Feline acne question

[gabicards]

Hello,

Opening a new thread for this now that it seems more obvious that the issue is indeed feline acne. My cat's skin was infected back in January, and it seems that we've solved that particular issue - the skin is now a healthy color, no red spots, and no longer looks inflamed. However now we're getting the dark spots associated with acne... so I've continued to clean the area.

Some of these black dots come off when I use a silicon toothbrush for cats and clean it gently, but the majority of it clings to his skin and won't come off with chlorexidine shampoo or the toothbrush. Should I leave it alone, or is it bad?

I started transitioning him to another food recipe this week (different protein and different oil), he already uses ceramic bowls and his automatic feeder (for when I can't be home to feed him) has been upgraded to stainless steel. This is still lingering from when I traveled and left him with a friend, so I think it's an emotonal/immunity response as well as environmental.

He's had these persistent black dots on his chin for a while as well, they also don't come off with cleaning, and his vet doesn't think they're anything, so we've left them alone. I also don't know if maybe, at least above his mouth, these are scabs from when the area was more hurt/inflamed/infected, which is why they're not coming off when I use shampoo. Thoughts?

(His vet has seen pictures, it does't look concerning to her and she's said she thinks his condition improved really well.)

I've included a pic. I had just cleaned him with shampoo, so you'll see that the black spots are still there - more visible, too, since the fur is wet.

 

[Kieka]

It could be something like blackheads, in which case you just need to wait for them to clean themselves out and keep an eye out to make sure they don't get red. It could also be just something like freckles on his skin. His lips are black so I wouldn't be surprised if he has some black freckle like coloring to his skin. Or it could be light scarring from the acne that just is colored differently then you might see in a human.

Either way, I'd leave it alone. It sounds like you treated the main problem of the feline acne so at this point his skin just needs time to fully recover. It can take a few months for skin to fully recover from any sort of trauma (and acne is a form of trauma).

 

[gabicards]

It could be something like blackheads, in which case you just need to wait for them to clean themselves out and keep an eye out to make sure they don't get red. It could also be just something like freckles on his skin. His lips are black so I wouldn't be surprised if he has some black freckle like coloring to his skin. Or it could be light scarring from the acne that just is colored differently then you might see in a human.

Either way, I'd leave it alone. It sounds like you treated the main problem of the feline acne so at this point his skin just needs time to fully recover. It can take a few months for skin to fully recover from any sort of trauma (and acne is a form of trauma).

Thanks for the reply! I don't think his skin's color is actually like that in that area, to be honest. You notice his chin is a bit dark too right below his mouth... it wasn't like that months ago, but it's been like that for a while too (and I also can't "clean" it).

I've gathered some pics from the past month that might help give people context.

Picture 1: What the area looked like before I washed it with chlorexidine 4% pet shampoo, and before the Convenia shot. Notice it had dark spots and it was significantly red/inflamed.
Picture 2: A few days after the shot, and immediately after I cleaned the area. There was no gunk on there anymore, but the skin still looked a bit inflamed... I also notice there are some spots that are a bit "shiny" - I wonder if those were scabs that were forming.
Picture 3: Now, after I cleaned the area with shampoo again. The skin is a light pink and looks much better than before, but has these spots. None of it comes off, which made me question the initial assumption that they're blackheads (I thought those came off when you cleaned it, though I can be wrong... they also don't seem like dots). Initially, each time I cleaned the area it the pad would come off with a brown-ish tinge to it and lots of tiny brown dots, but now it comes off clean... though the skin stays that way.

I suppose I could just make sure the area is clean by using either a more diluted chlorexidine solution once a day, or warm water? He eats soup and his food does have oil, so I'm a bit iffy about not cleaning it at all when the skin is not 100% yet... I don't know. I'm confused.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I see no issue with you continuing to clean the area with the chlorexidine, as long as he tolerates it well, but I don't think anything else is needed unless otherwise noted by your Vet.

 

[Kieka]

Gentle cleaning should be fine. As someone with skin issues myself, sometimes you can do too much. I'd be gentle and patient with the skin for a little and rejudge it in a week or two.

 

[gabicards]

Thank you Kieka and mrsgreenjeens ! I'll keep cleaning it gently for the time being.

His vet told me that was fine, she just didn't address the dark spots, so I was confused. I'm trying to avoid taking him in again for this so soon if I can avoid it - we already have an apt at the end of the month for a heart exam, just regular check-up, but it's not with his vet, it's with a specialist. Also, to be honest, my trust on her was a bit shaken because I felt she jumped the gun on the Convenia shot. She didn't try and treat that topically at all before, I wasn't even supposed to clean it. But then, even if she felt he needed antibiotics, we could have given him regular pills as opposed to a shot that will stay in his system for months... I don't take antibiotics usage lightly, specially not for a pet that has presumptive IBD.

I'll keep an eye on it and, naturally, if anything alarming happens would take him in anyway. I feel like he's on track, though, as his skin does look much better, it's just the coloring that's confusing. It's just nice to have other people's takes on this since I'm not very experienced with cats, and this is the first time I'm treating a skin condition. I didn't know it could take months for it to fully heal!

 

[gabicards]

Heeello

Update with with a recent pic, a week later. It looks about the same... it's interesting because the skin does look healthy now, I think the fur is starting to grow back, too (the patch is less visible from further away now, whereas before it was very obvious due to the fur missing), but the darker spots remain.

I think they are either scars (postinflammatory hyperpigmentation, similar to how we get acne scars, I guess?) or freckles. I don't think he had these freckles 6 months ago, but can't be sure. But, as they don't look like unhealthy skin, and he's had something like that on his chin as well for months (which might have also developed after acne, but I also can't say for certain it wasn't there before, as the area had more fur) that's never turned into something ugly/scary, I'll leave it be for now. Postinflammatory hyperpigmentation takes years to go away in humans (I'd know... ), so I suppose it could take some time for cats as well, if that's what it is.

(I swear I wasn't choking him!! It's an unfortunate angle)

 

[fionasmom]

I think he looks very good, even at that angle.

 

[gabicards]

Update! The left (right on the pictures) side of Topaz’s mouth looks pretty much healed now. The fur is growing back nicely.

… but this morning I noticed the right side is now irritated. Unbelievable. I had slowed down significantly on the chlorexidine wash, as I saw no reason to annoy him with it when the skin was looking well. I will resume it today to focus on the other side.

It’s weird, though. His food has changed since this started, and he hasn’t had any stressful situations to trigger it (which is what happened before). Since the other side has healed, I would also guess it’s not contact allergies. So I suppose still acne? Just our luck that it goes away on one side and starts causing issues on the other.

It doesn’t look too bad for now, though, just irritated. I’ll be proactive at home because I don’t want him to go on antibiotics again, his gut has suffered enough.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I know you said you are using ceramic bowls, but have you checked them to make sure there are no tiny cracks in them that might be harboring germs? And are you washing them well after each meal? Including the water dish(s)?

 

[gabicards]

I know you said you are using ceramic bowls, but have you checked them to make sure there are no tiny cracks in them that might be harboring germs? And are you washing them well after each meal? Including the water dish(s)?

The ceramic bowls have no visible cracks… but I understand what you’re getting yet - perhaps it’s time for new bowls? I’ve had these for a few years now.

I definitely wash his dish bowl well after each meal. Not the water one because he doesn’t touch it - it’s there just in case of an emergency… if I ever see him drinking from it, it’s straight to the vet he doesn’t drink water ever since I started serving him soup for every meal. I don’t even have a fountain anymore, just the bowl that I change everyday.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I know what you about drinking water. Mine never used to drink either until I started feeding them a little bit of kibble during the night because they don't eat enough wet food any more. But one time one of them DID start drinking while still on entirely wet food so I took him in for a check-up and, sure enough, he had a UTI!

 

[gabicards]

I know what you about drinking water. Mine never used to drink either until I started feeding them a little bit of kibble during the night because they don't eat enough wet food any more. But one time one of them DID start drinking while still on entirely wet food so I took him in for a check-up and, sure enough, he had a UTI!

That’s exactly why I have the water bowl! I know there are a few illnesses that would increase his thirst, so I need to have a way to gauge that even if I know he doesn’t drink a single drop.

He used to be good about drinking from his fountain back when he still ate a bit of dry food, too… but that’s over a year ago now.