Cat Acne: Understanding and Managing Chin Breakouts in Cats

Think you’re the only one in the family battling the occasional but irritating pimple breakouts? Our feline friends can get acne, too, but not for the reasons you may think!

Here we’ll explain what cat acne is, why it occurs, and how you can be your cat’s hero by treating cat acne successfully at home. 

Feline acne, also known as chin acne, usually appears as black spots or red bumps on your cat’s chin. At first, you may think it’s specks of dirt. However, these lesions are blocked hair follicles that may harbor bacteria. Other symptoms of cat acne include¹:

• Thick, red, swollen, crusty chin skin
• Clogged hair follicles visible as blackheads, bumps, or pustules
• Fluid/discharge from the chin
• Hairloss
• Rubbing or scratching the chin
• Chin pain

The initial blackheads usually have no other symptoms, so owners often don’t notice them or disregard them. However, almost half of cats with blackheads will develop painful papules, pustules, and even cellulitis, a deep-tissue infection that can lead to scarring.²

Chronic or severe cases may be complicated by bacterial or yeast infections, are itchy and painful, and may result in lip and chin swelling that prompts the cat to rub and scratch for relief.²

The good news is that most cases respond well to simple, consistent, at-home treatment. 

Any cat can develop acne because it’s not associated with age, breed, or sex. Unlike in humans, cat acne is not hormone-related.² It makes up about 4% of cat dermatitis issues that present to veterinarians.³ However, cat chin acne may be underdiagnosed, as owners don’t even notice many cases. 

Feline acne occurs because there is a problem with follicular keratinization, which is a fancy way to say that skin protein and oil get trapped within hair follicles instead of being shed like they should be.² Secondary infections with bacteria or yeast can worsen the inflammation.^2,4 Many other factors trigger and underlie feline chin acne, including⁴:

• Plastic food dishes, which may cause allergic reactions and harbor pathogens
• Poor grooming habits (e.g., in elderly, obese, or ill cats)
• Allergies
• Stress and immune suppression
• Viral infections (e.g., Feline Herpesvirus and others)
• Chin trauma

Experts agree that many factors contribute to feline chin acne. They haven’t identified one definitive cause.²

Feline chin acne can look like many things, so veterinarians may need to run tests to determine exactly what is going on. Other conditions that may look similar to chin acne include fungal infections, allergies, dental disease, mite infections, other skin diseases, or cancer.⁴

These are more likely when symptoms are severe. Your veterinarian can check for these through tests such as skin cytology to look for bacteria or yeast; skin scraping to check for mites; biopsy for other skin diseases or cancer; and a dental exam.⁵

In most cases, it’s easy to recognize cat chin acne by its typical location, appearance, and response to at-home treatment.  

Treatment depends on the owner's preference and the symptoms. Some owners decide not to treat because the blackheads aren’t causing any symptoms, and they don’t mind how they look. Others choose to do some treatment at home. Mild cases with symptoms can usually be successfully treated at home. Severe cases often require treatment at home under your veterinarian's direction. 

Never pop or squeeze your cat’s blackheads. That will cause pain and inflammation and may introduce infection. Don’t use products meant to treat or prevent acne in humans, as they can be irritating for cats. 

Clean the chin once or twice daily with a veterinary-approved antiseptic/antimicrobial wipe, shampoo, or spray/gel.⁴

Topical treatments, including wipes, ointments, shampoos, sprays, and gels, reduce the bacterial load.⁴ Agents such as benzoyl peroxide and alcohols will irritate the skin and may stain things in the house.

Your veterinarian may prescribe oral antibiotics and steroids for severe cases with infection and inflammation.²

Use stainless steel bowls for food and water, and wash them daily with soap and hot water. Wipe your cat’s chin daily with an antimicrobial, non-toxic, and soothing solution. Reduce stress by enriching your cat’s environment with toys and pheromone spray. Consider adding an omega-3 fatty acid to your cat’s diet. Feed dry food to control moisture and prevent bacterial growth. 

Veterinarians know that combining good overall health, daily topical chin hygiene, and environmental changes helps prevent chin acne recurrence and reduce the need for lifelong medication. 

The prognosis for feline chin acne is excellent, especially when mild cases are treated early. It’s common for cats prone to acne to have flare-ups throughout their lifetime. However, regular chin cleaning with a reliable topical solution, combined with other preventive measures, can help minimize recurrences. Chronic or severe infections, or those that don’t respond to at-home care, need veterinary attention and guidance.

Consider using Vetericyn’s veterinarian-recommended Antimicrobial Feline Facial Spray to treat and prevent your cat’s chin acne at home. It checks all the right boxes for addressing your cat’s acne. It’s non-toxic, non-irritating, won’t stain things, and soothes inflammation, pain, and itch while removing bacteria and debris. It can be used daily, or multiple times a day, as needed. 

At Vetericyn, our goal is to help animals live healthier, longer lives, so they can continue to forge that special human-animal bond we all cherish. These tips on feline acne are just the beginning. We offer animal wellness tools for a range of issues across species. Browse more cat care products or check out our catalog to learn more about all the ways Vetericyn can help you help your beloved animals.