Cat is walking around with eye slightly closed, black crust on eye, jaw and chin area. Help!

Our cat Benson has been taken to vet twice, given eye wash, an extended round of Prednisolone 5 MG, and two rounds of Neo Poly Dex Opth Ointment. Yet the black crusty stuff just keeps coming back. He has been treated with Neosporin, but will rub his face until it's all gone. What is this crust from? And what do we do to make it stop? He occasionally walks around with his eye almost closed, which is worrying us greatly.

He lives with 3 other cats, none of which are showing any of these signs. He is 4 years old, lived with us for 3 years. He has always had a little bit more eye boogery stuff than the other cats. They all share food/water. His diet is mostly Temptation Treats and Kibble. When we first got Benson he had ringworm and I believe got treated for worms as well (Ended up costing us $1,000 all said and done to adopt this little handsome shelter kitty!) 

When he was given the prescriptions everything cleared up but then just 3 days later the crust was back. I don't know that we can keep giving him the prescriptions but I want to see my little guy get better. His eating/playing/sleeping habits are the same as they've always been. No change in weight or anything like that either. 

Any ideas? 

Pictures:

 As you can see, it's a little red and irritated, possibly inflamed as well. His right eye is fine but his right chin and jaw match the left side. 

 

I am not a vet so will not give you any diagnosis, but it could be several things including leftover virus from a previous URI or sensitivity to plastic or food.  To address ALL these things at once,  I would suggest (1) cleaning the area with hydrogen peroxide on a soft cotton ball two or three times a day; (2) not feeding him out of plastic dishes and instead using glass or ceramic bowls for both food and water; (3) not storing his food in plastic containers; (4) adding L-lysine to his food -- available in Kroger Health section as Twin Labs 250 mg. capsules which you can open and sprinkle and mix in food -- it tastes salty -- about 1/4 tablet per meal, and that's assuming you are feeding him canned food at least twice a day; and (5) avoiding corn, wheat and soy in is food (Friskies Loaf canned food has no corn, wheat or soy; the chunks and shreds and pieces all have wheat gluten).  If you are going to keep him on dry food as well, there are many varieties with no corn, wheat or soy now, and the Rachael Ray Nutrish is available in mots supermarkets if you aren't the type to shop online or in specialty stores.

None of these things will do him any harm and they may do some good. If it clears up with this regime, then it doesn't matter what it was, you got it handled.  If you do all this and see NO change in a couple of weeks, you will need to go back to the vet for diagnostics. Best of luck, and let us know how he does.

i would use an antibacterial containing chlorhexidine such as http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=25297

add lysine to the diet

i would use Terramycin Antibiotic Ophthalmic Ointment for anything near the eye

eliminate plastic bowls and dishes

You can also by chlorhexidine at the drug store but it must be diluted at least 1 to 5 parts water for cat use.

Thank you all for your replies, I greatly appreciate it. 

We tried the hydrogen peroxide & removal of plastic food dishes, but a few of the dishes have made it back into circulation. Will try removing them for good and see if that helps.

Benson does not eat wet food at all. He never ever has, he won't even look at it. But, I am sure we can mix the lysine into the diet. I know we used that years ago with another cat, and his issues were fixed, but I don't know what it's other purposes are? (He had an upper respiratory infection, maybe that's it?) 

I will look into the other washes, thanks for the input. 

there are lysine cat treats. example:


also, there are cat eye wash solutions, pads, and wipes. example, 

Great. Benson LOVES treats, so hopefully that will work!! 

iamthewalrus007 said:

 
Great. Benson LOVES treats, so hopefully that will work!! 

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iamthewalrus007, did you find a solution to Benson's eye crust/chin acne. I have a cat who I have taken t several vets trying to resolve this and still haven't found the right combination of treatment...did the L-Lysine help?

@pinksky, have you tried all the things we all mentioned above?  The only other solution I know is a strange hormonal prescription usually  used for people but it has worked miracles in cats who have had skin issues.  I dont remember the name offhand but can find it easily enough.  It's a last resort, however, but your vet might be willing to try it.

Yes, we have tried all of the things discussed. He has been to see several vets and is now seeing a dermatologist. Do you know the name of the hormone therapy?

My dandy girl (one year old) developed eye issues (runny eyes, and occasional white mucous) along with asthma when she was 10 months old.  I had a cat, Woodrow, many years ago with asthma, when she had her first attack I knew what it was.  It was far worse than Woodrow's ever was.  In the span of 48 hours she had 3 attacks, two of them were bad, I could tell she was struggling to breathe.  I got her to the vet. Vet thought the runny eye could be Herpes Virus.  I asked the vet to give Dandy a very short term Methylprednisone shot (to confirm it was asthma).  Woodrow had a Methylprednisone shot every 3 months for 12 years (he developed a tumor in his stomach) six months later he crossed the rainbow bridge.  I was not going to put Dandy through the same, and put her on Newton Homeopathics Cough - Asthma, Only Natural Pet Bronchial Wellness and Feline Immune Support tablets. 

Dandy has had a two or three mild "coughing" episodes in the last four months.  Dandy continued to have leaky eyes; her eyes do not get swollen and she does not display the same symptoms I have seen in cats with Feline Herpes Virus. I finally determined she has dry eye syndrome;  live in Palm Desert; it is extremely dry which does not help. I started using a humidifier and giving her eyedrops for dry eyes. Her eyes have gotten much better.  I am always looking for something to "balance" her system.  I just ran across a product called Vetri-DMG by VetriScience.  I read all the reviews I could find on Vetri-DMG (and DMG) and was quite impressed.  I was blown away by the reviews. More than one reviewer's cat had been "written off" by their respective vets'.  They used Vetri-DMG as a last resort, and it appears to have miraculous healing properties.  I just ordered a bottle yesterday; chewy.com has the best price, $9.75 vs. Amazon @ $26.99.  I would recommend reading the reviews on Amazon, and anywhere else.  For $9.75 + $4.99 S&H, it might be worth a shot.

Dandy below, and with her sister, Posie.

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