Does anyone have experience with feline acne? Any advice you'd care to share?

Question

I am fostering an adult cat that was found abandoned in a campground. He's a sweetheart but I can tell he's been though some tough times. He has seen a vet through the rescue I am fostering for and has his vaccinations, they also diagnosed him as blind but well he's not. I think he just had some sort of brain damage or trauma, he can see but he's a little off. Anyway I just noticed he has black, crusty dots on his chin. I've heard of feline acne and from what I can tell that's what he's got. I'm no vet but I know he doesn't have ringworm or demodex, and the only other thing it can be is acne. If anyone has experience or can offer treatment advice I'd be grateful. Of course as always if it becomes a problem he will see a vet but any way I can prevent it from getting worse would help! Cedar has been through enough I'd like to get him in tip-top shape before he is adopted out. He is a beautiful cat!! The reddest cat I've ever seen! and a Classic Tabby too! anyway thanks in advance. Here is a pic of Cedar.. http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n15/jaspertopaz6/goodbyehello114.jpg

Answer 1

Make sure you're using ceramic or stainless steel bowls, plastic ones are more likely to contribute to feline acne, especially if they tend to rest their chins on the rim when they eat or drink. You can use a stridex pad once a day or every couple of days to clean the area. It will help dry it out. Really bad acne may need antibiotics if it get infected.

Good for you for fostering him, I wish more people would do that, it's a wonderful thing and makes a world of difference to the animal.

Answer 2

He is beautiful.

Most times this is from the food and you ared feeding dry food. I wrote the rest of this post a long time ago.





Nutrition since there are so many bad things out there is very important to your cat’s health

Contrary to what you may have heard; dry foods are not a great thing to feed a cat.

Please read the label on what you are feeding? What are the ingredients? Do you know what they mean? Is the first ingrediant a muscle meat like chicken or meal or other things?

http://www.catinfo.org/#Learn_How_To_Rea...

http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring04...

Dry foods are the number 1 cause of diabetes in cats as well as being a huge contributing factor to kidney disease, obesity, crystals, u.t.i’s and a host of other problems. Food allergies are very common when feeding dry foods. Rashes, scabs behind the tail and on the chin are all symptoms

The problems associated with Dry food is that they are loaded with grains and carbohydrates which many cats (carnivores) cannot process.  Also, Most of the moisture a cat needs is suppose to be in the food but in

Dry, 95% of it is zapped out of dry foods in the processing. Another thing, most use horrible ingredients and don't use a muscle meat as the primary ingredient and use vegetable based protein versus animal. Not good for an animal that has to eat meat to survive.

http://www.catinfo.org/#My_Cat_is_Doing_...

You want to pick a canned food w/o gravy (gravy=carbs) that uses a muscle meat as the first ingredient and doesn't have corn at least in the first 3 ingredients if at all.    The best food for cats does not contain any grains at all.

Fancy feast is a middle grade food with 9lives, friskies  whiskas lower grade canned and wellness and merrick upper grade human quality foods. I would rather feed a middle grade canned food then the top of the line dry food.

Also, dry food is not proven to be better for teeth. Does a hard pretzel clean your teeth or do pieces of it get stuck? http://www.felinefuture.com/nutrition/bp...

Please read about cat nutrition.

                               http://www.newdestiny.us/nutritionbasics...

                               http://www.catinfo.org/feline_obesity.ht...

      http://maxshouse.com/feline_nutrition.ht...

Vetinarian diets  The reason your vet thinks so highly of the pet food they sell probably has more to do with money than nutrition. In vet school, the only classes offered on nutrition usually last a few weeks, and are taught by representatives from the pet food companies. Vet students may also receive free food for their own dogs and cats at home. They could get an Iams notebook, a Purina purse and some free pizza.  http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring04...

Answer 3

The debris around his nose can be cleaned of with a q-tip it's normal just dust and boog's. As far as the black heads or acne alot of the time they attribute the problem to food and grease after they eat. I've also been told to wash the muzzle after they eat. But it's normally not a health concern and he looks beautiful I don't think anyone will notice acne with those gorgeous eyes.

Answer 4

aw..hes cute. he looks very similar to my cat. i havent dealt with this..but ive heard that you can help get rid of it and keep it away by simply keeping their chins clean. especially after feeding. i think they said you can use peroxide on a cloth..im not completely sure..but u could look into it =)

Answer 5

what a beautiful cat... god bless you for taking care of our animal friends.

sounds like good advice everyone has given... thanks for asking this question, as my kitty has the occasional spot of acne and i had never seen it before!  

Answer 6

you are a nice person.

Answer 7

Did you say this cat is red?

I have an all orange male tabby.  At around age 8 or nine he began to develop dark brown spots on his nose and lips.  I thought it was dirt at first, and then when they wouldn't wash off I thought they were freckles because he's a red head. :P  I took him to the vets, and they have all said they have never seen anything like it.  It has spread steadily with age, causing no discomfort to him.  Now his nose is almost completely brown, and his mouth (with the exception of his tongue) kind of looks like a jersey cow.  He's beginning to get it on the normally pink rims of his eye lids as well...  I also noticed one of his eyes have changed colour, and gone from green to orange-green.  He's 15, and doing pretty good for an old guy.

I don't know if what I said matches anything you see on the cat you are fostering, but I hope it helps.  And I hope the kitty is okay.

What a gorgeous cat!

Answer 8

What causes feline acne?

The exact cause of feline acne isn't known. There are several possible causes however including

          Stress

          Plastic food bowls is commonly discouraged, especially in cats with feline acne. This is because they are porous & trap bacteria, which is then transferred to the cat's chin. It has also been suggested that an allergic reaction to the plastic food bowl is a cause.

    

      Poor grooming habits

          Over active sebaceous glands

          Food allergies

What are the symptoms of feline acne?

    The chin & possibly lips have black spots (comedones) on it, which look like dirt.

      Secondary infection may lead to  swollen, red, pustules, leading to bleeding due to irritation.

As there are other conditions with similar symptoms to feline acne, it is important to take your cat to the veterinarian for a proper diagnosis & appropriate treatment.

How is feline acne treated?

Treatment of feline acne depends on the severity of the condition. Removing excess sebum is the aim. Some treatments include:  

      If the condition is mild, with only a few comedones, topical treatment may be all that is required. Gentle cleansing with an antibiotic soap, hydrogen peroxide, iodine (Betadine) or Epsom salts.

      Topical Vitamin A

      Topical retinoids

      In more severe cases, cleansing the skin with an ointment or gel containing benzoyl peroxide (such as OxyDex) or chlorhexidine may be of use.

      Topical glucocorticoids to reduce inflammation.

Severe acne:

The fur around the chin may be clipped by your veterinarian to enable deep cleaning of the affected area.

      Oral antibiotics to treat infection.

      Oral glucocorticoids such as prednisone for severe inflammation.  

Always consult your veterinarian if you suspect feline acne & never treat your cat at home with an anti-acne treatment designed for humans.