Kitty Acne Woes...

Poor Cheshire Cat! He seems to have acne. Unfortunately, I have NO idea why. My cats have ceramic bowls, which I wash every time I run the dish washer, so that can't be the problem. My other cat doesn't seem to have a problem at all. I would change his food, but he won't touch anything else (I've tried changing before by mixing the foods together, and other methods).

It's been staying steady for the past two weeks or so, and I haven't taken him to the vet yet. I wash his chin every other day (he's kind of neurotic; he can't deal with that every day). I use warm water and a soft children's tooth brush (I was using a wash cloth at first, but it didn't seem very effective).

Today, I noticed that he has one area that looks slightly infected, so I plan to take him to the vet ASAP for some sort of ointment.

Question #1 is what the heck could be causing this?! The only other reason I could think of could be stress, which I've read can cause problems. I got him at a shelter when he was about a year old, and I've had him for two years now... he is ONE STRESSED CAT. He needs lots of love and affection, and pretty much everything totally freaks him out, even though I live in an extremely quiet home. He hasn't had any major life changes or anything lately, and he doesn't SEEM more stressed out than usual... so I don't know.

Question #2 is, if the vet gives me an antibiotic to be mixed with food (no way he's taking anything any other way), how can I keep the other cat from eating it? Cheshire is ENORMOUS (about 25 pounds, and it's not all fat), so he can't get to a lot of places. Plus he's scared to jump on things AND he's clumsy. My other kitty is TEENY; she weighs about 4 pounds on a good day, and she's super nosy. She can get to everything.

Question #3 is, if I'm given an ointment for Cheshire's chin, how can I keep my other cat (Dinah) from licking it off?! Her favorite activity of all time is licking Cheshire Cat, especially when there's anything ON him (like hairball medicine, etc). She even tried to lick ear mite medicine out of his ears once (that stuff CANNOT taste good).

Thanks for any advice!!!

My cat also has what I'm sure is feline acne. It comes and goes but I'd like to know if anyone has any advice on how to clear it up. It's not bad enough to justify a vet visit right now (esp as Jaffa gets very stressed out when he has to go to the vet) so I'm just bathing it with salt water once a day. It has improved lots but not gone completely. His appeared about the same time as I got a new kitten so I'm wondering if it's stress related. He's never used plastic bowls.

PJ's acne cleared up when we:
1. got her thyroid regulated

2. gave her vitamin E. The vet had capsules that we could just puncture and put on treats, in wet food, etc.

She now has a gorgeous chin - it used to be covered in horrible black acne, which she'd scratch, and it would bleed and get really bad. She hasn't had an outbreak in months.

I'd try the vitamin E (talk to your vet, of course) - it took a while, but it definitely worked well in PJ's case.

Acne is no big deal, a lot of cats get it. It can be caused by the food you are feeding and what you are feeding it in. If you watch your cat eat, he drags his chin in his food, most cats do. Once his saliva mixes with the dry food or if you are feeding wet bacteria forms. You can get rid of acne by feeding on something like a flat cookie sheet, and also scrubbing gently the cat's chin with hydrogen peroxide several times a day.

Originally Posted by Betty Ann

Question #2 is, if the vet gives me an antibiotic to be mixed with food (no way he's taking anything any other way), how can I keep the other cat from eating it? Cheshire is ENORMOUS (about 25 pounds, and it's not all fat), so he can't get to a lot of places. Plus he's scared to jump on things AND he's clumsy. My other kitty is TEENY; she weighs about 4 pounds on a good day, and she's super nosy. She can get to everything.

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I've had to give Cindy antibiotics in her food. She also has acne, and other periodic skin infections which I suspect is from excessive bathing. Anyway, I crush up the pill in her food, then I sit nearby and watch while they eat so Swanie doesn't get into it. Once she eats it, I pick it right up and wash the bowl out. If you're going to get something to put in Cheshire's food, make sure it's a pill and not liquid. At least not clavomox because it have a very strong smell (to cats). I tried that with Cindy and she wanted no part of it.

Originally Posted by Betty Ann

[Question #3 is, if I'm given an ointment for Cheshire's chin, how can I keep my other cat (Dinah) from licking it off?! Her favorite activity of all time is licking Cheshire Cat, especially when there's anything ON him (like hairball medicine, etc). She even tried to lick ear mite medicine out of his ears once (that stuff CANNOT taste good).

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According to my vet, it won't hurt them to lick the ointment. I can't remember the name of ths stuff she prescribed, but it's people ointment and it's very very very expensive. I tried to put it on Cindy when Swanie was otherwise occupied and hope that it had time to sink in and do it's work before they got into the grooming thing.

Good luck with Cheshire!

Originally Posted by hissy

Acne is no big deal, a lot of cats get it. It can be caused by the food you are feeding and what you are feeding it in. If you watch your cat eat, he drags his chin in his food, most cats do. Once his saliva mixes with the dry food or if you are feeding wet bacteria forms. You can get rid of acne by feeding on something like a flat cookie sheet, and also scrubbing gently the cat's chin with hydrogen peroxide several times a day.

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Yeah, but you know how it is at that age - other cats teasing you if you look different, it can be hard.

Originally Posted by shambelle

PJ's acne cleared up when we:
1. got her thyroid regulated

2. gave her vitamin E. The vet had capsules that we could just puncture and put on treats, in wet food, etc.

She now has a gorgeous chin - it used to be covered in horrible black acne, which she'd scratch, and it would bleed and get really bad. She hasn't had an outbreak in months.

I'd try the vitamin E (talk to your vet, of course) - it took a while, but it definitely worked well in PJ's case.

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Do talk to your vet though - my vet warned me off it (can't remember why, sorry) for one of my cats (it wasn't a general question though), so make sure you know whether it's ok and ok in what doses.

Originally Posted by Betty Ann

Question #3 is, if I'm given an ointment for Cheshire's chin, how can I keep my other cat (Dinah) from licking it off?! Her favorite activity of all time is licking Cheshire Cat, especially when there's anything ON him (like hairball medicine, etc). She even tried to lick ear mite medicine out of his ears once (that stuff CANNOT taste good).

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Of course it tastes good! It tastes like love.