Successful Treatment of Feline Chin Acne

Although not often known, felines or cats can have acne and that acne is most common on the cat's chin. There are several reasons for cat's having chin acne, as well as various treatments that are effective at eliminating the acne. Consult your veterinarian first before selecting a treatment.

  1. Proper Diagnosis

    • Although seemingly straightforward, cat acne is not identical to the acne that you see in human beings. Rather, cat acne is an ongoing skin condition that affects cats for their lifetime and does not end after puberty like it does in many humans. You may notice redness and swelling on the cat's chin after it becomes one year old. In addition to redness and swelling, look for hair loss and small blackheads on its chin and possibly around its lips.

    Topical Creams and Medication

    • The diagnosis may be different, but many topical creams used for human acne have great success on treating cat acne. The common topical crams like retinoids and benzoyl peroxide are quite effective at reducing the chin acne. Consistently inspect the cat's chin for additional breakouts that you will need to treat. On occasion, cats will develop yeast infections on their chin that needs treatment with an anti-fungal cream. Use a topical cream like clotrimazole for treating the fungus. Alternatively, veterinarians may suggest an oral pill to treat especially severe chin acne. They tend to be expensive and do not have an immediate impact on the chin acne until several weeks have elapsed. Oral pills could cause liver damage as a side effect to the treatment.

    Home Remedies and Diet

    • Soak your cat's chin in a solution of Epsom salts and water. Soak the chin with a damp rag, reapplying the solution several times over a 10 minute period. Be careful not to overly treat the chin acne because it may cause irritation and slow the healing process. Only apply the Epsom salts once a day. If you obtained your own cat acne soap, trim the fur around the acne to better apply the soap to the chin acne. Do not use any essential oil products because it will only contribute to the acne.

      Avoid food to which the cat is allergic. Most high-quality food products will be cat allergen free, but as a precaution, do not purchase any food that contains corn, wheat, soy or gluten. Cats are often allergic to those foods. Ideally, a raw-food diet is best at preventing cat chin acne as well as better for your cat's overall diet. Finally, feed your cat in stainless steel or glass bowls that you wash frequently to avoid bacterial infections.