Cat people: I thought you should know

[Alicia64]

My cat has acne.

"Cats get acne (or would that be catne?). Feline acne usually looks like small, black, dirt-like spots on the underside of your cat's chin or on the edge of the lips. Your cat has sebaceous glands in these areas that help lubricate the skin and play a role in territorial marking."

Don't google it, the examples are gross.

Thankfully Max only has a small black spot on his chin.

[MEmama]

A friends cat had kitty acne like that and her vet told her to make sure to clean their water bowl frequently (wash, not just refill). Apparently that’s a common cause.

[Indigo Blue]

Water bowls do get gross. Yuck. My cat quickly reminds me if I forget to freshen her bowl each day. And, of course, she’s not touching the bottom layer of her food. Lol.

Never heard of cat acne! 

[Selkie]

41 minutes ago, Alicia64 said:

My cat has acne.

"Cats get acne (or would that be catne?). Feline acne usually looks like small, black, dirt-like spots on the underside of your cat's chin or on the edge of the lips. Your cat has sebaceous glands in these areas that help lubricate the skin and play a role in territorial marking."

Don't google it, the examples are gross.

Thankfully Max only has a small black spot on his chin.

Do you have plastic food and water bowls? Plastic traps bacteria more than other materials (like metal or ceramic), and that can lead to kitty acne.

[Pawz4me]

Yep--many times it's plastic bowls that cause cat acne. I only use stainless steel pet bowls. And food bowls get washed after every meal. Water bowls are emptied and refilled twice a day and the bowl washed once a week.

[Alicia64]

1 hour ago, MEmama said:

A friends cat had kitty acne like that and her vet told her to make sure to clean their water bowl frequently (wash, not just refill). Apparently that’s a common cause.

 

27 minutes ago, Indigo Blue said:

Water bowls do get gross. Yuck. My cat quickly reminds me if I forget to freshen her bowl each day. And, of course, she’s not touching the bottom layer of her food. Lol.

Never heard of cat acne! 

 

22 minutes ago, Selkie said:

Do you have plastic food and water bowls? Plastic traps bacteria more than other materials (like metal or ceramic), and that can lead to kitty acne.

 

18 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

Yep--many times it's plastic bowls that cause cat acne. I only use stainless steel pet bowls. And food bowls get washed after every meal. Water bowls are emptied and refilled twice a day and the bowl washed once a week.

Just great! Everyone knew about this but me?? My kitty has a pottery bowl, but I only change every two days. But I add ice cubes each day.

Now I feel terrible.

Thank you for the help everyone! Very appreciated.

[Indigo Blue]

Oh, don’t feel bad! Some cats are gonna have little weird skin problems and sometimes you just can’t figure out what is causing it. Who knows? 🤷‍♀️
 

It may not be these things at all…could be something else. 

[Bensmom]

We have had over a dozen cats through the years (5 currently) and only one has had acne. It started when she was about 10 and she had it until she passed at 14 years. The cats who shared  food/water bowls never had it. 

[catz]

One of our cats has a little right now too.  She has a white chin so it is more obvious.   We do use stainless bowls but maybe I will rotate them to wash more often.    I hate to make a vet visit for such a minor thing.