Chin Acne

A beautiful part Turkish Van kitty that I am catsitting for, Fella has chin acne. I was wondering if anyone had any advice on this?

get rid of plastic dishes - ceramic or stainless steel only

He has stainless steel dishes. His owners said that he had the acne when they adopted him 6 weeks ago.

Tony had the same thing a few years ago.  Vet said to get rid of the plastic bowls and use ceramic.  Haven't had the problem since.  I guess it's so common that even before we took him to the vet, the receptionist knew exactly what the problem was when I spoke to her on the phone.   I think the vet gave us some cream for his chin but I'm not sure.   

When Flowerbelle had chin acne for the first time a couple of months ago (and we use glass bowls), I dropped colloidal silver on my finger and rubbed it onto the acne spots. It cleared up overnight. If it's a bad case, I'm sure it'll take longer than that. But it worked, quickly, though hers hadn't progressed far. CS is usually available in health food stores, but the stuff there is meant for ingestion, and is usually only 30ppm, so useless for topical stuff (and I wouldn't give it to him to ingest).

If you can get a hold of some Hibiclens (most pharmacies should sell it), you can gently wash his chin twice a day with that, and that may do it to. It really just depends upon how bad it is. If they are infected, he'll need an antibiotic, I think.

I don't know where to get CS other than online, and I don't know if you want to buy it for them, or pay for it or if amazon will ship it to you.... but this is the stuff I use:
If you are able to order it, you might want to get it anyway, just to have on hand. I use it for EVERYTHING topical. Skin broken while pilling a kitty? CS. A scratch from anything? CS. Knicked myself with scissors or a knife? CS. I get swiped all the time by one of the newer TNR kitties - she's constantly nailing me with her claws. As soon as I get inside, I rub CS on it. They've never been infected. :cross:

Hi Jen! Most likely diet or some type of allergen. The sebaceous glands on the chin over produce to rid the body of waste. Pipsqueak and my other three P's had chin acne last summer. Pip had a severe case that turned into folliculitis Anyway, I would recommend taking a look at the kitty's diet. Also wash daily with Hibiclens and get the dirt off daily. http://www.hibiclens.com/ You can get it at any pharmacy. I also used Mupirocin http://www.vetinfo.com/cat-acne-mupirocin.html. I got it from my vet. I would dry the chin thoroughly after washing and then apply a very thin layer of the thick ointment and rub it in well. Worked quite well.

kittylover23 said:

He has stainless steel dishes. His owners said that he had the acne when they adopted him 6 weeks ago.

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If these are actual dishes/bowls, as opposed to plates, they can switch to ceramic, glass, or stainless steel plates instead. It's been my experience that bacteria accumulate on the sides of dishes and promote this problem.

You/they should also clean his chin after every meal with a mixture of mild soap, such as Bastille, and water, followed by plain water to rinse off the soap--then dry the chin. The plates should be used only once then washed.

I feel a vet visit is in order because chin acne can be caused by any number of things: the type of food (oily kibble for example), overactive sebaceous glands, bacterial infection, fungal infection, mites, etc. If left untreated it can exacerbate into something much more problematic to clear up.

Also, IF the kitty had chin acne when they adopted her, it is possible she has had this a long while and won't go away unless they do something. Good you noticed. If it has gone deep into the chin follicles - then an antibiotic might be necessary to start the healing. Pip needed one as his was severe and his chin was HUGELY swollen. If it is more mild - then the washing and ointment will work.

Our Mattie had that last year.  The vet told me buy Stridex pads from the drugstore and use them. lt did clear up in a short time.  The advice about stainless steel only bowls is also very good advice.

Thanks so much for the advice everybody!

I have some topical colloidal silver somewhere, I used it on one of Lucky's wounds last year, I will go look for it! I will also look for Hibiclens at the store tomorrow. I will definitely tell his owners about using plates, too!

He eats Blue Buffalo dry food. I have recommended to his owners to switch him to wet food, but they said they haven't gotten around to it. But they're lovely people so I'm sure they'll look for some wet food for him too. He was living in a woman's basement with four other kitties in a foster home prior to his current owners adopting him. Thanks so much for your advice, Fella and I appreciate it!

Angel still gets some once & a while too, even though he has has ceramic dishes for about 2yrs now. I also wash his dish after every meal,

because it's wet, or raw food. A little peroxide on a cotton round to clean his chin w/ works pretty good, but have just started using the CS on it.

He has a plastic place mat on the floor, but I would hope it's not that, sense he needs it there & it's not close to or touching his face.  ???

LDG said:

I don't know where to get CS other than online, and I don't know if you want to buy it for them, or pay for it or if amazon will ship it to you.... but this is the stuff I use: :

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That is the same one I ordered as well. I totally forgot that YES - it works great for chin acne too. :nod:

Angels mommy said:

Angel still gets some once & a while too, even though he has has ceramic dishes for about 2yrs now. I also wash his dish after every meal,
because it's wet, or raw food. A little peroxide on a cotton round to clean his chin w/ works pretty good, but have just started using the CS on it.
He has a plastic place mat on the floor, but I would hope it's not that, sense he needs it there & it's not close to or touching his face.  ???

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Actually, some people have found that even though it doesn't seem possible, removing the plastic place mat made a difference. :nod:

Thanks Laurie, I will try that.

As far as where to get CS, any natural grocery store should carry it in their wellness department.  Whole Foods, etc....

Really? I haven't found any store that carries 500ppm. They all seem to carry 30ppm, meant for internal use. :dk: