Cat acne and excess dander - can this signal another problem?

Question
Hello,

I understand that you are not a vet - but vets often refuse to think "outside of the box" so to speak, and i have been Googling for hours trying to get some help. I would appreciate help or a reference to someone who might know what i have here.

My Buffy, who is a 5 year old inside-only cat, has had Cat acne for many months. It used to be easy to clean up. I just diluted some hydrogen peroxide, put it on her chin with a cotton ball, and it would be pretty much gone by the next day.

Now she has *so* much (of what I suspect is cat acne), i can't do anything about it. The reason i am really concerned is that she also has so much loose dander in her fur. She is a short-haired tabby, and i have never seen any dander at all in her coat. My 17-year old cat, Lindsey, has thyroid problems and history of diabetes (she is lovely proof of the Nine Lives thought!!), and when any of her - Lindsey's - illnesses flare up, the first thing that happens is that she has an excess of dander.

Buffy and her sister Katie are my children - absolutely, no question! She is so sweet and amazing and i ...well, I'm just worried. Could something bigger be going on here? (Liver function, etc) Would you recommend my taking Buffy to a regular vet? I'm getting nervous.

Thank you so much in advance,

Amy Hunt

Answer
Amy,

It sounds as if your cat has an allergy. It could be from any number of things: flea bites, food, something in your home, etc. YES, I would take your cat to the vet for an exam.

I am also including a very good link to an article on feline acne (and other skin problems). Copy and paste or type the whole link into your address bar:

http://www.vetinfo4cats.com/cacne.html

This site has many many excellent articles that should be helpful to you. Here is a link to their alphabetical medical list of problems for cats:

http://www.vetinfo4cats.com/catindex.html

Hope this helps.
Carol