I didn't know cats could get acne. I didn't think they didn't get acne, I just hadn't realized they did, either. I mean, sure, they get everything else, from leukemia to diabetes, but acne??
Naturally, we found out in just about the most embarrassing way possible. We just noticed a few days ago that Einstein, the older of our two cats, had a round red rough area under his mouth. At first we thought the younger cat had bitten him and he had a scab. After a few days, though, the red splotches started spreading. The more we talked about it the more nerve-racking the possibilities became. Maybe it's ringworm, and it will spread to us and our guests!
So we took him to the vet. She looked at the cat, looked at it through a magnifying glass, and then started telling personal stories about her own cats. At one point I realized the vet had not done any examining in a while, but had gone into full story-telling mode.... and I gradually realized she was trying to soften the embarrassment for us.
Ah well. At least it is nothing serious. Are we really now having discussions about whether to get him skin cream? Yes, yes we are. Acne on a cat. And any skin cream that doesn't have zinc oxide.