Cat acne?

Have you tried any kind of cleansing yet?

One of the best ways is to hot pack his chin, that is, apply a warm, wet cloth to the area for a few minutes and then cleanse the acne with a little hydrogen peroxide for 1 to 2 weeks, once a day.

Ditto the cleaning and hydrogen peroxide. Also, if your cat has a favorite sleeping spot like a rug or blanket, washing it frequently helps. My kitty had a severe case of acne on his chin and I treated it the same way I treated my own acne: clean daily with a dab of peroxide, washed his blanket everyday, and if your kitty has a habit of banging his chin against the food bowl while he eats, clean the bowl with a disinfectant.

Full strength hydrogen peroxide will burn the tissue so if you cleanse and use this, please dilute it first.

Originally Posted by strykerx0

Has anyone else had issues with cat acne? Our 9 year old has had minor issues with it before that cleared up when we changed her food and water bowls, but our 11 month old has a case that won't go away. We've changed his dishes, but he often drinks water out of the sinks, and we think his chin keeps getting wet and making it worse. Any advice? Thanks!

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Are his dishes washed before each feeding? Our kitties have clean dishes for each meal and the dirty ones go through the dishwashing cycle to kill any bacteria.

Originally Posted by Yosemite

Full strength hydrogen peroxide will burn the tissue so if you cleanse and use this, please dilute it first.

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Most hydrogen peroxides sold OTC are a 3% Hydrogen Peroxide solution. It's safe (at least according to our clinic director) to put a little on a tissue or cotton ball and dab at the affected area a few times. That will be more than enough.

My vet told me to use glass or metal instead of plastic as the plastic is harder to clean effectively. That and washing them regularly cleared Ace's acne right up.

PJ started having bad bad acne about a year ago (she's almost 12). She always has clean, stainless steel bowls. So, off she went to the vet, and they gave us Dermcaps - vitamin E for animals! We feed it to her - we used to pour it on her treats, but she prefers to have it mixed in with her canned food. The caps are little capsules that you can pop open with a pin prick and just squeeze the oil out.
So far, its worked well for PJ. Where she used to have pimples that she would scratch at and some eventually bled, she's now clear! She has on small patch of acne on the front of her chin right now, but it will probably clear up in a few weeks. You can give the oil daily, like we do now, or you can give it when your cat breaks out and until the acne resolves - either way works. We do it daily as a preemptive strike.

One of the vets at my clinic recommended washing the area with a dab of dishsoap on a warm washcloth.

Originally Posted by evnshawn

My vet told me to use glass or metal instead of plastic as the plastic is harder to clean effectively. That and washing them regularly cleared Ace's acne right up.

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Dori had a slight irritation on her chin way back when I used plastic bowls. I switched to ceramic and it cleared up within a week or 2.

Actually...hydrogen peroxide is not the best thing to use. Ingesting it is poisonous, as with humans, and because kitties lick and groom themselves often, they could be getting that into their bodies, and that could be a cause for more serious problems. Perhaps you should try an antibacterial soap, such ones you use on your own face. You could try using the product Bacti-stat, available at a Veterinary Hospital...or purchase a cleanser with 0.3% triclosan.

Again with the bowls, great comment! If your animal is prone to acne, plastic feed bowls are not recommended, because bacteria and dirt can get cought in the fibres that make up the plastic, and thus the pet getting bacteria in the chin causing acne. Switch to porcelan, cermaic, or stainless steel. Also wash the bowls frequently, most people don't do this, and it can actually be jsut as much a problem. You wouldn't use the same plate for weeks on end....well you might...but most wouldnt right?

If the problem is persistant, and worsens, you should see your DVM to assess the situation, and get antibiotics!!!

My cats had acne too. They were already eating from glas bowls and i used some special cream on it but that didn't worked. I was feeding them Royal Canin and switched to Felidae. And the acne was gone and still is

This is really more of a Health issue, so I'll move this to Health & Nutrition.

I personally would not use the hydrogen peroxide. Call your vet and perhaps they can suggest something over the phone.

My vet reccomend good old Phisoderm acne cleanser for humans.
Works great for my boys.

Zorro had it so bad once, his got infected. The Vet gave him oral antibiotics & told me to hold a warm washcloth to his chin a couple times a day, just to help get rid of the crusties & puss.

It worked; a few days into the antibiotics, the acne went away & did not come back.

Note: I do NOT use plastic bowls. All 5 of the water bowls are ceramic, cleaned daily, and the feeding dishes are also ceramic. They think it was stress from moving from one house to another.

Snickers recently got acne on his chin, too. He's black whereas Zorro has a white chin, so I didn't notice til I did some chin-scritches & noticed he had bumps. When he went to the Vet, same thing; oral antibiotics & TLC with a warm washcloth. Healed him right up!

I think his was caused from the stress of having his teeth cleaned, that was a big ordeal for my old boy.

My 11 year old Smithers recently had it and the vet put him on an cream, dermatologic antibiotic which did clear it up. Unfortunately I can't remember the name.

Originally Posted by shambelle

PJ started having bad bad acne about a year ago (she's almost 12). She always has clean, stainless steel bowls. So, off she went to the vet, and they gave us Dermcaps - vitamin E for animals! We feed it to her - we used to pour it on her treats, but she prefers to have it mixed in with her canned food. The caps are little capsules that you can pop open with a pin prick and just squeeze the oil out.
So far, its worked well for PJ. Where she used to have pimples that she would scratch at and some eventually bled, she's now clear! She has on small patch of acne on the front of her chin right now, but it will probably clear up in a few weeks. You can give the oil daily, like we do now, or you can give it when your cat breaks out and until the acne resolves - either way works. We do it daily as a preemptive strike.

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Do you get the dermcaps from the vet, or can you get them OTC somewhere? I need something that doesn't involve cleansing because one cleansing and Cindy hides under the bed for days until she thinks we've given up. We've only managed 3 cleansings, and it's so stressful on her and on us. I have changed her bowl to ceremic and always wash it between feedings. Are there certain foods that will cause it? Wet or dry?

I have four cats two one cat who is 11 who is going through Hyperthyroidism and UTI so I'm tapped out financially but need to get my other cat to the Vet.  She is a 9 yr old long haired tabby.  I think she has Acne?  She gets sores on her lip and on one side of her nose that are dry and dark red.  A previous vet suggested using oxy pads (as they are benzoil peroxide and no alchohol) this clears it up but it comes right back, that vet suggested it was acne.  We used stainless dishes for their soft food but found it gets compacted in the corners and my big male can barely get his head in them.  I switched this week to plastic ones shallow so the food wont get compacted, guess that was not a good idea.  

I have a difficult time getting my spouse on the same page as me, I wash every time, he  wont.  I cant get him to hold my cats so I can brush their teeth either, it's frustrating and I have no one else here.  Has anyone had any ideas on how to cover a cats paws so they can't scratch you while brushing teeth?

For now I will try the peroxide on pickles sores but wonder what your cats acne looks like?  I clean it every day, sometimes just with water and baking soda but its there again the next day. It comes off easy so it is obviously oozing then drying though I never see the oozing just dry crusted stuff on her nose and on her lip.  Those dark brown spots on her lip by her teeth are much more prominent now then they used to be and her lips seem to have more brown spots too..