Fur under mouth looks slightly off

[gabicards]

Hi all,

I've been noticing in the past couple of weeks that the fur right below my cat's mouth looks a little unkept in comparison to what it looked like before. As if there's less fur, with the skin being more visible? He was seen by a vet a week ago and there was nothing out of the ordinary - the vet did see his mouth, too.

Over the last few weeks, I've fully transitioned him to a home cooked diet prescribed by his vet. I notice that the hair on his neck sometimes is oily, and I figure he's getting it dirty while eating, because his food's recipe includes oil. I'm wondering if what I'm noticing under his mouth could be early stages, or perhaps a mild form, of feline acne?

It's hard to see it in person and most pictures don't show it. My flatmate and my parents think I'm crazy, because they look at Topaz and the skin/fur under his mouth looks perfectly normal to them, but I just have this itch that I might be looking at something that wasn't there before. Thoughts?

Edit: Just want to point out that my cat has always used ceramic bowls to eat, and that I wash it after every meal.

 

[silent meowlook]

Your cat is adorable! You could send a pic to your vet. There is a good woe available for cats called DUOXO pads ( I think) it’s been a while. I wouldn’t use anything else on it.
Is his home cooked meal nutritionally balanced?

 

[gabicards]

Your cat is adorable! You could send a pic to your vet. There is a good woe available for cats called DUOXO pads ( I think) it’s been a while. I wouldn’t use anything else on it.
Is his home cooked meal nutritionally balanced?

I've debated whether or not to do that because the vet has seen him already and said there's nothing there... I'd hate to come across as annoying (though I very much am, admittedly). Thanks for the tip about the pads! I was wondering if I should try cleaning him a bit after meals with a saline solution...

As for his food, it's supposed to be balanced. His vet used a service created by a French veterinarian that is specialized in natural nutrition, and (allegedly) takes into account the fact that he has presumptive IBD and is prone to constipation. I will probably go back in a couple of months to get a 2nd recipe that I can alternate with, using a different novel protein. But yes, it involves a "completer" with taurine and the other necessities. Everything is carefully measured everyday. I freeze the meat/veggie combination and only mix in the oil + completer on the day I will feed him the mix, and I never heat it up.

 

[fionasmom]

Topaz still has the cutest little face! I use only glass or stainless steel bowls as there is some discussion as to whether ceramic, or certain ceramics, can irritate a pet's chin. It is a long shot and I am not saying that will solve the problem. If he has been using ceramic bowls his entire life, this might not be the issue.

Three of my cats have had mild chin acne, including my avatar, and it did respond quickly to treatment. To me, it looks like Topaz might have the beginnings of chin acne.

 

[ellen m]

It does look like when one of my cats had acne. Many of mine have had it, in various degrees, and this looks mild. I agree with the suggestion above about using glass and stainless steel bowls. I switched to them also and have not had any problem with acne since. However, I did get the ointment from my vet (forgot what it's called) and had to use it for about a week.

 

[artiemom]

From my experience I have also seen feline acne come out due to stress. My guy has it, occasionally.
His chin area is pretty much the same as Topaz. I did buy some chorohexadine pads from Chewy. I found the smell a bit off putting, and Geoffrey did not care for it. I left it alone, and it pretty much disappeared. I tried the pads, twice a day for a several days.

I use Corelle tiny dishes for wet food, a stainless bowl for dry, and a stainless for water. I wash in hot water.

If I remember correctly, Artie had acne also.. but he also had so many other issues

 

[gabicards]

I ended up emailing pics to his vet clinic and the vet that answered me said that he doesn't think this is acne, but he "can see some mild inflammation under his mouth" and that "there is no treatment for now", but I need to observe whether it gets worse.

Good lord, I am so tired of noticing things and having to wait until they become a problem in order to help. If this does get worse I'm going to be really mad...

 

[Kris107]

While you wait, I agree with others... Try wiping his chin with warm water after he eats. Use colloidal silver if you want to disinfect. Try different bowls and get a few so they can go through the dishwasher even. My cat was getting a touch of it (acne) and that's what I did - he's been clear ever since. His food is a bit greasy too.

 

[gabicards]

While you wait, I agree with others... Try wiping his chin with warm water after he eats. Use colloidal silver if you want to disinfect. Try different bowls and get a few so they can go through the dishwasher even. My cat was getting a touch of it (acne) and that's what I did - he's been clear ever since. His food is a bit greasy too.

Will look into colloidal silver and definitely clean with warm water after he eats. Thanks for the recommendations! I can't just... wait for it to get worse, it sounds asinine.

In addition to his food having oil, it's soupy because he's constipated and actually accepts the extra water. I imagine he's constantly getting his chin wet with greasy liquid. I'd genuinely put money on this being acne, but what do I know (literally - I've never dealt with acne on a cat).

 

[gabicards]

Hi again!

I think I see blackheads now. Does anyone else? (Zoom in if needed). I ordered two products to try on his chin:
Spray Vetericyn (active: hypochlorous acid (0.0120%); inactive: electrolyzed water, sodium chloride, phosphate, sodium hypochlorite)
Antisept (Water, sodium acetate, chlorhexidine diacetate, acetic acid)

Will try them separately, but was told by someone on Facebook that chlorhexidine doesn't always work, and the product by Vetericyn seems to work on very difficult cases. None of them have arrived, but Antisept should be here early next week.

In the meantime, I've changed his bowl to a stainless steel one (which belonged to my late cat, and Topaz had never used it), but will want to find a glass bowl eventually. A plate wasn't good because his chin still got dirty, but with the added bonus of the ruff on his neck (which is long) getting oily as well.

Will try cleaning his chin until the food trial is over and see if that solves the problem, which I guess would confirm that the cause is his skin getting dirty, and not a food allergy. If it doesn't help, changing the food a few weeks for now could do it... we'll see.

 

[fionasmom]

Zooming in, I can see what look like tiny spots of acne. When I had a run of this with a couple of my cats, I used Veterycin and was very happy with it. I sprayed it on a cotton pad and wiped the chin area as the actual spray was a no go with the cats.

 

[gabicards]

I'm not sure about acne anymore... I feel like it doesn't look worse, but the affected area is expanding, so a vet visit is in order for this week. I'm sure they will tell me to change the food and it won't be home cooked, which is fine, because I will order a new recipe from a nutritionist about a week from now.

I mean, I suppose if a possible reaction starts showing before the recommended 6 weeks of the food trial, one can switch it? We still had two weeks to go.

I no longer think it's acne, since it's all around his mouth... so I guess it's due to a food allergy? I've tried googling but haven't seen pictures of cats that look like this when they have dermatitis. Then again, they also don't look like this when they have acne. I'm hoping whatever it is is easy to treat... the little guy is doing great otherwise, and shows no signs of being in pain - as in, he continues to clean his face normally, and he doesn't react when I touch it. He hates it when I try to clean it, though, but I think it has more to do with me trying to keep him from moving.

 

[fionasmom]

If it is truly the food, I think that switching off of it would be fine. I can't speak for everyone's case of chin acne on a cat, but I always saw what looked like blackheads although it could progress to irritated skin. Veterycin worked really quickly for me, if that is any indication.

 

[gabicards]

If it is truly the food, I think that switching off of it would be fine. I can't speak for everyone's case of chin acne on a cat, but I always saw what looked like blackheads although it could progress to irritated skin. Veterycin worked really quickly for me, if that is any indication.

I just talked to a friend whose cat suffers with dermatitis due to food allergies and she recommended that I try a different food before taking him to the vet, or else they might medicate him unnecessarily. She recommended ND Skin & Coat, which only has fish, and it seems reasonable short term.

Vetericyn is so tricky to apply over here. It’s a spray, so I can’t even try to use directly on the area or I’d risk it going straight into his mouth or nose if he moves. But when I use a cotton pad, I feel like Im not getting any actual product on the area… it’s like everything stays on the pad? Or on top of the fur rather than his skin.

 

[neely]

Zooming in, I can see what look like tiny spots of acne.

I agree. When I enlarge the second pic I can see tiny dark spots too but since he has light colored fur it's easier to see the skin.
Can you apply the Vetericyn with a Q-tip instead of a cotton pad? I have done that with a few other ointments.

 

[gabicards]

I agree. When I enlarge the second pic I can see tiny dark spots too but since he has light colored fur it's easier to see the skin.
Can you apply the Vetericyn with a Q-tip instead of a cotton pad? I have done that with a few other ointments.

I tried doing it with a Qtip for the first time today! My mom suggested it. I feel like he licks it right off though

Could the acne be all around the mouth like that? I normally see it just on the chin when I research.

 

[neely]

Could the acne be all around the mouth like that? I normally see it just on the chin when I research.

I've only had one cat with chin acne and that was many years ago before I knew to use stainless steel, glass or ceramic bowls. Once I changed bowls it cleared up and I never used plastic again but rather stainless steel. I'm guessing it could affect any area around the mouth but this is only an assumption since I'm not a vet. Just like humans, every cat is an individual and if he has any type of allergy to what you're using I would think the acne could appear all around his mouth.

 

[gabicards]

Hey guys! Update after a month: I tried chlorexidine and Vetericyn for a couple of weeks and nothing happened - since Topaz hated it, I took pity on him and stopped. I did however get a chlorexidine shampoo that I intend to use twice a week (have already used twice). I wet his mouth a bit with a piece of cotton, then add some of the shampoo to this same piece of cotton and rub around his mouth area. I wash it off after 10 minutes - the first time he licked around it, and in the 2nd one he didn't seem to care much and it just stayed there. I read that chlorexidine ingestion isn't too bad as they don't absorb anything, and nothing happened when he licked it.

I got a new recipe from a nutritionist with new protein and omega 3/6 sources. I'm waiting for the omega supplement to arrive, so that I can try it.

Overall, I'd say his mouth looks pretty much the same. I can't tell if it's gotten any better, but I'm certain it hasn't gotten any worse. Still don't know whether it's acne or not... if everything stays like this, he'll see a vet either late next month or in October for a check up, to make sure all his vaccines and dewormers are up to date. That should give me enough time to try the diet change, and then I can ask the vet what they think. I really don't think it looks bad, but as I know him, I can tell it's not 100%.

We moved to a new apartment this past week (no more living with a flatmate and her dog!), so the vet will be a new one, which always makes me nervous. I'm gonna brace myself for an eye roll about feeding him home cooked meals and a strong recommendation for Hills or Purina kibble lol

 

[fionasmom]

When my cats have had chin acne, and when I was sure that was what it was, the Vetericyn worked very effectively. If he holds his own, you can probably wait for the vet appointment, but now I do wonder what is going on as chin acne (even really messy, bloody cases) usually clear up quickly.

The two of you must be happy to have a place of your own.

Sometimes the easiest way to deal with the difference of opinion on something like nutrition is to agree that you will take their recommendations under consideration, even if you aren't going to.

 

[gabicards]

When my cats have had chin acne, and when I was sure that was what it was, the Vetericyn worked very effectively. If he holds his own, you can probably wait for the vet appointment, but now I do wonder what is going on as chin acne (even really messy, bloody cases) usually clear up quickly.

The two of you must be happy to have a place of your own.

Sometimes the easiest way to deal with the difference of opinion on something like nutrition is to agree that you will take their recommendations under consideration, even if you aren't going to.

I think the main trouble with vetericyn and chlorexidine in these formats is that I am not convinced I am really getting it into his actual skin. I think most of it stays on top of his fur and then he licks it off.

It's probably one of two things: acne or a reaction to something in his food. I am currently under the assumption that it is the later, which is why the plan is to change his diet. Was the vetericyn you used specific for acne?

I don't think it's anything more nefarious than those two because he is, for all thoughts and purposes, a healthy cat. Everything about him is normal, and I suppose if it was a symptom of something serious there would be other things popping up.