Strange red area on cat's lower lip?

I'm not a vet but I came across a site that shows pictures of common skin aliments in cats. They had a picture that looked exactly like your cats. They called it feline acne.  The site was http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=107386.  It was the first picture I came too. I wish you the best.

Hi, Ameva! Welcome to TCS!

 

What type of dishes are you using and what kind of foods are you feeding?

 

I'm asking because ceramic and plastic dishes can still have traces of food particles and oil in their cracks after washing that can contribute to feline acne, and kibble can cause multiple allergic and intolerance issues.

 

AC

Feline acne is quite common.  I only use glass dishes or stainless steel and I have enough so that he gets a clean dish from the dishwasher for each meal.  Cats can also get acne from plastic placemats.  Dilute some hydogen peroxide and gently wipe your cat's chin after each meal.

May I add my two cents? And the only reason I'm posting this is because we took BooBoo to the vet yesterday (Saturday) morning as he has a bad case of acne right now. It's something that our RB baby Banshee had, too. Boo has been having some issues with sinusitis and the vet thinks that the med he's on right now for the sinusitis may have led to some acne issues.

 

Our vet recommended a solution of hydrogen peroxide and water, as Yosemite mentioned. What she (our vet) said was to take equal parts of the peroxide and water and then dab that on the cat's chin area. In Boo's case, I'm using a small cotton ball because it's a larger area. In your case, with your little baby, maybe a cotton swab/Q-tip? Two or three times a day, no more than that.

 

And yes, no plastic. None. No plastic food dishes, water dishes, place mats, etc. And no ceramic or stoneware. Only glass or stainless steel. Clean dishes for every meal. We change water dishes two or three times a day. Completely clean dishes with fresh water. (We went to a Reading China and Glass store several years ago and bought a dozen simple clear glass salad plates. They work so well, we went back and bought another dozen. They weren't that expensive at all and they clean well in the dishwasher. We also found large clear glass bowls and we have three of those for water. And as I said, we change their water two, sometimes three times a day.)

 

If it doesn't start to heal, then I think it's time for a vet visit for your little kitten. I am not a vet and I won't pretend to be. The only reason I'm posting this is because of our BooBoo yesterday. And welcome to TCS, Ameva! There are so many nice people here who try very hard to help your with your questions.  Good luck to your kitten!

 

 

Welcome to TCS

For you kitty's chin .....

I am very familiar with chin acne issues. I use Hibiclens to wash the chin's http://hibiclens.com/default.html. I found at least for my cat's, that the hydrogen pyroxide even diluted was irritating to their chin's. The Hibiclen's was recommended to me here on TCS and has worked great. Just another option. There is also an ointment - Mupirocin - you could get from your vet if your vet think's that is chin acne. I am not totally sure that it is chin acne. Only because you would normally see black dirt in the pores first and then it will advance into more of what you are seeing on your ca'ts chin. A large red pustule. Do you see black dirt specs on the chin? Over the whole chin? The sebaceous gland's that are located on the chin can over-produce oil causing these breakout's/blackheads. For my cat's, it is some type of allergen, food or environmental. I have it under control now with diet. But Pipsqueak's chin still has some flare-ups and I have to check his chin daily. I would watch the sore closely as there is other possibilities as to what it could be..... I would check with your vet. Keep us posted!

Seconding Winchester's caution against plastic water dishes or fountains. I'm on a couple different forums and this topic has been cropping up recently, with the water fountain finally being identified as the cause.

 

Hope your kitty is doing well!

 

AC

I was also surprised to hear that ceramic bowls can harbor bacteria until a member here mentioned it to me. Ceramic can get microscopic crack's the will harbor bacteria... I went to all stainless after hearing about that. Keep us posted on your kittie's chin

I personally wouldn't use hydrogen peroxide, despite what some vets say. It doesn't have the anti-bacterial properties that we once thought, and it can actually inhibit healing:

http://www.pilonidal.org/aftercare/cleaning.php

http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.com/content/79/2/260.full.pdf

 

A better idea would be to just wipe the chin with a warm wet washcloth. You could add a few drops of liquid silver for a bactericide, or Epsom salts to help with cleaning.