Cat eczema

[soloequestrian]

My rescue Bengal cat has a little patch of eczema under his chin that just won't go away. I think it has got better since he arrived, but it's hard to tell because it took about three months before he was willing to come anywhere near me. He was starved when I got him and had severe diarrhoea for quite a while until I found a food that agrees with him. He is now a good weight and appears completely chilled and happy, yet the eczema stays...
Any thoughts or experiences?
Thanks!

 

[BeckyFlowers]

Can you describe what it actually looks like? Eg is it a bald patch with dry skin, scabs, oozing etc? Is he bothered by it?

The only reason I ask is because my cat had a bacterial skin infection on her face and chin earlier this year (diagnosed by vet) which I was convinced was flea allergy dermatitis. On her chin she had scabs that I could scratch off and they looked like black flecks. On her face (between eyes and ears) she had crusty scabs that oozed when I scratched them and the area went bald.

I suppose the point I'm trying to make is that I was convinced it was FAD (even though I regularly flea'd her) but it was actually something completely different. An antibiotic injection cleared it up.

 

[soloequestrian]

I don't think it bothers him - he occasionally scratches that area, or rubs it with the top of his paw which does look slightly stereotypic but is rare. The patches move around, are about the size of a fingernail and just look slightly less hairy than the surrounding skin, with black flecks at the base of the hairs. It never looks scabby or weepy. He had antibiotics a few weeks ago for an abscess (bite from another cat) and they didn't seem to have any effect on the eczema.

 

[BeckyFlowers]

Sounds like my girls chin. Vet said it was blackheads like what humans get! (the stuff on her face was different). Vet said bathe it with salt water, although it cleared up probably due to the antibiotics she had for her face, although the antibiotics she had were specifically for bacterial skin infections.

 

[missmatch]

If you give her food and water in plastic bowls, switch to metal or ceramic as plastic can cause irritation in cats.
It might be worth trying aqueos products to see if they help.
Also check claws, pads are clean in case she is scratching the area.
If it hasn’t grown, changed or caused pain and upset then it’s most likely nothing to worry about.