My cat has acne.

Gah, this silly cat. It's one thing after another with him.

So here's the thing. A couple months back, my cat started getting a little acne on his chin. I took him to the vet, and she gave him antibiotics. Well, not only did the anitbiotics do next to nothing, they also aggravated his IBD, which he almost died of when he was a kitten. Sooo I decided not to give him any more medication, since a little acne is better than a life-threatening bowel disease.

Since then I've been trying to wash out his face with witch hazel and sometimes just water with a little soap. I even comb it with a flea comb to get some excess dirt out. He's a good sport and doesn't mind when I scrub his face with a washcloth (he thinks he's being petted). But the problem keeps - escalating. Grah.

unicornjam said:

I have nothing useful to add, but I've NEVER heard of a cat (or any non-human) getting acne. You learn something new everyday.

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It doesn't look like human acne. It looks like black dirt in his fur. But if it escalates he can get big itchy sores.

firedrake said:

Wow! I'd never heard of acne in cats before! Is this the siamese cross?

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Yep. The siamese. He's got such a beautiful white and silver face, too; I hate to see it all acne-d.

My mom jokes that he must've hit puberty.

firedrake said:

It's odd, that. I wonder if it's the breeding. But, puberty..heehee.
Our Siamese cross has had UT issues since he was 3 months old. Lots of crystals in his urine so he's on the Senior Diet, which costs a frigging fortune.

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Yeah, my guy is on some Hill's stuff that can only be purchased through a vet. Costs about $45 a bag.

Ol' Fashioned Girl said:

Plastic bowl? Bacteria lives in the tiny scratches and causes kitty acne... yes, kitties get acne. Switch to glass or steel bowls.

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Per the vet's advice, he has always been on a ceramic bowl. Not that it matters. He likes to throw his food on the floor before eating it.

firedrake said:

Yup, that's the stuff.
The sodding dogs keep nicking it.

I don't care about the expense, I just adore that cat. He's a loveable little fruitcake.

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Yeah I pretty much treat my cats like they're my children. I dropped about $3K without batting an eyelash when one of them was sick last year (I didn't even have a job at the time, but oh well).

It's worth it though. He sleeps on my bed every night and runs to greet me when I come home.

Wayne K said:

Stop with the soap. When I started getting acne a doctor told me it was from all the soap and crap that we put on our faces--it clogs our pores. I only put water on my face to this day and I never get acne, I believe it was the soap.

You ever notice that the person who put all the medicine and ointments on his or her face had the worst acne? It's because you don't clear out pores by covering it with glycerine and oil, that's the crap that clogged it in the first place.

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Cats are different than people. I actually called the vet this afternoon and she told me to go buy him some stridex pads.

overtired said:

Have you tried researching it online? I've found all sorts of weird and interesting stuff about pets on About.com

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Yeah. Some pet forums recommended some products, but I can't seem to find them at Petco. Witch Hazel is also popular. That one works but only for a day or so. So I'm trying the strident thing.

Wayne K said:

http://www.zimbio.com/Cat+Health/articles/10/Feline+chin+acne

Here's a site.

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Yep, that's it. His is not quite as bad as the one in the picture. In fact, if he wasn't such a lap cat I might never have noticed it. He has good grooming habits, but he DOES stick his face in his food when he eats, and then walks around with crumbs on his chin.

C.bronco said:

Tomo, that is so weird! I never heard of that before.
Sadly, my Mom's cat, Special Fred, just passed away. He had a seizure disorder and a score of other problems, but lived until he was 16, and was still going up and down stairs and jumping up on beds until the last day.
I think cats are more like people than we imagine.
RIP Special Fred, and good luck to your hormonal kitteh!

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Aw, I'm sorry to hear about Fred.

My guy is not quite 2. Geez, it feels like he was a kitten just last week. He still acts like one. He lounges at the top of the stairs, and when someone climbs the staircase he flops belly-up and waves his paws around like "attention over here!"