Cat has strange bump on her chin - Update still a pimple

[Woodsman]

Hi,

My cat has a little pump on her chin. I noticed it for the first time yesterday. It was oozing a little blood. BUt is seems to have stopped. It kind of looks lke a really bad pimple. It doesn’t seem to be bothering her too much and she only seems mildly annoyed when I touch it. I put a little neosporen on it. My vet had told me I can use that for minor scratches previously.

Does anyone have any idea what it might be?

Thanks you
Brian

[Heidi n Q]

It could be cat acne.
This is usually caused by feeding from bowls that aren't clean. Meaning, they have oil residue on them from the cat food and as the cat's chin brushes the bowl edge while eating, the oils get on their chin hair/skin, causing an outbreak of acne. The biggest culprit is plastic, as these bowls can get scratches in their surface and hold oil and bacteria. Ceramic or stainless steel can also get oils on them, but they are easier to clean and don't hold the bacteria as well as scratched plastic.
Give the food/water bowls a good regular scrubbing and I'm sure the spots will clear up. If they don't, then a vet visit is in order to see what the problem is.

[Woodsman]

Thanks Heidi,

I am not sure that is what’s causing it. She either eats out of stainless steel or off paper plates. The stainless steel gets washed every day. I will boil them tonight to be sure they are sanitized just in case.

I will see if it clears up on its own. Is there anything I need to watch for that warrants a vet visit?

[doodlebug]

Originally Posted by Woodsman

Is there anything I need to watch for that warrants a vet visit?

Increase in size, excessive bleeding, not showing signs of healing in a few days, not eating, or lethargy/fever.

[Stryker]

It may be a remote possibility or, maybe not. And this is not to alarm you, but to inform you of an increasing number of staph infections affecting cats. You've heard of MRSA...this is the animal equivilent...MRSI.

Something to keep in mind is that most Vets haven't even heard of it - so this may put you at an advantage.

There are two pieces on it - I found that both required careful reading, then re-reading and making notes.

Hete are the links
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... etscol.DTL
http://www.petconnection.com/blog/mrsi-laura-stokking/

(here's hoping it will simply clear up on its own!)

[Woodsman]

Well the pimple thing was going away but I noticed a hard, larger bump on the other side of her chin this morning. I think it could be an abscess and I made a vet appointment for this afternoon. The bump is not visible and if I wasn’t checking the pimple, I may not have noticed it yet. Although, unlike the pimple, this bothered her when I felt it.

Do you think the pimple might have caused the abscess or maybe the other way around?

Stryker I guess I will keep the MRSA thing in mind in case antibiotics are prescribed.

Thanks for the replies
Brian

[Stryker]

Originally Posted by Woodsman

...Stryker I guess I will keep the MRSA thing in mind in case antibiotics are prescribed.

One of the lessons I learned from those articles is the importance of having a culture done...if I were in your shoes, I'd print off those articles, get them to my Vet ahead of the appointment and then, if antibiotics are to be prescribed, seriously consider having a culture done.

[Woodsman]

Looks like it was a false alarm. It was just a very large and deep pimple. The vet popped it .

She said it didn't need antibiotics at this point. I just bought some chlorohex-something wipes for her face.

I still don't know what could have caused it. Nothing has really changed and her food dishes are cleaned daily. Maybe she got into something.

[Stryker]

What was it.....

All's well that ends well! (probably an expensive pimple, though!)