Does my cat have "dirty face"?

[reyrey85]

I recently noticed that my cat's face has become irritated. I thought it could be feline acne but i've read that it mainly affects the chin, which is not affected. I then read about "dirty face" which is most common in Persian cats, which she is not. She's mainly an indoor cat, and around 2 years old. She doesn't seem to be bothered by it, no scratching or rubbing. I'd just like to know what this is and if I can treat it at home.

[KasesMum]

My cat is allergic to plastic, and he had what looked like blackheads all over his chin, neck, and around his mouth.  Very likely an allergy to the dishes your cat is eating from.  Switch to stainless steel or glass dishes.  When I found out this was likely the culprit, I switched his bowls and within days, his skin cleared up.  It was actually so bad that he was losing hair as well.  Try this and see if it helps.

[JJ_Lulu]

My Lulu had one like you describe before when we took her to our home. I brought her to 3 different vet. First said its fungus so they gave her
Griesofulvin but with incomplete course. So I have to
top up the medication from my own pharmacy. Unfortunately the black crusty scab still on her nose. I felt worried and brought her to another
Vet. The second vet scratch out some crust on her nose and examine under the microscope and said she couldnt find any fungi ( what and idiot. You think it will just take you few minutes to detect a fungi under microscope? )
So finally the vet said it could be a scabies with comes from mites. Ok.
I can accept that. But then he prescribed
Lulu with a 30ml of funginox (this is an antifungus shampoo use to
Treat scalp for human and when i asked the vet what ls the active ingredient he said ketoconazole and ask me to mix 1ml of funginox with 10ml of water and scrab on to
Lulu nose tip. I told him im a pharmacist and i really dont know what he was trying to do. Ketoconazole wont work on mites. I was pissed off so i just left. I dont know what els to do so i just did what the vet instructed for few days with no improments. After about a week, the crust spread on top of her forhead, around the eyes and cheeks. Basically the crust now is all over the face. And becuase I cannot trust
and rely on any vet anymore i google up my self on the internet. I found someone suggested with to clean up the clean up the crust with warm water added together with a teaspoon of salt. Basically its a normal saline. So i did patiently slowly until all crust has been remove. You really have to be patient when you are doing this. Espeacially those crust Around the eyes and eyelids. So finally lulu was crust free. Then i
Google up again to find how to stopthe  crust from coming out from Lulu skin again and i found out antifungal terbinafine 1% is the safest antifungus losyen that you can apply on cat face. So i did that and within 2 days  Lulu face is
Is out of any crust and she love me kissing around her face. Occasionally i can still notice some crust appered but its definately not as bad as before and I just clean Lulu face with salt warm water once a day before i apply terbenafine. Sorry to say but doctors
and vets in my country are totally not reliable at all.

[Jade59]

Yes, I noticed right away how "familiar" this cat's problem looked.  Hopefully, rey's kitty doesn't have a fungas, but if she does, the good news is, it's completely treatable.  You just have to be diligent with the meds, is all.  

That's what my poor girl looked like when I first met her and she continued to look worse and worse.  The people who owned her acted like she looked normal!  

Thank you for the compliment.  I thought she was adorable too in spite of all her problems.  

[PrettyKitty1]

Jade,

I saw your cat's pictures and yes, this kitty and your cat seem to have the same 'thing'. She (Jade) still looks cute though :)

[Jade59]

PK is correct.  I hope you don't think I'm saying your cat definitely has a fungal infection.  I am, of course, just speculating simply because your cats face looks similar to how our cat looked.  

Very best of luck.  I'm very curious now as to what is wrong with your cat?

[PrettyKitty1]

Absolutely NO Tea Tree Oil! No! It is dangerous. Cats have died because of it. Please do some research so you see what I'm saying. When my cats had ringworm I tried it only once, and just a little tiny bit. Then I researched on it. Come to find out it is dangerous. I almost died, thinking my two babies could have died because of me.
Take her to the vet first and let us know, k? We really are speculating here about everything. Until we know exactly what she has, there is no way we can suggest the right treatment (or advice even ).

PK

[Jade59]

Correction...Left side of her nose (right side of pic)

[Jade59]

Hi,

I just uploaded two pics of our cat when she was ill.  Look at the second pic...on the right side of her nose (right side of the pic)...see the crust?  That shouldn't be there and a lot had come off by the time this photo was taken.  

So sorry, but I don't know how to enlarge the first photo before downloading, but that's also a fair example of how she looked before we took over her care.  

[reyrey85]

Thanks guys for all the thoughts. Perhaps it is just allergies or a fungal infection. Now if it is a fungus, I wonder if Tea Tree oil would be safe and effective...after all it is a natural fungus killer. We've been using Advantage for a while so I doubt it's flea dirt...I don't see any on the rest of her body. She acts normal, no strange behavior or change in habits. I'm just going to take her to the vet this week and I'll post the results. I can't wait to find out what it is, and get rid of it so she can have her pretty face back.

[zodiacqueen]

Ok, I just thought of something else.......it could possibly be fleas.  I've seen those scabby things on my cats before, but it was on their bodies, NOT the face.  I think it's still a possibility.  Try looking through your cats fur and see if you can find some fleas!

Alrighty, a couple of questions.  Is your cat acting healthy, other than the scabs?  Do you use any type of flea treatments?

[Jade59]

Could it be some sort of fungas?

The reason this comes to mind, is when we first got our cat she was very sick and she had a black crust on her nose.  Not on the top like your cat, but a build up on the side and tip.  We think it was from her eyes running chronically.  Initially, we thought our cat had an all black nose, but it peeled off like you say happens with your cat.   She ended up having a fungal infection called cryptocaucus.

[PrettyKitty1]

It could be allergies. But I'm just guessing here. Is she scratching at all? Licking? Maybe shaking her head? Why don't you take her to the vet and tell us what they said? It'd help us learn here :)

[reyrey85]

I know! I've never seen anything like it before and I too have been around cats for a long time. They do feel a little like scabs. I actually peeled a bit off under her nose yesterday, and the skin looked clear underneath, but then today the black crust was back. I thought it could be coming from her nose...but then why would it be above her nose as well?? And the spots above her nose aren't crusty and can't be peeled off. It's so weird.  I'm completely stumped. thanks for the comment btw. This one is a thinker lol.

[zodiacqueen]

That is very strange!!!  I've had cats a very long time-over 30 yrs-and have never seen the "dirty" face before!  It looks like scabs on the nose and the right side of the face!  Does it feel like scabs to you?  Could she have gotten into a fight with one of your other cats?  

That's about all I can do is guess!  I wish that I could see her in person!  Let me know if it feels like scabs!  If it doesn't, then I'll have to think about it and get back to you.  Hopefully, some of the other members will help me brain storm here.  =D