Hi All;

My two 10 yr olds just recently developed this acne.  I had been using
plastic bowls for years.  Now that BOTH of them have developed this
condition, I bought ceramic bowls.  Can anyone tell me how long before
I can expect to see results?  Can anyone suggest what I can wash their
chins with to help clear this up?

Before I realized it was caused by the plastic bowls, I thought it was
just a dirty chin on my white cat, until my vet pointed out this
condition and recommended the ceramic or stainless steel bowls.  But I
forgot to ask about treating them.  I checked the chin on my tuxedo
and found the same rash.  I used Dial bar soap and water on a
washcloth, and rinsed well, and applied cortizone cream.  They are
still scratching their chins.  How can I get this cleared up as it is
starting to spread to their upper lip as well?

I feel like a bad mommy to have let this happen.

gw

I don't know about black dandruff, but there are some ceramics embedded
with heavy metals and some plastic bowls that slowly leach plasticizer when
used as water dishes. I would use neither for a distressed cat, even if the
ceramic was approved for "human" use because I do not have the time and
resource to verify the integrity of the product and am not a gambler at
heart.

Consequently, I only use stainless steel cat food and water bowls. They
sanitize nicely, don't break when dropped and won't leach out any foreign
material. The initial cost is much higher, but they last indefinitely and
keep their new look if you never use anything harsher than Soft Scrub to
wash them and don't allow anyone to use them as substitute hammers.

Gravity driven water bottles are also effective in minimizing cross
contamination if you can not isolate the infected animal and if you make
sure the bottles are cleaned and refilled daily. I don't recommend the
electronically controlled tap-water types unless you have a large floor
drain, a water flow alarm on the drain and one or more staff or family
members eager to mop (from wet and bitter experience).

Can anyone explain why the plastic bowls cause the acne condition at
all please?
I have been using plastic for years, but this has never happened  to
us so far.

Also, should I be considering changing them over onto Metal ones just
for safety's sake?

Many thanks,
K