Dark black scabs on kitten's chin!

[Sami]

Hi, ladies, I am sorta new to this board but was hoping one of you could help me with a cat-related problem. My 8-month-old kitten has weird black scabs on her chin. It almost has the appearance of teeny pieces of charcoal that are stuck to her skin, basically dark scabs on her chin. I picked a few off, and then I pulled a really big piece and it bled slightly. Before I call the vet, do you have any ideas? She is a housecat, so not sure what she would have gotten into at home.

Help!!

And many thanks, too. :)

[greenbunny]

My Summer had this, it's like acne. It comes from her food or water dishes not being clean enough. You should always use stainless steel or ceramic bowls, not plastic. Plastic will scratch and harbor bacteria easier.

We keep two sets of bowls on hand and run them through the dishwasher at least every other day, and wash by hand after each meal.

[Sami]

This isn't my cat, but I just did a search for kitty acne and this photo popped up and YES, this is what my cat looks like.

http://www.fabcats.org/images/clip_image001_006.jpg

Is there Kitty Clearacil I can use? Should she get something from the vet? Poor baby! Does this mean she is somehow sick with something else?

[greenbunny]

You can get a creme from the vet, but my vet told me she would probably just lick it off. It will go away on its own if you are diligent about cleaning her bowls.

As the scabs get older, they will start to come off with the plug of hair from that section of skin. Don't be alarmed if you see little tufts of hair sticking out, it's the scab working its way off. Once the scab was off, I was able to grab the loose hair and it comes right off without breaking the skin or causing bleeding. Expect it to take a few months to clear up totally.

Here is Summer with the acne when we first got her:

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/agreenbunny/chinacne.jpg

Now she's fine...here's a recent pic:

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/agreenbunny/P1010069.jpg

[Sami]

Oh, poor Summer! What a cute fluffball, too. ;)

[jesvet]

I'd have your vet check him out to confirm it but it does sound like feline acne. Plastic bowls can be one of the causes but often we do not know why it appears.

I usually start with a follicle cleansing shampoo a couple times a week and/or topical treatment; sometimes systemic antibiotics are needed if the skin is very infected. These are treatments your vet might prescribe depending on what he or she thinks is appropriate.

[ShelbyMay]

My mom's cat had this and she found that every treatment she tried seemed to make it worse. She decided to leave it alone and it eventually went away on its own. (She did switch to stainless bowls, though.)

[Soulmate]

My cat had this too and it was not from her bowls since they are glass and cleaned regularly. It never went away on its own and would actually get worse (scabs would get very built up and increase in number). The only thing that worked very well was dabbing hydrogen peroxide on the site with a q-tip.

I believe strongly my kitty's was related somehow to something else. She was diagnosed with arthritis all along her spine and hips (common in dogs, rare in cats supposedly, she's 13). As soon as she went on prednisone for that her acne cleared up and hasn't returned. I don't know if it was related to other inflammations going on in her body or what.

Since yours is a kitten, I seriously doubt it is related to anything serious like with my kitty. Using the peroxide should work like a charm!

[justHB]

My boy cat gets this periodically. He doesn't seem to mind and it's not really hurting him. I just figured it was food stuck to him since he's a dirty fat boy.

[jnettie]

Sissy gets this occasionally. I have kitty anti-bacterial cream that I put on her chin when it gets bad. Sissy is prone to little infections like this. But, all in all, it doesn't seem to bother her too much, maybe she's a little itchy. I just don't like to give it a chance to get worse.

[maplekitty]

My old cat used to get it all the time (and even white puss-like acne, that shamefully, yes I would squeeze at :o ). I had no idea it was from plastic bowls and I even asked my vet about it and he said it was nothing to worry about - but never said it was caused by anything or that there was any cream to put on it.

My new cat has new stainless steel bowls and does not have the black stuff on his chin.