My 1 year old male cat has a nasty case of blackheads. He's had them off and on for months -- usually if I kept up with washing his chin several times a week with a mild cleanser and swiped them with a Stridex pad once or twice a week, they'd be under control. But recently they have gotten worse, and spread up into his cheeks, right by his whiskers. I'm not talking about a sprinkling of black spots, I'm talking his chin and those spots by his cheeks are black.
I took him to the vet last week, because along with the chin/cheek acne getting worse, he started to have a watery funky eye. She prescribed Terramycin for the eye, and an anti-fungal/anti-bacterial wipe for the blackheads; both to be given 3X/day. I have only managed to give it 2x/day effectively because it takes two of us to administer both meds, and my husband works very long hours. In the middle of the day I do try to at least give a quick swipe of his chin/cheek area with a pad before he struggles away.
The blackheads almost seem to be getting WORSE with these wipes. When we wipe we get a number of small black dots coming away, but also some larger flakes that I wonder if they are blackheads or small bits of dried blood. His chin doesn't look red/oozing but it's also so covered by black that it's hard to get a good look. I know that cat acne can turn into whiteheads and can in turn burst and ooze and turn into open infected sores, and I don't see that yet, but of course we don't want it to get to that point. The vet did shave a bit of his chin and his cheeks to better apply the wipes, and one of his cheeks is pretty red/inflammed. Hard to tell again, though, whether it's moving to the pustule phase or if it's inflammed/irritated bc they shaved it and he's a heavy cheek rubber anyhow.
I was wondering if this forum had any advice/expertise beyond what I've tried so far. I will of course call the vet again today (it's been 6 days, so I feel like we've given the meds enough time to work)but would love to hear any advice/ideas beyond what I've already done.
Vet mentioned possibly trying oral antibiotic if pads don't work, maybe it is result of an allergy, etc. Nothing new with food changes, etc. Has always eaten out of stainless steel bowls that are washed after every meal.
I took him to the vet last week, because along with the chin/cheek acne getting worse, he started to have a watery funky eye. She prescribed Terramycin for the eye, and an anti-fungal/anti-bacterial wipe for the blackheads; both to be given 3X/day. I have only managed to give it 2x/day effectively because it takes two of us to administer both meds, and my husband works very long hours. In the middle of the day I do try to at least give a quick swipe of his chin/cheek area with a pad before he struggles away.
The blackheads almost seem to be getting WORSE with these wipes. When we wipe we get a number of small black dots coming away, but also some larger flakes that I wonder if they are blackheads or small bits of dried blood. His chin doesn't look red/oozing but it's also so covered by black that it's hard to get a good look. I know that cat acne can turn into whiteheads and can in turn burst and ooze and turn into open infected sores, and I don't see that yet, but of course we don't want it to get to that point. The vet did shave a bit of his chin and his cheeks to better apply the wipes, and one of his cheeks is pretty red/inflammed. Hard to tell again, though, whether it's moving to the pustule phase or if it's inflammed/irritated bc they shaved it and he's a heavy cheek rubber anyhow.
I was wondering if this forum had any advice/expertise beyond what I've tried so far. I will of course call the vet again today (it's been 6 days, so I feel like we've given the meds enough time to work)but would love to hear any advice/ideas beyond what I've already done.
Vet mentioned possibly trying oral antibiotic if pads don't work, maybe it is result of an allergy, etc. Nothing new with food changes, etc. Has always eaten out of stainless steel bowls that are washed after every meal.
