Chin Acne treatment

Hello, we noticed black spots on our orange cat's chin about 2 weeks ago.  We left for a week on vacation and when we returned, he had rubbed his chin raw.  The hair is gone and it was red and irritated.  He is a long hair cat so we shaved some of his neck and are using Chlorhexidine along with a cone so that he can't continue to rub his chin on items.  Is there any kind of ointment to put on it?  The receptionist at the vet office said we could use neosporin but then I read that is dangerous.  We also have benzoyl peroxide but I'm afraid that would further irritate it.  We are going to take him in this week.  Thanks!

Hello - this could be feline acne, but there are other possibilities too, so it's great that you have an appointment to check.  Your vet may decide to add in pain releif;  cats have a nasty habit of overgrooming painful skin and making things worse (do not introduce pain releif without your vet - most common pain meds in the home are toxic to cats).  Chlorhexidine is very good at cleaning skin up but can also be quite harsh, so needs to be used correctly e.g. a suitable dilution - your vet should advise.  You didn't say what your cat was doing while you were on holiday, but it's worth mentioning that stress can be an underlying factor in this disease.  Furthermore, thinking of things that might have changed, some cats react very badly to plastic food and water dishes, so we recommend metal or ceramic ones (if you are currently using one of these, it may be worth trying the other - again, your vet will advise).  It can also be helpful to watch your cat eat and, if necessary, change to a shallower bowl that doesn't rub the chin and perhaps to dry food in order to prevent getting sticky food on there.  Because bacteria just love the sides of bowls, ensuring vigorous regular cleaning of them can help. Collars can be useful, but sometimes the plastic overlying the skin can exacerbate skin disease, so it's good to let the vet decide / check the fit of them.  Finally, underlying factors such as demodex mites (which live in the hair follicles normally but can sometimers get excited), fleas and allergy, even jaw pain and cancers in extremis, can be involved.  We hope that your vet visit proves useful and that you are able to get to the bottom of it soon!