Cat with Sores ? What is it ?

I have a few stray/feral cats that hang out in my backyard. While feeding them yesterday I noticed that one of them has what look like black "pimples".

She has one on each side of her lower jaw - on her "lips"

Does anyone know what this might be ? When I saw the I immediately thought - "Bubonic plague" and chased her off. Now that I've settled down a little, I'm wondering what those are.

She doesn't act sick - she's taking a nap right now on my grass (her usual position)

Please don't feed ferals if you are not serious about it. Putting down food and then chasing them away from it torments them and shows them humans cannot be trusted. This makes it harder for rescuers in the future to approach this cat and try to help it. Feral cats do not in this day and age carry bubonic plague. It is probably just feline acne that is out of control because of living outside and having to fight for every scrap of food it can find.

Originally Posted by hissy

Please don't feed ferals if you are not serious about it. Putting down food and then chasing them away from it torments them and shows them humans cannot be trusted. This makes it harder for rescuers in the future to approach this cat and try to help it. Feral cats do not in this day and age carry bubonic plague. It is probably just feline acne that is out of control because of living outside and having to fight for every scrap of food it can find.

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Couldn't agree more with Hissy.

There's more to taking care of feral kitties than just providing food.

I also agree that it is most likely feline acne.

Spotz

Do you just feed them or do you also trap , neuter and return ?

I have a "Havahart" trap

The cats are very suspicious of it. Tuna, Sardines, Herring - they won't come near it. When they get fed (with cat food), I sit inside the house and make myself visible while they eat it. I want them to associate me with "food"

Pretty soon, I'll start putting the cat food in the (unset) trap until they get "used" to having it around. I'll push the cat food in deeper and deeper and pretty soon just set the trap.

Thankfully there are only 4 cats - I can whisk them off to the vet to get them fixed as they get trapped.

There's been quite a few assumptions made because of my initial post. I am asking if these sores are a disease. If it is - obviously I don't want to get exposed to it. Thank you for clearing this up for me (no pun intended).

Cat acne is not a disease and you can not get it . So you don't need to worry about a desease . Acne can come from food or plastic bowels and is a allergic reaction as far as I know . I have 2 cats that have cat acne and I am fine .

There are only a few diseases you can get from handling feral cats. Ringworm is one of them. This sounds like feline acne, but without seeing it, no one can really tell you what it is. Your best bet is to trap the cat and get it in to be fixed and let the vet have a look.

Use cat litter in your trap. Works every time. Don't put a lot of it in, use regular clay litter and don't cover near the trip switch. I have yet to meet a feral cat that didn't go into a trap that had cat litter in it. You just want to cover up the steel bars under the cat's pad. That is usually the number one reason why a cat won't go in the trap, it doesn't feel right under their pads.

Also lace the smelliest canned cat food you can find with a little bit of catnip.

Good luck-

We use "doggie diapers" in the bottom of the trap. Not what they're used to being outside, but it's better than the wires and seems to work well for us.

Links to trapping hints here: Helping Ferals...