Little bumps on skin

Hey everyone, My cat Leeloo was having over grooming problems a few weeks ago, I took her in to the vet because I found a bald spot on her leg. The vet gave her a woods lamp exam and found nothing said it was anxiety, and gave her Valium for it. A day later she went into heat for the first time... she was really nuts when she was in heat, and I took her to another animal hospital to get spayed (I figured this was causing her anxiety) I got her back from her operation on Thursday.. she's been recovering nicely and I saw no signs of anything wrong with her... except she still groomed herself a lot, but I figured she was still stressed having been through all she'd been through with the operation and all.

Then today I was scratching under her chin (its her favorite place for me to pet her) and I felt some tiny little bumps and I tried to look under her fur and I'm pretty sure I saw some little brownish red spots... I checked the rest of her body and found nothing, including the spot that was bald several weeks ago (its still a little bald) and saw nothing at all... what could this be? it didn't show up till today... could she have caught something from spending the night after her operation? or could it have been from before and the vet needed to do more than a woods lamp?

I have an appointment for her to get her stiches taken out on the 22nd which is 6 days from now, I was going to tell the vet about this then, but I'm wondering if I should call them tomorow, if this is something more serious that needs to be taken care of earlier than next Saturday???

thanks in advance for the help!

There is a condition that cats get called feline acne. That might be it. It can be related to eating from plastic dishes, apparently the oils in the plastic and the bacteria that are really hard to clean from the pores in the plastic can cause it in some cats. You can try changing to ceramic, glass or stainless steel bowls. I am lazy and just changed to paper bowls for my gang. That cleared it up without any problem. A vet on an email list recommended using Listerine to clean the chin. I was concerned with that because of the phenols in it, but he said that you use so little and the cat can't lick it off their chin, so it is safe. It will be fine to wait and just ask your vet about it when you get the stitches out. Becky

Thanks I'll try the Listerine thing, but, I have ceramic bowls... but perhaps it is feline acne from something else... because it is only under her chin nowhere else

Hi,

What a cutie Leeloo is! I don't think the bumps on her chin are related either to her going into heat or to her surgery. Some cats get the cat version of acne on their chins. If you have a fine toothed comb and comb her chin you may find little dark bits come off - probably bits of dried blood and dirt and stuff. One of mine used to get it quite often and I would scrub his chin with betadine (a disinfectant type of soap), rinse it off, then dry it well with a soft cloth. It always itched him like crazy! If it gets infected, as sometimes happens, then a topical antibiotic (for cats) can be applied. Another cat of mine developed an allergy to plastic and developed a swollen chin followed by a scabby area that wouldn't heal. I used the same on him, but it didn't work as well as making a tea from pau d'acrco root (available at any health food store), letting that cool to room temperature and bathing the chin in the tea. It is a naturally astringent antiseptic plant that is gaining a great deal of recogntion for its ability to treat skin ailments -among other things. Of course, we had to remove all sources of plastic as well - and we forgot that his collar was a plasticized fabric. Once we removed that he healted quickly.

If the chin gets hot and swollen and sore, then call the vet immediately. Try washing it as above and see how it responds. If it desnt' respond but doesn't get worse, then you can probably wait until her vet visit but you can certainly call and ask him for advice. If it does respond, still mention it to him during her visit.

Good luck:-)

Kathryn

PS Here is a link to information on pau d-arco tea:-)

http://www.wholehealthmd.com/refshel...25,811,00.html

Be sure you wash the bowls every day, in the dishwasher if possible, to kill all germs and to really make sure there is no oil left on it. And let me know if the Listerine thing works. You just put a little on a cotton ball and clean the chin. Be sure not to get it in her mouth or on any part of her body she could lick. Becky

One of my cats had bump on her chin when I got her. It turned out to be feline acne. I had to wash her chin 3 times a day with some special cleanser from the vet then put some ointment on her chin. I think I had to do it for 2-3 weeks. I also was told at first to use ceramic or stainless steel dishes but at her re-check the said that glass dishes are the best to use and to wash them often. I had been using ceramic dishes for over a year with my other cat and there were no problems but after the acne incident I've changed to glass for their food and water.

If it is feline acne it's not that big of deal to clear up. Patsy's vet did say it can be very uncomfortable if not treated.

thanks everyone for the advice, I definately think that its feline acne now, and not so worried anymore. I didn't realize that it must have been her collar, I had to buy her a new collar recently because her old one got too small (she is growing so quickly) and it must be plasticized fabric just like Kathryn41 said... I didn't even think of that! but her collar, its scratched up like crazy! there are pulled threads all over it like she spends all her time scratching it! my poor kitty. well I took off her collar... I'm not going to get her another one until this is completely cleared up, she is an indoor cat so its not like she NEEDS one anyway. Thanks so much for all your help everyone.