acne?

Hello, I have a question about feline acne I hope someone can assist me with. I have a 4 year old black and white female who has developed tiny black specks on the base of her whiskers. The bottom half of her face is white, so I noticed them because she started to look dirty. I can remove them by running my fingernail across her face, they come off as black clumps with tiny pieces of hair stick in them. They are tiny in size, I think they are what is called feline acne. Can anyone inform me of the cause of these things and what, if anything, I should do about them? Thank you in advance.

Plastic food dishes are a common cause because bacteria grows on them. Ceramic is best.

caitlin448 said:

Hello, I have a question about feline acne I hope someone can assist me with. I have a 4 year old black and white female who has developed tiny black specks on the base of her whiskers. The bottom half of her face is white, so I noticed them because she started to look dirty. I can remove them by running my fingernail across her face, they come off as black clumps with tiny pieces of hair stick in them. They are tiny in size, I think they are what is called feline acne. Can anyone inform me of the cause of these things and what, if anything, I should do about them? Thank you in advance.

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Don't use plastic bowls. Stainless steel ones can be used. Be sure to always use clean bowls with no left over food from the previous feeding. My white calico girl had acne. The vet told me to wash her chin with Stridex pads from the drug store. It worked in just a short time.

Yes, no plastic. Angel had it too (in the usual area of the chin). I would just put some peroxide on a cotton round & rub the area w/ it once a day.

After a few days, it usually went away.

After switching to ceramic bowls only, he would still occasionally get some, & I didn't think he would be getting it just from having a plastic place mat, but guess what, he was!  One of our "experts" on here told me to remove the place mat & it made all the difference! (Thanks Laurie!)

Also another great topical for cats is Colloidal Silver. It will also heal anything topical up in a ,matter of a few short days. It's wonderful to keep around!!

Thank you all for your suggestions. I think it might be coming from her behavior. Every time I come home she flops at my feet and rolls around on her back while rubbing her front paws on her whiskers and mouth (it kind of looks like she's vogueing, if you can remember that song). She does this while meowing and also rubs her paws on her face when I rub her belly. Do you think this could be a cause as well? Her food and water bowls have always been ceramic. If she's causing it with her paws I can't change her behavior, and it is very sweet and adorable.

Hmmm, I wouldn't think so, as this is a normal action they do while grooming too. Not sure what else it could be then. Maybe someone will have some more ideas.

Check your ceramic bowls for cracks in the glaze. Bacteria can take advantage of even the smallest crack.
I use stainless steel bowls for both food and water. I keep two sets so I can put one set while the other is in the dishwasher.
I also have one cat who still gets acne no matter what I do. I think it's because he drools at lot. The stridex pads help keep it under control. I also use a fine-toothed flea comb on his chin. It gets the black stuff out without scraping his skin too much.

I think the problem with one of my cats is she eats like a slob and has food stuck to her chin after eating.

I've found old hardened pieces stuck to the underside of her chin.

They eat off ceramic dishes that are washed in the dishwasher. Not plastic mats.

I didnt take the time to read all the coments.

I can only speak on behalf of Korina, a snow(white) bengal who was afflicted with what I knew of as acne.

(over the years, I saw this same ooze type acne on other white chinned cats)

It sounds like your cat has the same as mine, "facial dirt",  their skin secretes what looks like dirt.

My cat had it all over her chin, and in her cheeks (whiskers)

Rubbing it would produce the dirt to come out (although there as always a little left in the pore).

I would suggest either leaving it be and see if it gets infected (pimple) or if she loses hair there, or is scratching it alot.

I would also suggest going easy on it, try wiping it, and not scratching it.

If you grew up with acne as I did, you might get an obsessive reaction to try and keep rubbing till the black boogies are gone.

And here is where you can start a cycle.

There were times (sorry Korina) where I rubbed her chin so much it got very red.

The next day I would go to see if the secretions returned and it looked 2x worse, I was wrong, what happens there is cat skin is very thin and sensitive and what I saw the next day was full scabbing (very thin layer of new skin).

As she got older, I would use a wire brush (think little square ones) and gently run it over her chin and whiskers, this would pull most of it out.

Just stop before it is irritated.

I showed this dirt to multiple doctors, and most just said it was natural.  (She NEVER had a pimple which is what feline acne is defined as).

Also I must state she had dirt in her ears forever, not mites, nothing the doctors knew, for all I know it was the same secretion

As to water and food bowls,  take my advice, your life will be easier.

Forget ceramic or stainless steel, they are better than plastic but suck for humans. (cleaning by hand or dishwasher)

Go to wallmart or closest Pyrex outlet and get Correlle cereal bowls

http://www.shopworldkitchen.com/corelle/hanami-garden-soup-cereal-bowl-1103189

They are made of glass, are easy to wash by hand or pack into your washer.

I use pyrex mixing bowls like this for water

http://www.pyrexware.com/index.asp?pageID=13&CatID=379&SubCatID=390

Good luck, and if you put up a picture, I can tell you if its the same secretion, cleaning that crap for 10 years, I can spot it 10 feet away

aeevr said:

I think the problem with one of my cats is she eats like a slob and has food stuck to her chin after eating.

I've found old hardened pieces stuck to the underside of her chin.

They eat off ceramic dishes that are washed in the dishwasher. Not plastic mats.

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I use ceramic as well. The plastic mat was the place mat under the bowls. (just FYI)

Oh feline acne involves actual bumps and pimples? She just has little black dirty clumps that are plugged with tiny pieces of hair. Reminds me of blackheads. Tiny life the size of the tip of a needle. I have noticed she now pulls her food out of the bowl and drops it on the floor and then eats it. Maybe something about the bowl bothers her whiskers. Thank you all for the advice, I have put out a larger bowl to see if that helps. She's too beautiful to have black stuff on her face!