My kittens look as if they have dirt round their mouth?

[Judecat (Paula)]

Other half is a chef so lots of goodies from the kitchen, any wonder they have become use to Gourmet food. Thank you all so much for your wonderful advise.
 
[/quote]

Can I be your cat? I am sure I can mimic a purr, might be a bit heavy on the lap though!

[Sam (Fussy_Furball)]

Zepyr used to suffer terribly with acne ... the best way to clean it up I found was to soak a large piece of cotton wool in warm water (bath temperature -  water warm) and give the chin a good rub.  I would then apply a bit of hibi scrub with another piece of cotton wool.  Finally rise well and rub dry with an old flannel (one that is a bit rough). 

Zephyr is such a good boy he used to just sit and let me wash his chin.  If you have two kitties that are very good at grooming each other acne is very rarely a problem ... under the chin and inside the ears are the only places a cat can't groom themselves so these are areas that harbour nasties.

None of my lot is very keen on washing any of the others so I now make sure at least once a month I give all of their chins a quick wash with warm water ... it's amazing how filthy cats really are (even the clean ones) ... give it a go ... you'll be surprised! lol

[Corporal Smokey]

I'm swapping all of my bowls asap. It's not such a prob with Mr Red Bear but if Mr Smokey got it it would be terrible! I've read up now though, thanks for the info

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Plastic bowls tend to get scratched (minute little scratches) with wear and yes they then harbour bacteria and hence the feline acne.

As Gillian says this is only one cause but usually the first that needs to be eliminated.

I used them for 10yrs without problem with Kocka but found that my current cats prefer ceramic dishes and I find them easier to wash.

[Sue P (Paddysmum)]

Cor, am so pleased you got to the bottom of this.  I have to admit when I saw the photo, and the look of sheer injured innocence on that little face I thought "hmmmm...."    looks like norty kitten-itis, methinks"   

Gotta say, your babies are looking gorgeous!     Glad to see your initial worries about them being "too quiet" have come to naught 

[Gillian Harvey]

well thank goodness for this thread! Ive just noticed Lord Chester has a little black on his chin just like the photo at the start of the thread. no idea it could be the plastic bowls! just for geekery, why does the plastic do that? does it harbour bacteria? either way I will also be changing to ceramic!

Don't know, but plastic bowls are only one possible cause - my Lucy used to get feline acne and I've never used anything but enamel plates for their food and ceramic for their water. Eventually it just went away.

[Corporal Smokey]

well thank goodness for this thread! Ive just noticed Lord Chester has a little black on his chin just like the photo at the start of the thread. no idea it could be the plastic bowls! just for geekery, why does the plastic do that? does it harbour bacteria? either way I will also be changing to ceramic!

love the names ice and coco btw 

[Sam (Fussy_Furball)]

  kittens eh ... into everything.  Glad it was nothing more than just a bit of dirt! Your babies are gorgeous 

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Thats good 

I am sure that you know but just in case, please dont give any of the cooked chicken with the bones in, raw bones are OK but not cooked ones.

[Rosella moggy]

Great 

[lostsouls65]

I think we got the bottom of all our worries, the cheap litter that was given to us is full of dust, they must have eaten their wet food, gone straight into the litter tray and come our looking like cross between Hitler and the Joker out of Batman! 

We have just spent 30 mins with luke warm water cleaning them up look much better and the kittens i used to know 

I have introduced Whiskers to them today, we are getting there shall we say, so far jelly has all gone and now trying to eat what's left over. They love the boiled chicken we cook for them, 6kg of drumsticks at a time and frozen to last them for a while. They do get other food too, Ham, Turkey, fish etc. Other half is a chef so lots of goodies from the kitchen, any wonder they have become use to Gourmet food. Now paying for our price but will get there slowly.

Thank you all so much for your wonderful advise.

 

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Hope he gets back to his handsome self very soon 

[Rosella moggy]

That doesn't look like like feline acne at all 

Looks more like he has been sniffing coals or somefink?   

Aren't they utterly delish 

[Tiggy's Mum]

Very odd  Haven't ever seen anything like that before! Hope you get to the bottom of what it is and that it's nothing untoward 

[lostsouls65]

and this is what my babies should look like on a good day 

If it wipes off that sounds good and suggest to chuck the litter if you havent already..................never know it may just be the dust and no visit needed.............keeping fingers crossed 

[lostsouls65]

Just changed it now, Pets @ Home wanted £40 just to look at the photo we wanted to show! daylight robbery.

Thanks for your advise, will keep washing it with luke warm water and see what happens

 

If it wipes off that sounds good and suggest to chuck the litter if you havent already..................never know it may just be the dust and no visit needed.............keeping fingers crossed 

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

If it wipes off that sounds good and suggest to chuck the litter if you havent already..................never know it may just be the dust and no visit needed.............keeping fingers crossed 

[lostsouls65]

Thank you, we recently was given a cat litter, maybe its dusty, didnt like the look of it. We just wiped some off and it came off in the tissue. they seem very healthy and active. will keep washing it with luke warm water and the vets a call in the morning

 

Doesnt look like pigmentation to me and dont think fleas but would definately get it checked out by a vet.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Doesnt look like pigmentation to me and dont think fleas but would definately get it checked out by a vet.

[lostsouls65]

Hello, thanks for the response, really grateful for this

This is what it looks like 

Any ideas what it may be?
 

You said the black is 'round their lips and their mouth', is it in the fur or on the actual skin area round the mouth? If it's in the fur could it be flea dirt? If it's round the mouth it could just be natural pigmentation?

[Tiggy's Mum]

You said the black is 'round their lips and their mouth', is it in the fur or on the actual skin area round the mouth? If it's in the fur could it be flea dirt? If it's round the mouth it could just be natural pigmentation?

[Rosella moggy]

When I googled "Feline Acne" yesterday, I came across a site that indicated it was not common in cats under 6 months old so it may be something else.  Didn't know how trustworthy the site was though.  That's why I posted the pic, so you could compare. 

Feline acne is not big deal as JS said as long as you don't let it get too bad.  Our Tom RIP had it on and off for a few years (mainly on his chin like in the pic) from around 10 to 12 years old but it eventually cleared up completely.  I imagine I left it too long as it's difficult to see on a black cat until it gets a bit sore and itchy. 

Whatever it is, I wouldn't think it needs a Sunday vet visit   

[lostsouls65]

Thank you so much, its our first time looking after kittens, looked after ferel cats for 18 years and never spotted it
Bowls are no longer plastic so fingers cross, thank you 

Don't feel bad, feline acne is quite common. One of our three suffers from it, due to her "highly strung nature." Cleaning the chin with warm water and cotton wool can help if it's mild.

[JackSpratt]

Don't feel bad, feline acne is quite common. One of our three suffers from it, due to her "highly strung nature." Cleaning the chin with warm water and cotton wool can help if it's mild.

[lostsouls65]

Hello
Thanks for the response, I think it may be feline acne 
I have removed the plastic bowls and replaced with ceramic ones. I will also go to the vets today and see if they will give any cream for them. As for the water they have a bowl of fresh water every day. I bought the plastic bowls from Pets at Home, in reality they should be telling customers that plastic bowls may trigger off Feline Acne. Will also look for other foods for them to add to their diet. Though I must admit they do get fed, fresh cooked products. Other half is a chef and always comes back with little treats for them so its not just boiled chicken.
Thanks for all the advise 

.................they wont touch any ready meals i.e. whiskers etc.

Not really surprised tbh      Would you if you were offered all those tempting treats?    

For the past week or so we have noticed that they have black round their lips and mouth.

Could it be feline acne?  Anything like this?



Otherwise sorry I don't know what that could be but a staple diet of boiled chicken won't give them the nutrition that a formulated cat food will supply.  I see they also eat dry kitten food too though so suppose it depends how much of that they eat.

Are they drinking enough water?.  At least with wet cat food they would get some moisture.  Our Boris is a teeny bit older and it slightly concerns me that he doesn't drink much water but he is mainly fed a wet kitten food.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

My one year old kitten has been on boiled chicken for a tummy upset and this really isnt a complete food.

There are so many wet foods on the market there is no way at 15 weeks you can have tried them all, I think!

Wet food is necessary as Rosella has said so they get water and at 15 weeks they need a better diet.

I dont know what the black bits are but would guess the same as Rosella and a cause can be plastic dishes.

I would recommend you see a vet.

[Rosella moggy]

.................they wont touch any ready meals i.e. whiskers etc.

Not really surprised tbh      Would you if you were offered all those tempting treats?    

For the past week or so we have noticed that they have black round their lips and mouth.

Could it be feline acne?  Anything like this?



Otherwise sorry I don't know what that could be but a staple diet of boiled chicken won't give them the nutrition that a formulated cat food will supply.  I see they also eat dry kitten food too though so suppose it depends how much of that they eat.

Are they drinking enough water?.  At least with wet cat food they would get some moisture.  Our Boris is a teeny bit older and it slightly concerns me that he doesn't drink much water but he is mainly fed a wet kitten food.

[lostsouls65]

I recently adopted Ice & Coco, both happy little terrors, seem very active and healthy. For the past week or so we have noticed that they have black round their lips and mouth. I wonder what's causing this? Dry kitten biscuits? Also they love having boiled chicken, this is their stable diet, is this bad for them? We also give them fish, ham and other meats as treats, they wont touch any ready meals i.e. whiskers etc.

My friend who is a cat owner said they look fine and very healthy. we keep making a joke about them looking like the Joker out of badman at times. The boiled chicken and dry biscuits bowls are next to each other.

Can any one shed some light on the matter?

They seem very happy and purring all the time, their appetite is very good and no bleeding gums. Only 15 weeks old

Thanks guys