I tried to get cats 'dirt' like chin acne off but can't

[mxphs]

Hi team
Resident over zealous cat parent here.
I noticed humphrey has those dirt looking chin acne particles. I tried to get them off with a tooth brush in some warm water, but they really cling on! Any ideas on how to get rid of them? or do they sort of just come out on their own? He doesn't have any actual pimples but he does have that dirt looking chin acne. Just FYI his bowls are all stainless steel.

Might incorporate cleaning his chin on the regular from now on. But any ideas or insight for me? You guys are amazing, thank you so much for always helping out with your knowledge and experience!

 

[Caspers Human]

Just leave it alone. They'll go away on their own
The skin under a cat's chin is pretty sensitive. You can easily cause injury to the skin.

For just the same reason we yell at our kids to stop picking zits.

The cure is just the same as we yell at the kids... "Wash your face!"... "Stop eating junk!"

Our cat, Casper, occasionally gets feline acne on his chin. Like you, we changed to all metal food bowls. We occasionally get a wet cloth or paper towel and clean his chin for him when he needs it. We haven't had much trouble with it in a long time.

And, Casper is an all-white cat so, when he gets acne on his chin, those little black spots stand out like a sore pimple!

 

[Dakera]

My cats get these when they are stressed (moving, travelling).
check for environmental stress factors, and keep his eating bowl clean, but don’t try to remove them, it’s not dirt.

 

[FeebysOwner]

You might try the regular cleaning as you have suggested. You can use chamomile tea -
Buy chamomile tea bags - you can find them in most any grocery store and generally speaking those are Germain - you don't want English or any flavorings or additives. Brew a bag in water, cool the liquid to room temp, moisten a clean, soft cloth with it, and then gently rub his chin.

Chamomile tea, which is a soothing and healing agent, also has anti-bacterial/anti-fungal properties. It is safe for your cat to ingest should he do so.

Wash his bowls daily - even if they are stainless steel. Some cats are just more prone to chin acne.

 

[maggie101]

Hi team
Resident over zealous cat parent here.
I noticed humphrey has those dirt looking chin acne particles. I tried to get them off with a tooth brush in some warm water, but they really cling on! Any ideas on how to get rid of them? or do they sort of just come out on their own? He doesn't have any actual pimples but he does have that dirt looking chin acne. Just FYI his bowls are all stainless steel.

Might incorporate cleaning his chin on the regular from now on. But any ideas or insight for me? You guys are amazing, thank you so much for always helping out with your knowledge and experience!

My vet gave me wipes for cats when she had chin acne. The brand is Malacetic hc. Petco probably has something like it. It works!

 

[NekoM]

dab with warm water, use a stainless steel sanitized flea comb to comb them out,follow that up with a little dab of salt water

 

[catloverfromwayback]

Phoebe has chin acne. In her case it’s chronic and probably related to her mysterious maybe-maybe-not-IBD/allergies. She gets crusty blackheads all the time. I use what her vet from several years ago suggested: diluted Betadine (“colour of weak tea,” not the most useful direction) wipe with a cotton swab to soften them, and comb them out with a metal flea comb. I don’t find it very satisfactory and she hates it, but nowhere have I seen a better solution. Coconut oil is a jo-go, it’s likely to cause more clogged pores. Thing with feline acne is it can’t be let go if it’s long term, a cat can end up with a raw, bleeding chin.