It's just acne.  But personally, I don't think it's a problem to squeeze
them.  I always put a combination of antibiotic ointment/prednisone on them
after expressing the pus.

I have 11 cats.  Only a few ever have zits, and even then they are sporadic.
The whole nonsense about ceramic bowls is just that, nonsense.  If doctors
knew what caused zits in humans, there wouldn't be any acne any longer, and
there would be a lot of rich doctors.  Been there, and still am although I'm
pushing menopause.  I've had every acne treatment in the book, to no avail.

<< should i be taking her to the vet? >>

yes

www.mimiforsyth.com

I would because maybe it is a food allergy. I think I would also clean her
chin gently. They could become infected if they are too bad even if they or
maybe especially if they are not expressed but I would want a vet to look at
it.

Herpes maybe? I used to use plastic bowls, got cats with acne, switched to
ceramic, they were okay, until they ate out of a plastic outdoor feeder bowl at
my neighbors. I asked her to switch for the benefit of her cats but she
wouldn't...so I finally stole her bowls and replaced them with ceramic!
Muahaha! Everyone was okay after that. Can your cats eat out of any other
bowls, like a neighbors? My cats never got it around the mouth, just the chin.
Mouth sounds like herpes. I had a cat with herpes. I also had an FLV+ cat who
got mouth sores, most were on her inner gums, not the outside mouth.

I've brought my Tucker in to the vet for kitty acne several times, but
only ended up with an upset kitty and a thinner pocketbook--and no
real answers. I finally found something that really helped--Sensitive
Skin Stridex pads. Make sure to buy the sensitive skin version,
because it doesn't contain alcohol. Scrub the chin once a day. I
noticed a great improvement in a couple of days. (and a bonus is I can
use them myself too)

Also, you should stay with ceramic bowls or even glass bowls and wash
them daily.

Rene

At work, Stinky recently had a bad acne outbreak.  Stinky & Harriet eat wet
food from ceramic bowls and dry food from stainless steel.   On one side of
Stinky's mouth she had what looked like black scabs.  She also had  a large
white pimple on her upper lip.  In just 2 or 3 days, both sites were
completely clear.  Not sure what caused it.  No change in food and no
plastic bowls (other than the Drinkwell fountain).

I see tiny little black spots around all of the cats' mouths occasionally
(at work & home) but they generally don't get infected, big or scabby like
Stinky's recent acne.

--
Liz

It is probably kitty acne - your vet can tell you what to use to wash
the area with.  They are painful, from the cats I have treated.  At
the vet, we used a hypoallergenic liquid soap, rinsed well, and
followed up with either a benzalkonium chloride wash or diluted
hydrogen peroxide.  But I would check with your vet before DIY at
home, if you are concerned about making it worse.

-L.