soap. Must be used careful and not go into the mouth, nose or ears at all.

I get a few guazes, barely wet them, pour on a little Hibiclens (it's pink), scrub, scrub, scrub the chin and around the chin, letting nothing go into the mouth (keep a dry, clean one to wipe any foam that may get to near. Get another one and do the same thing - this will get a lot of the feline acne off. Then rinse, rinse and reeeeeally rinse until ALL pink is completely gone... and then dryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy dryyyyyyyyyyyyyy dryyyyyyyyyyyyy so there's no wetness left to create any bacteria for the feline acne to grow anymore.

Using ceramic or metal/stainless steel bowls are best. Plastic grows bacteria.
Using a fountain for their water is a great thing for them as well as they often drink straight from the "waterfall", not getting any moisture on their chin (thank GOD I have one of these for my Himmy!!).

Anyways, that's about it on feline acne from this end.

Warmly,

Julie O'
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post #18 of 24
3/27/11 at 12:59pm
We have been cleaning our Cappy's chin every day with warm water and then applying polysporin. Someone here mentioned Stridex pads, but wouldn't they be too strong for a cat? I'd be afraid of using anything with alcohol in it.
Lin
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post #19 of 24
3/27/11 at 1:24pm
I agree about the Stridex pads - they would rip poor kitty cat's skin off.

I like the Hibiclens 'cause it's a super cleanser (that many surgeons use before operating for their "scrub"). Just can't let it get in the mouth, ears or eyes.

Julie O'


Quote:
Originally Posted by Linni View Post
We have been cleaning our Cappy's chin every day with warm water and then applying polysporin. Someone here mentioned Stridex pads, but wouldn't they be too strong for a cat? I'd be afraid of using anything with alcohol in it.
Lin
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post #20 of 24
3/27/11 at 1:36pm
Using stainless is good but they still should be cleaned after each feeding.
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post #21 of 24
3/28/11 at 8:51am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Linni View Post
We have been cleaning our Cappy's chin every day with warm water and then applying polysporin. Someone here mentioned Stridex pads, but wouldn't they be too strong for a cat? I'd be afraid of using anything with alcohol in it.
Lin
I did use strides pads at first because the vet suggested it. I bought the "sensitive skin" kind but the 2nd day of cleaning I switched to peroxide. It's doing wonders, and her chin looks so much better. I also put a neosporin cream on it after cleaning/dabbing w/ the peroxide.
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post #22 of 24
3/30/11 at 1:39pm
Several of my cats have developed chin acne recently as well. I always have used ceramic and stainless steel dishes though. My vet recommended applying hydrogen peroxide. I've been using a Q-tip to apply it.
If you use hydrogen peroxide make sure it's fresh though. If the bottle has been previously opened and sitting around for a while it likely will be no good. H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide) degrades into H2O (water) over time and with exposure to air and light.
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post #23 of 24
3/30/11 at 2:13pm
I had a cat many years ago with this issues. I use to shave her chin very closely and use the peroxide each day. Cleared it right up. Didn't know about the plastic bowls all of those years ago.. Live and learn
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post #24 of 24
3/31/11 at 8:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by silly_ goose View Post
turns out one of my babies (Bonnie) has feline acne. has anyone else experienced this with their animal? the vet gave me an antibiotic and told me to get some oxy swabs and apply it a few times a week.

just wanted to get some insight thanks!
One of my cats had it once. It's pretty common from what I've been told. I've always used stainless steel food bowls but used those plastic automatic watering containers. The vet suggested getting rid of the plastic and going to either stainless water bowls or water fountains. Bacteria builds up in the plastic, no matter how much you clean it, or so I was told. Got rid of those and the acne disappeared. Like you, I used the antibiotic. Glazed ceramic bowls are also supposed to be good.
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