Stubborn feline chin acne

fishlips23 · Sep 1, 2014

Both of my cats (1 year old) started showing signs of feline chin acne about 3 weeks ago. They don't have any pustules, just lots of black flakes that come back every day. One cat is worse than the other. I called the vet and he recommended Duoxo wipes. We've been using those and have also been doing a daily chin wash with benzyol peroxide soap and warm water. The only thing we can think of that may have caused this is a metal water bowl we bought about a month ago that wasn't stainless steel (it may have been aluminum?). That was thrown away when we first noticed the acne. They eat off of stainless steel bowls that are cleaned with soap and allowed to dry between feedings. They each get half a can of wet food (FF classic chicken) in the morning and half in the evening, and kibble (Wellness Core) is free fed.

It doesn't seem like it's bothering them (no scratching) and they are very good about letting us clean their chins, but we are stumped as to what we are doing wrong. The vet is also perplexed; he said it should be gone by now. I think I'll call him again this week and see if he thinks we should bring them in for skin cultures…

I was just wondering if anyone has had success or experience with this stubborn condition? I feel like we're doing all we can and it just comes back the next day. It's not getting worse, but definitely not getting better.

Thanks!

weemomma · Sep 1, 2014

My cats have all had stubborn acne at one point or another. Just keep up the cleaning. If the pustules appear, you might consider antibiotics. For the most part though if you keep up on the cleaning, it'll go away sooner or later. Little Girl still has flareups from time to time and she's 6 years old.

fishlips23 · Sep 1, 2014

Thank you for your response! Since the vet didn't seem too concerned with seeing them…and since it doesn't seem to be hurting them in any way…do you think it's best to manage it at home? I guess we just wanted confirmation that it might take weeks or months to clear, unlike our vet who said it should go away as soon as we remove the source. Did you ever find out what caused it for your kitties?

weemomma · Sep 1, 2014

For my cats, it was a combination of dirty food bowls and eating out of plastic containers. I switched to a ceramic bowl for Little Girl and she doesn't have flareups anymore. You can most definitely treat the cat at home. I always washed chins with a little bit of dish soap or more recently with a shampoo formulated for cat skin. It was easy, she always let me do it, and I haven't had any problems since. If you do notice swelling of any kind, you might try a warm compress against their chin. Treat it just like you would any teenager going through puberty, because technically, that's what's happening.

2cats4me · Sep 3, 2014

One of my cats has chin acne .. They have stainless steel and ceramic water bowls as well as ceramic food bowls .

I have always washed their food dishes after each meal .

I think that she became allergic to Fancy Feast . It seemed to start then.

I stopped feeding FF but I am having a hard time getting the acne to clear up ..

I have been washing her chin with antiseptic ..

Any other suggestions for products to use for treating the acne ?

weemomma · Sep 3, 2014

Honestly, I had success using a mild detergent like Dawn. Just a small amount, lather it up, and clean the area. You can also try baby shampoo. I have a vet shampoo now that has some medication in it. They give it to animals that have skin allergies. I think that bottle cost me about $12.

stephanietx · Sep 4, 2014

We feed out of metal and/or ceramic bowls that are washed after each feeding. I have one cat who gets acne when she's stressed out. If I forget to change the Feliway diffusers, she will break out with acne. I use Hibiclens and it works great. (Changing the refills on the diffusers helps, too!) You can find Hibiclens at CVS or Walgreens or your local pharmacy.

2cats4me · Sep 4, 2014

stephanietx said:
We feed out of metal and/or ceramic bowls that are washed after each feeding. I have one cat who gets acne when she's stressed out. If I forget to change the Feliway diffusers, she will break out with acne. I use Hibiclens and it works great. (Changing the refills on the diffusers helps, too!) You can find Hibiclens at CVS or Walgreens or your local pharmacy.

Awesome , I will look for the Hibiclens . Thank you ..

bonepicker · Sep 29, 2014

fishlips23 said:
Thank you for your response! Since the vet didn't seem too concerned with seeing them…and since it doesn't seem to be hurting them in any way…do you think it's best to manage it at home? I guess we just wanted confirmation that it might take weeks or months to clear, unlike our vet who said it should go away as soon as we remove the source. Did you ever find out what caused it for your kitties?

Switch to shallow porcelin dishes and wash and switch out after every meal or paper plates and throw away each time. Some of the stainless dishes are too deep.

2cats4me · Sep 30, 2014

fishlips23 said:
Both of my cats (1 year old) started showing signs of feline chin acne about 3 weeks ago. They don't have any pustules, just lots of black flakes that come back every day. One cat is worse than the other. I called the vet and he recommended Duoxo wipes. We've been using those and have also been doing a daily chin wash with benzyol peroxide soap and warm water. The only thing we can think of that may have caused this is a metal water bowl we bought about a month ago that wasn't stainless steel (it may have been aluminum?). That was thrown away when we first noticed the acne. They eat off of stainless steel bowls that are cleaned with soap and allowed to dry between feedings. They each get half a can of wet food (FF classic chicken) in the morning and half in the evening, and kibble (Wellness Core) is free fed.

It doesn't seem like it's bothering them (no scratching) and they are very good about letting us clean their chins, but we are stumped as to what we are doing wrong. The vet is also perplexed; he said it should be gone by now. I think I'll call him again this week and see if he thinks we should bring them in for skin cultures…

I was just wondering if anyone has had success or experience with this stubborn condition? I feel like we're doing all we can and it just comes back the next day. It's not getting worse, but definitely not getting better.

Thanks!

@fishlips23 , My cats have always used stainless steel and ceramic dishes and never had an issue . Just recently my female developed Chin Acne . I clean their dishes after every meal as well . I think her chin acne may be due to some allergy . I have been cleaning her chin every day with peroxide & grapefruit seed extract and it has helped a lot . I am also adding Lysine to her wet food each morning to boost her immune system .

jdollprincess · Sep 30, 2014

My vet recommended stridex wipes as long as there's no open sores. It seems to work well for my cat.

docc · Feb 20, 2016

I've been using stridex. He hates it, so in lucky if I do it every other day. I have two cats, but only the tuxedo is affected. I use clean ceramic dishes for every feeding, and remove them once the cats have eaten. They're washed in the dishwasher. About two months ago I got a stainless steel water fountain, and noticed the problem after that. Could it be a problem? It did result in his drinking more water.

Stubborn feline chin acne

fishlips23

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weemomma

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fishlips23

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weemomma

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2cats4me

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weemomma

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stephanietx

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2cats4me

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bonepicker

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2cats4me

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jdollprincess

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docc

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