What is this??????

I have noticed that shamrock has something around his jaw/mouth area and I'm baffled by it. It looks like he put his mouth in a pile of black dirt but some flakes off some stays on. He's acting normal but im clueless as to what this is. Any ideas??????????

is it under his chin? it could be feline acne, like a scab.. do you use plastic bowls?

Originally Posted by turtlecat

is it under his chin? it could be feline acne, like a scab.. do you use plastic bowls?

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that's what i think, too. Cable actually lost patches of fur when i was using a plastic bowl for her special kitten food. Pixel gets an occasional 'pimple', usually on her chin, either blackhead or whitehead, even tho she uses ceramic food dishes... their drinking fountain is plastic. but she got these even before they got the drinking fountain. i think she's prone to them.

Is it under his chin or around his mouth/lips. If its under his chin it may be feline acne. If its more around his lips it might be drool. One of my cats has stomatitis (dental disease) and needs injections every month or so, if he doesn't get his injections he gets black matter around his mouth. Your cat may have dental disease.

The black dirtiness is around his lower lip and a little under his chin. It just looks like it could be wiped off with a washcloth but it doesn't really come off and his skin looks a bit irratated......

that sounds like acne, what kind of food/water dishes do you use?

Shamrock and Pesky both eat out of the standard water/food dish you can get at walmart for like 5 dollars. It's plastic. They also have one of those water things that circulate b/c I found them drinking from the faucets more then the still water. They love the new water contraption. Anyways, he has used this since I've had him and this is the first time I have seen this

Buddy has a dirty chin also.. I am not sure what little nook he stuck his face into but apparently it was the dirtest place in the house. Maybe he found an old used ashtray or something. It is fading with time so I hope he will go back to having a clean face.

is there anything I should do for this? Should I just let it be and wait for it to go away? Thanks!