dark grey bump on chin?

hard to get a decent picture of this but my little guy has a weird bump on his chin. it's quite hard, and while he doesn't seem to be in severe pain, he doesn't appreciate me messing with it. has anyone seen this sort of thing on their kitty before? it's just one bump, dark grey, definitely raised - so i don't know that it's acne. yes he was eating out of a plastic bowl (which i replaced yesterday). he's an 8 year old neutered caramel tabby and has mild allergies that mean he sometimes scratches at his face, but this is definitely not a scratch.  ideas are appreciated since it's difficult to get into a vet during the holidays, but i'm kind of worried about waiting. he's always been pretty healthy but my little girl kitty (no bio relation) had cancer surgery earlier this year, so i worry a lot.

here's the best pic i could get:


thanks much to anyone who has input.

rhonda

To me it looks like Feline Acne which can sometimes be raised, but it's hard to tell from a picture.  You can try changing his bowls to ceramic or stainless steel.  Sometimes taking the Oxy Fresh or other acne pads for humans and rubbing on the chin can help with acne.

Yep, my first reaction was going to ask if you use plastic bowls.....looks like acne to me.

thanks so much. that's extremely encouraging - i really hope you guys are right. i'm going to schedule a vet appointment but maybe not bring him in as an emergency case.  he's got ceramic bowls now. if it IS just acne - any idea how soon it might begin to clear up?

I hate to say this but it takes awhile, like weeks or even months.....sorry!

honestly, if it turns out that it isn't life threatening, i will be grateful to cater to it for as long as it takes. thank you.

Yeah, I would bet on it being simple cat acne from the plastic dish.

It'sx quite small to be anything like cancer or a tumor. You've just gone through it so it is what any of us would do, think the worst.

It wouldn't hurt either to rub witch hazel on it daily. This might help speed up healing.

Not light dabbing, but wiping, gentle scrubbing, well scrubbing sounds rough. Just wipe it on.

Another vote for kitty acne. Looks like quite an impressive blackhead he's got there. My cats also had acne a tiny bit (they had plastic bowls; I didn't know it could cause chin acne until years later). I hate to admit this since I have a bad habit of picking at blemishes on my own skin, but it drove me nuts knowing that crud was stuck in my cats' skin, so I popped the offending spots and then gently washed the area with warm water. While not nearly as big as the thing your kitty has, they were still noticeable and came out pretty easily. The cats flailed their heads a little, but didn't make a sound (my Rolly was the biggest baby to ever live, so for him to not make a peep is saying something). I wouldn't recommend doing that, but just saying I did because it bugged me. Not really much different from human acne, but the vet will be able to tell you how to take care of it since I don't know if it will go away on its own. Kitty might scratch at it if it becomes too bothersome.

My dog used to get acne from her frisbee and it looked just like the bump on your kitty's chin, except there were more of them. The vet told me as long as it is not infected (red, swollen), to wash her chin twice a day with warm, lightly soapy water, followed by a good rinse to make sure all the soap is gone. I also washed her frisbees with soapy water after each play session. As long as I kept up the habit of washing her chin and toys, she would not have outbreaks.

I've got a tabby boy that also has gotten something that looks like that. We don't use plastic dishes, but that sure can cause it. Seems it did take a couple of weeks for his to clear up. This could just be coincidence, but he's not had one since I started making a note to give his chin a good scratching every couple of days with my fingernails. He doesn't mind it a bit! 

I remember reading about your kitty and her cancer. I hope she is doing well.   

Matt had one that bad, and while we were ready to take him in if need be, I decided to try washing with something at home first......a few days of salene solution in 3x daily cleared it up that time. I certainly wouldn't rule out the vet when it's that bad, but the salene's pretty good-perhaps run it by the vet if you're not sure?

I use a tbsp salt to a cup of warm water, and rinse well afterwards..

It could be feline acne or something else. I'd keep an eye on it and use something mild like a warm compress of salt water if necessary rather than any alcohol based products until you know for sure. While plastic bowls are considered to be one of the leading causes for feline acne, recent studies have shown that bacteria on any type of food dish can cause outbreaks. Using glass and ceramic is better than plastic, but its also important to wash drinking and dry food bowls regularly.

thanks so much guys. i will do saltwater compresses for a few days until the holidays are over and see what happens, then probably take him in. he's due for a checkup anyway. my poor little guy.

susank521: in august, my little houdini had three lumps removed (as well as her inflamed little uterus). she spent several days drugged up, then went right back to pushing the boys around and chasing bottle caps across the kitchen floor. no signs of any issues so far. so glad i made the decision to go ahead with the surgery. she's 13 and in otherwise perfect health, so i'm hoping she'll be with me a while. thanks for asking after her.

crumpet said:

 
thanks so much guys. i will do saltwater compresses for a few days until the holidays are over and see what happens, then probably take him in. he's due for a checkup anyway. my poor little guy.

susank521: in august, my little houdini had three lumps removed (as well as her inflamed little uterus). she spent several days drugged up, then went right back to pushing the boys around and chasing bottle caps across the kitchen floor. no signs of any issues so far. so glad i made the decision to go ahead with the surgery. she's 13 and in otherwise perfect health, so i'm hoping she'll be with me a while. thanks for asking after her.

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Awesome!!! I'm so glad she's doing well.