Dirty Face

[Luna Lovegood]

Greetings...wondering if anyone knows what we can do?? We recently adopted a 3-month-old kitten (Luna) who won't wash her face; particularly nose & eyes. Kinda gross. I've washed her, tried using a little butter on her nose but nothing seems to work. We have no idea of her history but it seems she may have been bottle fed & without much mom care. Any ideas?
Thanks

 

[Mango the Maine Coon]

I’ve seen at the store there are cat cleaning wipes you can get, there are some that say they are gentle and can be used around the eyes

 

[Neo_23]

I would just use a paper towel and water.

 

[duckpond]

I have a bundle of those cheap white wash cloths you can buy at walmart. I use them and plain warm water. they are cheap enough that once i use them i can toss them if i think they are to dirty to put in the was with my other ones. lol depends on which end of the cat it was used on i guess

 

[Luna Lovegood]

Thanks everyone...I should have made my request for info clearer...I'm wondering how I can get her to do this for herself.

 

[jen]

Are you sure she isn't just doing it when you aren't around her? That is odd for a cat to not do that especially if she is grooming herself otherwise.

 

[Neo_23]

I was thinking that too.. or.. the other thing I was thinking was maybe she has a viral infection if you're seeing a lot of gunk around her eyes or nose. What does the "stuff" on her face look like?

 

[Luna Lovegood]

Greetings, and thanks for your replies. She has been to the vet who checked her out as being healthy. Both my husband and I are retired so we do spend a lot of time with her; have watched her groom yet she never washes her face...of course we can't see what she's doing when we're not around but even her chin is dirty. Her nose is always (okay, hope you're not eating anything) filled with black gunk; her eyes however have been clearer. As previously mentioned there wasn't much history on her at the SPCA (I found her alone in a cage in the hallway, no windows, like in solitary confinement). It took her weeks before she would leave the sunroom; she always hid under a plant stand that had bars now she is everywhere and acclimating well; plenty of energy. This is a mystery, as I've had many pets over the years yet, we're stumped.

 

[Luna Lovegood]

Sorry, didn't know how to work the photo upload...here's Luna after I washed her.

 

[Neo_23]

It's hard to tell from the photos, but if there is black gunk she could possibly have the feline herpesvirus. It's very common - most cats are carriers (especially if they come from shelters) but it tends to be dormant and symptoms only show in times of stress. For some cats, some symptoms are more common and prevalent. Some people have had success by supplementing lysine in their cats' diets. It's nothing to worry too much about, but it could possibly be due to that. If it is, it would be hard for a cat to clean the gunk on their own, usually they need a damp cloth to wipe their face daily.

 

[Brian007]

She looks very clean for a 3 month old kitten to me. Both my two, Dudley & Parker, were late bloomers when it comes to washing themselves, and were scruffy wee mites when they were 3 months old. They still are a lot scruffier at 2yrs (D) and 10months (P) old than my previous cat, Brian, who was always scrupulously, sparkling clean. I wouldn't worry too much about her at this age, as I expect she'll grow into a more thorough, regular cleaning regime.

However, her chin dirt could be 'feline acne' caused by bacteria accelerating sebum growth on the chin area, resulting in black specks of dirt (sebum). It is usually a result of using plastic water and food bowls, which are very porous and harbour bacteria. The easiest way to deal with it is to change all bowls to ceramic, glass, or metal and wash the chin area with antibacterial wash until it clears.

Most cats get a wee bit of nose and eye dirt at times, just wipe away with a damp cloth.

Expelliarmus, dirty face!

 

[Luna Lovegood]

It's hard to tell from the photos, but if there is black gunk she could possibly have the feline herpesvirus. It's very common - most cats are carriers (especially if they come from shelters) but it tends to be dormant and symptoms only show in times of stress. For some cats, some symptoms are more common and prevalent. Some people have had success by supplementing lysine in their cats' diets. It's nothing to worry too much about, but it could possibly be due to that. If it is, it would be hard for a cat to clean the gunk on their own, usually they need a damp cloth to wipe their face daily.

She looks very clean for a 3 month old kitten to me. Both my two, Dudley & Parker, were late bloomers when it comes to washing themselves, and were scruffy wee mites when they were 3 months old. They still are a lot scruffier at 2yrs (D) and 10months (P) old than my previous cat, Brian, who was always scrupulously, sparkling clean. I wouldn't worry too much about her at this age, as I expect she'll grow into a more thorough, regular cleaning regime.

However, her chin dirt could be 'feline acne' caused by bacteria accelerating sebum growth on the chin area, resulting in black specks of dirt (sebum). It is usually a result of using plastic water and food bowls, which are very porous and harbour bacteria. The easiest way to deal with it is to change all bowls to ceramic, glass, or metal and wash the chin area with antibacterial wash until it clears.

Most cats get a wee bit of nose and eye dirt at times, just wipe away with a damp cloth.

Expelliarmus, dirty face!

Thank you...I'm always cleaning her bowls which are ceramic and she gets fresh water from our well every day...yes, spoiled. The chin dirt is not speckled but rather like a kid who plays in the dirt, kind of dusty; humm...she could be into the plants.

 

[Luna Lovegood]

Oh, she also gets holistic kitten food with lysine (Blue) although it doesn't indicate how much. She is a lot healthier than when she first arrived (her gas could clear a room) her changed diet fortunately got rid of that.