Red spots and scabs

[fiomet]

My cat has got very little fur just under her bottom lip and I'm finding that shes getting little red spots on there which look a bit sore, though when I touch them she doesn't seem to flinch. Could this be something to do with her eating wet food and it's irritating her chin a bit? She also dribbles quite a lot too.

Also, she has a pea-size scab on her hind leg between which looks to me like shes been biting at an irritation. Shes an indoor cat and is flead regularly, so I don't think it could be fleas. Any ideas what else it could be?

[nannymcfee]

Do they turn black at all? like dark dried blood, as some cats are prone to feline acne, i had never come across it in the past ( i had many cats in the past) but Spike, our cat now, has it, he is ginger, and very pale colour around his chin, so may notice it more.

If your cat is an indoors one, are they getting a well balanced diet too?

A photo may help,& other members i am sure will be able to help .

[Crewella]

I wondered about feline acne, though as Nanny says the spots tend to be black. It might help to change the feeding bowls to metal or ceramic ones - that certainly helps with feline acne. Once plastic bowls get roughed up a bit they can harbour bacteria in the scratches.

My Alpha (now passed) used to get feline acne, she was a pale ginger too! (hope you don't mind my calling you 'Nanny'!)

[fiomet]

So the two pictures attached are of the chin and the scab. The chin doesn't go black really and this picture doesn't really show how red they are but you can just about make them out on these pictures. I couldn't get a good picture of the scab because she was sleeping and I feel just awful waking her!!

[nannymcfee]

I wondered about feline acne, though as Nanny says the spots tend to be black. It might help to change the feeding bowls to metal or ceramic ones - that certainly helps with feline acne. Once plastic bowls get roughed up a bit they can harbour bacteria in the scratches.

My Alpha (now passed) used to get feline acne, she was a pale ginger too! (hope you don't mind my calling you 'Nanny'!)

I am known as Grandma to my two,( but it doesn't have the same ring to it for a film title as i am sure Emma Thompson would agree)

I was also going to suggest the bowl change, I changed Spike's and also use a very mild blackhead cleanser....

[nannymcfee]

hmmm, do her lips look like they are swollen at times too?, i remember our Spider ( cat not an arachnid) was allergic to milk, and her lips would go red and spots, ( and when she caught bees !!!! )

[fiomet]

The bowl she has is metal. I suppose when thinking about it, I could be a bit more hot on washing the bowl more thoroughly when she's finished food. At the moment I just tend to rinse it. So maybe this will help a lot.

No the spots never go black, they're just little red dots. Her lips haven't ever looked unusual either.

[nannymcfee]

The bowl she has is metal. I suppose when thinking about it, I could be a bit more hot on washing the bowl more thoroughly when she's finished food. At the moment I just tend to rinse it. So maybe this will help a lot.

No the spots never go black, they're just little red dots. Her lips haven't ever looked unusual either.

Could you change her bowl to ceramic, and see if that helps, and some very mild blackhead cleanser on cotton wool, then rinsed. Someone on here recommended something else, anyone????

[Kay]

Tiffany gets scabby patches and bald patches above her eyes if she has anything with dairy in it - she's pale ginger too, so I wonder if this colouring is linked to food allergies

[Crewella]

I used to use a little hydrogen peroxide (3% 10 vol) on a cotton wool pad for Alpha's acne. It worked well.

It does seem strange that they're all pale ginger!

[Marla]

Stainless steel bowls are the best, so if that's what yours are, stick with them. Wash and rinse well after every meal.

Our cats got eosinophilic granulomas (sometimes called rodent ulcers) at different times from:
- plastic pet water fountain
- Royal Canin hypoallergenic wet food. She must have been allergic to one of the ingredients.

[bobbys girl]

No experience of this skin problem, but if I recall rightly from my horsey days - Ginger horses have more sensitive skin than any other colours (and we've all heard of 'fiery' red heads). In wild herds, lookout horses tend to be grey (it's believed their eyesight is better )

Perhaps there is something in the colour thing. Sorry I can't be of any more use than a goldmine of useless information.