Check your furry friend’s chin area…cat acne appears on the chin or muzzle as a skin rash, itchy or painful red bumps, pimples, blackheads, scabs or a swollen chin. The exact cause of cat acne is unknown but does not appear to be hormonal or confined to their adolescent years! It likely involves overproduction of oils, irritation or trauma to the skin and bacterial skin infections. Easy at-home treatments include Epsom salt soaks followed by application of human acne cleaning pads (benzoyl peroxide).

Fatty acid supplements for cats help improve healthy oil secretion to clear up cat acne. Prevent cats from rubbing their chin against you, the furniture or the floor to avoid unnecessary trauma to the area. Make sure your cat is eating out of metal or ceramic bowls. Even with the best cleaning, plastic bowls harbor bacteria in their nooks and crannies which can rub against the chin during mealtime. If your cat’s acne does not improve, see your veterinarian for a full exam.

Reference:
Muller and Kirk’s Small Animal Dermatology, 5th Edition, Danny Scott, William Miller Jr., Craig Griffin, W.B. Saunders Company, 1995.

Do you need vet advice? Post a comment with your veterinary questions and we will send them to Dr. Donna Spector to be answered in a future column.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 21st, 2008 at 7:57 am and is filed under Ask a Vet, Dr Donna Spector, Pet Health, Pet Supplements. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.