Hello..We have 2 cats, one is a purebred Abyssinian and the other is a rescue – mostly Siamese with what we think may be Ragdoll.
The Abyssinian recently had a case of feline acne that we treated by cleaning his chin daily with wipes the vet recommended and is clearing up slowly. Now, our new cat – 5 month old Stella – seems to be getting it too.
We recently started feeding Stella EVO, the same food that Oliver is on. She was eating Wellness Core dry food. Prior to Oliver getting the acne we switched his food from Wellness wet food to EVO wet food after hearing that some of our vet’s patients were getting crystals from Wellness (although she was sure to point out that this was her own conclusion and not a proven fact).
We’re wondering is there a certain food that may cause feline acne?????
Help – are our cat’s noms noms making them sick???
Chris
Hi Chris… Thanks for sharing and asking. I have not heard the term “noms noms” before, which I presume means food!
I cover quite a lot of what I hope is useful ground on the subject of feline acne on this page:
I make no reference to cat food being a possible cause of feline acne on that page. I do, though, mention cat bowls being a possible factor. You might look at that possibility.
I suppose it is possible to get feline acne confused with feline allergies. Feline allergies cause irritation leading to scratching which can can cause the skin to become sore and infected which may look like acne. Cat food can cause feline allergies – see hypoallergenic cat food.
Drs Carlson and Giffin in their excellent book, Cat Owner’s Home Veterinary Handbook make no mention of cat food being a possible underlying cause of feline acne.
That said, in humans, the cause of acne is unknown but it is said that possible causes include “diet”1. On that basis there is no reason to preclude the possibility that cat food can cause feline acne.
In conclusion I would:
— make sure it is feline acne.
— try a variety of high quality cat foods, wet and dry and monitor for improvements. See best dry cat food and best canned cat food (USA).
— treat your cats as per the vet’s instructions.
— try new bowls as suggested in my article linked to above.
Good luck.
Related posts:
Feline acne has returned – this covers more ground and mentions other conditions that have similar symptoms. The post concerns an Abyssinian cat.
Note:
1. http://www.acne.org/causes-of-acne.html
Can certain cat foods cause feline acne? to Cat Health Problems