Cat acne help!

c.m.n.

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Anyone out there with experience in cat acne?

My big 7 yr. old cat was diagnosed (from vet) with cat acne about 3 weeks ago. They gave him a shot of antibiotics, told me to change his bowls to metal (which we already have), and sent him home. He has big pustules that kept bleeding, so I asked the vet if they can sell me some Chlorahexidine wipes as well.

Since eating was difficult for him, I bought him new food and fed him away from our 1 yr. old cat until his chin got better. And it did... until as of late. We ran out of the new food, and I decided to go back to the way I was feeding - normal hard food + sharing bowls.

Now his chin is all bloody and pus again, and I wonder if it's either the old food or the food sharing that is causing the acne. Before we got the kitten, he never had this happen.

What do you guys think? I'm tempted to feed him away from the kitten and see what happens. She's not a dirty cat, but maybe the stress of sharing food is causing his acne? :Shrug:
 

MaeZe

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I suggest going back to what worked and consider more or different antibiotics given the exacerbation is purulent.

Feline acne

Feline chin acne

Pet MD's information fit with what you are describing.
Treatment
To begin, treatment of the condition will begin with a good cleaning of the infected area with an antiseptic cleanser and will involve the use of antibiotics and topical shampoos. This should help to clear the acne. If the outbreaks reduce as a result of the treatment, discontinue it by tapering the medication over a two-to three-week period. If the acne is continual throughout the treatment or reoccurs frequently, an appropriate maintenance schedule will be designed by your veterinarian; life-long treatment twice a week, however, may be necessary. If there is a bacterial infection on the skin, a round of oral antibiotics will be in order.
Living and Management
After the medication is discontinued, monitor your cat for relapses. Maintenance cleansing programs can also be used between relapses to extend the time between episodes.

Also, you can buy Hibiclens (chlorhexidine) over the counter, but be sure the vet agrees you should use it. I have used it for my dog when one got a skin infection from the groomer.
 
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cornflake

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Seconding going back to the way things were when it was better...

Also, if you mean you normally feed your cats dry food, none of them should eat that as their main food, unless it's the really good stuff and they're good drinkers (and/or have a fountain or something). Cats should have (good) wet food primarily. Cats don't take in enough water, and need the higher water content in wet food to help their kidneys function and avoid issues. In addition, dry food has more carbs than wet (unless you're using really high-quality kibble like Wysong or Orijen or etc. - Wysong kibble and a cat that drinks water vs. like Fancy Feast wet, the kibble is definitely better), which cats don't need and can cause a host of issues.

Kibbles should only supplement a wet diet, or be used as treats, if given at all, though see above quality concerns. As detailed here, in case you don't believe a random poster on the Internets.
 
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Old Hack

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I have two lovely old girls who both have feline acne on their chin. One is Mabel, who is in my avatar, and is a tabby-tortie Siamese, and the other is Tink, who is a chocolate Balinese (a long-haired Siamese).

The one thing we've found very important is to use only stainless steel bowls, and to give them a limited time to eat (half an hour is plenty) before taking the bowls up and stopping them accessing them.

We feed them three or four times a day, mostly wet food, but also a bit of dry food because they like it so much.

We have a feeding station for them which is a very big plastic storage box with one large side cut away. This means that not only can we clean their bowls, we can clean where their bowls are.

They have a few water bowls around the house which I wash daily and refill with clean water whenever I pass them. So, three or four times a day at least.

And as they both sleep in or on our bed I have noted which washing powders I've been using when they've had flare-ups and I've stopped using them. This has been really helpful.

When I wash the cat bowls I rinse them very thoroughly after and leave them to dry completely, as remnants of washing-up liquid on them can irritate.

These steps do keep their chins mostly clear apart from the black specks they get. And it's then important to remove the black specks, as it's when they accumulate that the skin breaks down and you get those nasty pustules.

I keep a soft plastic nit-comb by the side of my bed, so that when Mabel and Tink jump up to see me I can gently comb their chins, which removes a lot of the nasty black bits that they get on their chins as a result of the acne. It's a really good way of removing it, and far less stressful to them than washing their chins, which is what the vet recommended.

If they get too black and scuzzy under their chins I comb as much off as I can then will sometimes wash their chins with plain soap and hot water on a flannel, then rinsing with hot water on a flannel. They hate this, and it does make their skin dry and sometimes sore. So I have been known to rub Vaseline into their chins, which makes the nasty black stuff dissolve. I can then tissue it off, to some degree.

Mostly, though, if you're obsessive about using stainless steel bowls, keeping their bowls clean, and removing the nasty black specks one way or another, you can keep on top of it. At least, that's what I find.
 

c.m.n.

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Thanks, everyone.

Since writing this, his chin has gotten better slowly. I'm staying on top of wiping his chin with the Chlorahexidine at least once a day, usually in the evening. We do have stainless steel bowls. The problem is we were never washing them out as much as we needed to, so building the habit to do so will take some time.

We do feed mostly dry food and have wet food as a once or twice a week treat. However, both of my kitties are really good drinkers. I've decided to not leave a bowl of dry out for my Rascal (the one with acne), and instead I'll only feed when he comes up for food. He seems to like eating away from the youngster, now. This might also help him lose some weight.

The thing about cat acne is that I've heard about it but never had a cat with it. Neither has my friend, and she's a major cat lady. My mom, on the other hand, has a cat who frequently gets it. He's an orange tabby, too. I read it's more common in lighter colored cats, is this true?
 

yoghurtelf

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I have a foster cat who has a white chin, and he frequently gets acne. His ginger brother does sometimes too (also a white chin on that one). and my tortie female cat gets it too, so perhaps it is a white or lighter cat thing more often!

Then again, my other boofhead foster kitty is black and white, and half his chin is black - he doesn't acne on either side. ;)

Definitely get rid of any plastic bowls etc.
 

Roxxsmom

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I had a cat many years ago who got cat acne on his chin when he was an adolescent. The vet suggested using a little bit of mild, glycerine soap (like unscented neutrogena) and a "buff puff," which were these little disposable abrasive sponge thingies sold in cosmetics departments. It seemed to help, and he eventually outgrew it.

Chlorhexidine is a common thing vets prescribe for skin issues with animals, and it has a drying effect. This can be useful, especially if it's an oily kind of acne.
 
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