Can anyone advise what this is on my cat’s chin?

[concernedandperturbed]

Hi all, my cat is an indoor cat by his own choice (ex-feral) and has developed a patch of what looks like black dirt under his chin. It was like little flakes in his fur but it’s quite pink underneath as if they were scabs but they don’t appear to be. We’ve been keeping it clean but it isn’t going.

We have a good vet and I’m happy to take him but being ex-feral he’s always distressed going to the vet so if this is a simple thing that can be treated without putting him through a vet trip I would prefer it but otherwise will make an appointment this week.

I’ve attached a photo. I wondered if anyone had any experience of this? I’ve googled it and it seems like it might be ‘cat acne’ but not sure?

Is it dirt?

@Toddlerteapleasethank you I’m not sure as it’s quite pink underneath and he’s uncomfortable when I’ve tried to touch the bits (he’s fine with it being bathed) he had a number of teeth removed just after I adopted him so he does dribble when he sleeps so I don’t know if it is dirt caused by this and it’s then irritated his skin maybe

It’s cat acne! Ours had similar. Use a cotton wool pad with warm water to keep
it clean. You aren’t supposed to squeeze the gunk out.

Cat acne. Don't use plastic bowls and make sure ceramic or metal bowls are washed well after each use. Same for plastic fountains, keep them very clean. You can buy antibac wipes to give him a clean, but if you keep his food and water clean enough it'll clear up quickly.

My girl’s acne cleared up after I stopped using plastic bowls. She occasionally still gets a tiny patch so I just wait she’s relaxed on my knee then pinch it out

Thank you all very much for your advice, i will keep bathing it and keep an eye on it.

He’s my only cat, I rescued him from being a feral cat who’d been TNR’d so I’m very close to him. he definitely has clean everything all the time and no plastic at all apart from his water fountain. He developed the acne after having teeth removed which means he dribbles a bit so I’m wondering if this caused it

My MrCat developed something similar after a couple of months of health problems that involved infections, two surgeries on his face, and therefore two episodes of buster collar and being restricted to indoors. During this time he could not wash himself, so I cleaned him with a variety of damp cloths, pure water eye-wipes, and this no-rinse cat shampoo.

The dark patch on his chin appeared a couple of weeks after we got rid of the collar. I started cleaning his chin again with damp cloth (every day) and the shampoo (once or twice a week), and it was completely gone after a few weeks.

I thought that maybe I had not been cleaning him well enough while he had the collar on, or that I had left something behind, and so when he No longer had the collar on and I stopped cleaning him, whatever it was got worse. So I resumed cleaning just his chin for a little longer.

This cat shampoo

My cats acne was caused by the food. Have you changed food recently?

I got chlorhexidine wipes that cleared boy cats chin right up.

Edit as saw you don't have plastic bowls, would look at a stainless steel water fountain.

Yes, it's acne and I agree with others, often caused by poor quality diet. Two of our fosters came here with it, and it went away of its own accord after a couple of months of better food.

Thank you for the suggestions of topical treatments I will look into these.

He has sheba and Iams so I don’t think he has a poor quality diet. He likes cat milk too as a treat. He has a very delicate stomach due to previously having had bad nutrition when he was feral so on vet’s advice we add probiotics to his food when needed so potentially his system is more delicate because of his history.

My old boy had this.

it was because he was super greedy and would lick and lick his plates.

Swapping to ceramic plates sorted it.