I waxed my cat...

So my cat has blackheads on the bottom of his chin that were really irking me. I was trying to clean the blackheads out of his fur and then I applied a waxing strip to it. When I ripped it off a lot of black came off with the fur. his little bald spot still has blackheads but I removed many of them when I waxed it. Has anyone ever waxed their cat before? Am I abusing him? He didn't show any signs of pain.

I laughed out loud when I read the title of this thread!  LOL! 

I thought it was going to be something like, "NEW!  Ronco Cat Wax!  As seen on TV!"

No, you do not need to wax your cat.  As long as the rest of him is clean and the blackheads on his chin don't bother him, there isn't a problem.  There is only a problem if they get red, start to swell up or ooze.  Otherwise, there is little to worry about.

Cats can get acne just like humans, you know. 

You treat acne in cats just the same way you treat it in humans.  Keep the face clean.

Use a wet cloth with some mild soap and wipe Kitty's face.  If you want, you might be able to use witch hazel lotion but I would NOT use acne creams meant for humans unless you talk to a veterinarian or some other expert on cats.

I wouldn't say that waxing your cat's face is abuse, per se, but I wouldn't do it.  It doesn't matter whether he complained about it or not, it probably did hurt.  You want your kitty to love you and trust you.  Right?  He's not going to trust you if you keep hurting him like that.

Like I said, feline acne isn't anything to worry about unless there are complications.  Just wash Kitty's face and, if he shows signs of redness, swelling or oozing, take thy feline to yonder vet.

And be sure to keep the food and water dishes scrupulously clean (I use stainless steel bowls that can go into the dishwasher), as that can help keep the acne from happening in the first place.

I read that plastic food and water dishes can harbor bacteria that can cause or contribute to feline acne.

We use stainless cat dishes just because we like them better.  They are also easier to keep clean.  Just pop them in the dishwasher.  No fuss!  No muss! 

AllMyKitties said:

And be sure to keep the food and water dishes scrupulously clean (I use stainless steel bowls that can go into the dishwasher), as that can help keep the acne from happening in the first place.

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Caspers Human said:

I read that plastic food and water dishes can harbor bacteria that can cause or contribute to feline acne.

We use stainless cat dishes just because we like them better.  They are also easier to keep clean.  Just pop them in the dishwasher.  No fuss!  No muss! 

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This advice is good. These spots are feline acne, you can get something to treat it from the vet, but scrupulous cleaning is the answer to prevention, especially using ceramic or stainless steel bowls. Plastic ones crack and bacteria get in.

My white boy had a really bad case on his chin. I got the blackheads all out and kept it clean with mild washing everyday. This was before I knew about plastic/ceramic dishes. I changed him over to stainess bowls and he has never had acne since.

Chlorhexidine works fab on cat acne, it's safe for animals and is like an anti-bacterial cleansing solution.

I would opt NOT to wax the poor guy's chin! I'm smiling though, just never heard of anyone doing this before.

But I imagine it must have felt like waxing off an entire eyebrow at once, not pleasant in any way.

No plastic dishes.

I have to admit, when I saw the title of this thread I thought..."YOU WHAT?"  and I'm still giggling a little.  OK...probably not overwhelming pain, but certainly some degree of discomfort.  Let's go with the stainless bowls (or glazed ceramic, which can also be thoroughly disinfected) and Catwoman707's suggestion for chlorhexidine.   And don't kick yourself over this.  He's fine.

Waxed the cat..,~wanders off, snortling softly~

Oh, dear.

I tried waxing.  Once.  That was more than enough to convince me never to do that to myself again, and I wince whenever people talk about getting a bikini wax.

Definitely don't do this again.  Your cat doesn't need it and wouldn't choose it for himself.  Save overruling his desires for something important, like vet visits or claw clipping.

No, don't beat yourself up over it, just don't do it again.

Margret

i thought this was going to be an explicit troll thread LOL