Feline acne
67
Symptoms
Feline acne is a dermatological pathology,it affects both male and female at any age and can be ciclycal or permanent during the cats life.
Stress, FILV or FELV, insuficcient grooming, over-active oil glands, changes in hair follicles, sebaceous gland hyperplasia, demodécica mange, dermatofitiases, contact dermatitis and allergic diseases.
The hair follicles begin to be distended with keratin and lipid content. If these follicles rupture and its contents were spread by the dermis, there is an inflammatory reaction. A secondary bacterial infection of the follicles that leads to folliculitis may also evolve to Furunculosis.
Feline acne is a pretty easy resolution health condition and you will be able to solve it at home when diagnosing correctly the problem. It affects mostly the cats chin and most of the times owners bring they're cats to the veterinarian saying they're cat have a dirty chin.
Feline acne is caused by over-active oil glands, and takes the form of pimples, a black crusty substance or a small lump that looks like dirt.
This skin disorder can occur in any age but is more frequent after one year of age since is not often seen in baby kittens..
It usually has mild symptoms but in severe cases, inflammation and irritation of the skin can appear, as well as swelling of the chin , the upper lip, lymph nodes of the head and neck. In chronic cases, hair loss and loss of skin pigmentation may also develop, but only in severe cases when the problem is disregarded. It is more visible in dark hair cats.
What can be the causes of feline acne?
1º poor hygiene habits of the cat
2º overactive oil glands
3º buildup of dirt and oil leads to clogged pores
4º Keratin production may be insufficient
Hormonal issues haven't been yet proved to be related to feline acne.
keep the affected area clean, and several topical treatments can help remove the accumulated waste material from the skin.
Use some cotton in a ball shape soaked in peroxide or vinegar is often suggested for cleaning the chin area, but vinegar should be used with extreme careful because it could be irritating to the cats skin.
Benzoyl peroxide shampoo used twice a week can also keep the acne under control, and is one of the most recommended treatments by veterinarians.
Washing the chin daily with an antibiotic soap can clear the skin of built-up oil and dirt, and using an antibiotic or anti-fungal topical ointment can prevent the pores from becoming clogged.
Daily cleaning your cat’s chin with warm salt water can also help reduce the risk of infection.
The use of vitamin A is not proved to be efficient yet by cientists.
See more cats health hubs in:
CommentsLoading...
Halo has a herbal healing salve and a herbal shampoo you could try. Not too sure how serious your cats issue is but Halo is really natural... not sure if its considered "organic".
You are cruel to your pets. Acne in cats does not exist. What you see is fistulation, a signal of their body that they've had a jaw fracture (which happens from about 1 year old, when they start practising jumps from roof to roof and wall to wall and miss). Complicated jaw fracures heal on the outside but leave a hole in the bone for a long time with fistula's and cysts on the end. This ia the most painful situation you can imagine. The cat is in life's danger. You must take it to the vet or 2nd opinion animal dental surgeon. You can't see this damage on radiological pictures except on DVT's, so these poor cats usually suffer forever and the normal vets think it's acne. No, this is serious. You must try to remember which side & part of your cat's jaw / mouth was ever swollen for some time. That's where the damage was and that's where the jawbone has to be surgically opened, sometimes by drilling right to the back of it and sideways (after some time the abcess in the bone develops to the sides, because it's trying to find a way out) to clean it (curettage it) out. Then it can be filled by bone powder, but only if biologically absorbable membrane is placed over the hole. Synthetic stuff reacts and abcesses because the body rejects it. Good dental surgeons know where to get the biological ones. After this the surgeon must check where the cyst is, usually in the lowest point of the chin and take it out as well, otherwise it will abcess after 4-5 months. The body will want ot get rid of it. Then close the wound. Usually this way it heals fine and your cat will be healthy, less sleepy and happy thereafter. it will groom itself enthusiastically again. Listless or little grooming was due to the immense pain and very high temperature because of the abcess in the jaw. Please take this seriously and don't believe the vet that says it's acne. Your cat is suffering badly and it feels like her/his jaw wants to explode all the time. Plus they go into septic shock about every 1,5 months if nothing is done, because the cyst bursts and it's (puss) contents are emptied into their blood-stream and blood-poisoning can last for weeks. It feels like very bad flu times 5!! It happened to me after jaw fracture and nobody wanted to help me and doctors didn't want to drill into my jawbone because it had healed perfectly on the outside after half a year. No X-Ray, CT-scan, MRI photo or DVT can show the inside of the jawbone, so no doctor believes you. You must find one that believes you and is courageous enough / prepared to do the surgery as described here. It's life-saving. If after all that your cat still has a lump of fluid or swelling under the chin for more than 3 weeks, then the big saliva duct that runs along the lower jaw on the outside has been cut or damaged. That's one of the risks if they don't watch out during the operation. It can be operated too - lifted and rerouted to be attached to the inside of the mouth again and not spill into the flesh / wound in the chin. There are smaller labial (lip) saliva glands also, that run horizontally under the lower lip. These sometimes get caught and cut through during sewing up. They also create fluid build-up in the chin flesh, a so-called mucocele, if they're damaged. In this case they must be taken out sugically with their surrounding tiny round saliva cell lining. It's usually just one.They look like a little worm of about 2-3 cm long, with a sponge on the end, which is the gland.
What?
Jumps and fractures? Drinking much? Buy a medicine book and check if it is real or not before accusing people of cruelty!!!
You are wayy out there, Mr. 'who knows'. One thing doesnt rule out the other. Having an infection from a fracture, doesnt mean acne doesn't excist just aswell.
For starters, my cat is an inside cat and im fulltime at home, he is just 1 yr old and I can say with certainty he doesn't have any fracture..... But he does have acne.
That you have been misdiagnosed doesnt give you the right to give people incorrect health information.
Wow, totally off base there Someone who (thinks he) knows. I have four cats -- one male aged six, female aged six, and two female kittens from the same litter aged 9 months -- who are all 100% indoor cats so definitely no fractures due to jumping from roof to roof or wall to wall... yet two suffer with feline acne, my six year old male has suffered with very mild every now and then for years and also one of the female kittens has just now started getting moderate acne on her chin and along her jaw line.
You individual situation doesn't mean that you are qualified to diagnose or discount valid medical conditions in animals,
Hey there, surely if the jaw was fractured, we would notice that they werent eating for a couple of days!!! I am quite sure that all of us cat lovers, who are "cruel" enough to look the problem up on the internet, would surely have noticed such an extreme injury, which would surely have disrupted regular eating habbits!
Lisa G 2 years ago
My cat more then likely has feline acne and I am wondering if there is a way I can treat it organically? I am not interested in stuffing my cat full of medication, do you have any good suggestions?