Looks Like Bud’s Got Feline Acne

Little dude has large black spots, possibly scabs, beneath his chin.

I first noticed a black spot under Bud’s chin two or three months ago.

I thought he’d somehow hurt himself, perhaps from sticking his little face everywhere, and the mark looked like a scab to me.

Then it went away, was replaced shortly after by another mark, then a second next to it and now there’s a large black mark under his chin.

The problem is, he won’t cooperate with attempts to photograph it and he acts like I’m torturing him if I gently pick him up and try to get a close-up shot. I was finally able to photograph it by setting my phone to take a photo with a voice command and placing it beneath him, and this is what I saw:

20231118_155418

And a close up with flash:

20231118_190342

It looks a lot like the feline acne photographs I saw when I googled the condition, but this mark is quite big and looks painful.

I wash Bud’s food bowls after every meal and I wash his water bowl out with soap and water a few times a week. Both are stainless steel and his dry food bowl is some sort of ceramic. Nothing plastic that would harbor bacteria.

It may be genetic, he may be not as good about grooming under his chin, or it may be my fault. Bud has always had a lot of discharge from his eyes (the nasty black eye crust) so he does secrete fluids more than most cats.

Regardless, I hope he’s not in serious pain. Has anyone dealt with this before? Do the antimicrobial gels designed for cats actually work?

Some material online suggests using common antibacterial wipes or solutions found in pharmacies, but I’m wary of anything like that because Bud may get it in his mouth while grooming.

26 thoughts on “Looks Like Bud’s Got Feline Acne”

  1. Poor Bud! Sounds like you’re already doing all the right things. When Tyler got a mysterious bout of FA, I bathed his chin a few times a day with a warm washcloth. He wasn’t too keen on it at first, but I think it felt good and he would settle down. Ask your vet before trying people meds on him.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. So it went away eventually for Tyler? How long did it take to notice a difference?

      I just gently wiped Bud’s chin with a warm cloth. Had to bribe him with treats. He screams bloody murder and acts like I’m torturing him if I restrict his movement no matter how briefly, so he’s always been a pain in the Bud with this sort of thing.

      Thankfully it does not seem like the scab itself is painful because he didn’t seem to have a problem with me dabbing it and gently cleaning it.

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply

      2. I have not, but that’s a good idea, thank you. From the photos I’ve seen online, it appears to be a scab that crusted over from oil secretions. There are a lot of similar photos of cats with black spots like that under the chin.

        Liked by 2 people

  4. I was given DouxoS3 for my dumped cat Furmina. Antiseptic and antifungal wipes. But i would do warm compress and vet visit. And great news about Furmina. Has been adopted! Good luck and let us know. And isn’t feline acne much smaller than that?

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

      1. I am just learning about feline acne. I even had no clue how they got it. I was even surprised that Furmina was scratching under chin. I just thought it was a normal thing 6 months ago. I never heard the words feline acne in my cat rescue days.

        Liked by 1 person

  5. My Tigger used to get this. He had hay fever and was sensitive to alot of things. They can get infected and pus filled. I used a flea comb to get the crusty out and dabbed a cotton ball or qtip with Vetricyn cat wound spray on it a couple times a day. Healed it up and that spray is safe. I use it all the time for years when one of my cats or one of my colony cats get a scrape or anything and it heals quickly.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  6. My beloved Angel (RIP) used to get blackheads under her chin. I found that washing her chin with some of those “makeup removal pads” sold in drugstores was very effective at prevention–especially because I gave her a treat when she had tolerated the washing like a good girl. Those pads are just a gentle soapy stuff for use around eyes, so they’re pretty safe.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Yes! I wouldn’t want Oil Bud to go through another annoyance! He’s such a good boy! (Sure Eddie)(SM is a “good boy” when you look at him… “Dad, I wasn’t going to get up on the sink! Nope! Not me!” They think we are totally believing them! Especially since SM was on the counter in the kitchen watching the birds outside!

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  8. I don’t have much experience with this … One cause I noticed in a quick Google search was food allergy. A change in flavor or brand of food maybe? Or a change of ingredients by the company in the same food?

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  10. Not seen this before on any cats. Bella does have occasional weeping eyes but the vet says this is simply a lack of grooming ( she can be a bit lazy in that regard) Luckily although Vets are expensive in UK there are plenty of them around us. I think the idea of the photo and sending it to the vet and asking for advice is a good one. Is he lethargic in any way?

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  11. As an owner of a cat with acne. My Vet said to use a cotton ball dipped in Witch Hazel to gently scrub his chin twice a day. It is cheaper than vet meds and contains the active ingredients of most of them. Namely Witch Hazel. Took 3 days and my Moosey was good. It will reacure. Can be used over and over. Good Luck Buddy.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  12. A bit late to the party … have you removed that black bit? It may just be leftovers from an acne spot. My Vincent gets infected spots on his chin fairly often. Do you have a flea comb? The very close tines are good at removing any build up with a minimum of fuss. Keep us updated!
    Oh, and don’t worry about this being cancer. It’s not.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Thanks, Quilpy. I didn’t think it was cancer but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried after it was brought up.

      So the thing with Bud is, he acts like I’m trying to murder him if I do anything more than groom him with a brush or pick him up very briefly. That’s why I had to get creative with getting a photo so I could see the mark more clearly.

      The chances of him reaching poorly to a flea comb are pretty high, but I will try it. The mark was still there on Tuesday and I think it remains but I will double check.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  13. My cat gets something like this sometimes. I purchased a product at Amazon called Vetericyn Antimicrobial Feline Facial Therapy. It cleared it up after only a couple of applications. The reviews were great so I tried it, and have used it ever since, for any type of skin problem. I’m very impressed with it. I hope it works for Bud!

    Happy Thanksgiving!!

    Ashley

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

      1. Yes, she gets the black spots, every once in a while, under her chin and the side of her mouth. The first time I saw it, I was scared it might be cancer, too, but It always clears it up and it goes away. My cat is also very resistant to anything I try to do to treat her. However, she tolerates the Vetericyn better. I think it might feel soothing to her sores. It has also healed other sores, like she gets from scratching near her ears at times. One of the reasons I tried it is because I was also worried about her ingesting it. This is all natural and it won’t hurt her. There is a lot of information on Amazon’s website about the product. Now, if we could only find a way to convince our cats that we are trying to help them, not murder them!! Good luck!!

        Liked by 2 people

Leave a comment