scratching chin

[Millys Mum]

Glad you have a diagnosis, hopefully once any infection clears up he will be on the mend very quickly, hibiscrub is great for preventing it going past the 'dirt' stage.
You may prefer to get some from the chemist ratherr than pay the inflated vet price for a small bottle  or online at vet uk or similar

[caledonia]

Glad you got it sorted - my friends cat had the same thing and has no problems now! 

[nicchick]

Bless him, well we have been to the vets. Simba is very very scared of people so he just doesnt move at all - easy for the vet to examine him I suppose!

And yes, he has acne 
He got given an antibiotic injection that will last for two weeks that should clear up an infection etc, and I have been told to gently wash his chin in warm salty water (1/2 tsp of salt to 1 litre) everyday and make sure I dry it afterwards. If this doesnt do the trick after 10 days they will give me some hibiscus scrub or something??

I presume that once the nasty scabs and spots clear up we might be able to reduce his chin wash to every few days, but we will see.

So, mystery resolved - and I thought he was allergic to something!!

ta for the help, much appreciated.
nic x

[Sam (Fussy_Furball)]

Sounds like feline acne to me.  My boy used to suffer really badly with this ... he would scratch and scratch until he bled then he would scratch as the scabs and open up the wounds again.  We tried several different antibiotics until we eventuallyy found one that worked.

Since then I have made sure that once a week he gets a good chin wash  .... cotton wool, warm water, a tiny little drop of hibi scrub.

[nicchick]

Hmm, I did a google about cat acne and I really think that may be what poor simba has. Looking at the photos it looks familiar - its more like black "blobs" rather than "dirt".
 
Hopefully the vet will be able to give him some cream or advise me on a cleaning regime. I think he may want to give the little chap a small course of antibiotics as well as the chin is looking very sore today..... 

Anyhooo, appt is at 5.20pm today. Will let you know what vet suggests.

nic x

[nicchick]

From your mention of black "dirt" I imagime you're thinking acne MM which is what I thought too.  Tom had it on and off for a while but it cleared up.

Thought nicchick might find this thread of interest

http://www.purrsinourhearts.co.uk/index.php/topic,5668.msg86959/topicseen.html#msg86959

Thanks for the linky - I cant say I have noticed black "dirt" on his chin, but then, I havent been looking for it to be honest, and its scabby at the moment so I cant tell what is scabs and what could be "dirt" meh.

Simba is booked in to see the vet this afternoon so hopefully we might find out what the problem is! Hopefully he we behave and let the vet have a good look. I gave his chin a mini soak yesterday with some very slightly salty water (mug of boiling water with 1/4 tsp salt in, and left to cool) and he wasnt too impressed with that! 

nic x

[Rosella moggy]

From your mention of black "dirt" I imagime you're thinking acne MM which is what I thought too.  Tom had it on and off for a while but it cleared up.

Thought nicchick might find this thread of interest

http://www.purrsinourhearts.co.uk/index.php/topic,5668.msg86959/topicseen.html#msg86959

[Millys Mum]

Does he get black 'dirt' there first?
Talc isnt good for wounds, next time it happens go to the vets and get something then, probably wont prescribe without seeing it as steroid gel isnt for general use. If you can treat straight away you might be able to avoid all the extra scratching and following problems

[Linda (Bengalbabe)]

Yes our adult girl is the same, can be okay for a few months then she gets a flare up.  Im sure your vet will be able to prescribe something to ease this however the best thing of course would be to find the cause.  Sadly we have never managed to fully get to the bottom of our girls allergy although we know that certain foods are likely to make it worse as is the heat in the summer months.

[nicchick]

thanks for the fast replies...

We feed using ceramic bowls so I think they are okay?

It comes and goes his chin problem, and he had a full MOT check a couple of months back but yes I will perhaps drop him in to the vets because hopefully they should be able to prescribe a cream or something that will help heal the chin. He has been fine for three months, and only started scratching again a couple of days ago 

nicx

[Linda (Bengalbabe)]

Yes i agree best to speak to your vet as the sore area is at risk of infection.  One of my cats has a bad allergy which gets worse during summer months and our vet prescribed Fuciderm which contains both an antibiotic and anti-inflammatory (its a gel that is applied twice a day when the skin is bad).  This helps relieve the itch and promotes healing.  Its worth talking to your vet about whether or not this would work for your adult cat.

[dabs]

There could also be a feeding bowl issue. If he is fed from plastic bowls it could be an allergy, change to metal bowls.

[dabs]

I would not recomend talc on it as talc has very fine particles that can get into his airways and cause further issues. Also he may be prone to ingest it as he grooms.

Any cat that scratches to that extent needs to be seen by a vet asap. My scottish fold was scratching his chin and chest and it transpires he was having issues with his ears and the scratching was misdirected! Could only happen to Ben!

There are also mites that could be responsible that frontline would not kill off.

Vets asap is your best bet.

Good luck

[nicchick]

My adult cat every so often over a couple of days scratches his chin until it scabs and sores (probs about 3 or 4 times a year) once it is sore/scabby he then picks at the scabs all the time so it takes a while to heal. Any advice on what I could do to soothe the itching and stop him making it worse? I have not worked out what causes it yet which is very frustrating, although Im assuming it must be an allergy of some sort. He is an indoor cat and he gets frontlined regularly so Im fairly sure its not flea related.

It has been suggested that I try putting a little bit of cuticurra medicated talc on it but not sure if that is okay, or if it would help.

He doesnt scratch anywhere else if that helps, only ever the tip of his chin. 

please help! nic X