Cat & Dog Acne from Plastic Bowls?
Our cats have always eaten their homemade food out of nice ceramic dishes that we got for free or almost free at a yard sale. (Arya is practicing her scary Halloween demon kitty face.)
But apparently, not all cats are so lucky. Michael came home last Friday and told me his workmate’s cat had developed acne, and that her vet said she should stop feeding him from a plastic bowl. Huh? I mean, I’ve heard a lot of negative things about plastic, but that was a really new one for me.
So I Googled “cat acne plastic,” and guess what: it’s conventional wisdom (although I haven’t found a definitive source) that cats can develop acne on their chins from eating out of plastic bowls. (Dogs, too! Google “dog acne plastic.”)
Dirty Plastic Bowls
According to The Spruce:
Plastic food dishes have long been suspected as a culprit in chin acne. Plastic is a magnet for bacteria and dirt that work their way into scratches and nicks, reinfecting your cat and/or spreading bacteria to other cats in the household. Veterinarians and other feline experts recommend using only glass or metal food bowls, and daily washing of those, in order to help prevent this common condition.
It does make sense. Plastic is lipophyllic, meaning that it attracts oils. Have you noticed how hard it can be to clean grease off of plastic? And once plastic is roughed up a bit, it’s even harder to clean. Our ceramic dishes, on the other hand, clean up beautifully.
Plastic Allergies
Also, some pets are allergic to plastic, and what appears to be acne is actually an allergic reaction. According to The Humane Society’s Complete Guide to Cat Care:
Many cats are allergic to plastic. Replace plastic food and water bowls with stainless steel, U.S.-made ceramic (glazes on foreign made ceramics often contain lead), or heavy glass. If your cat habitually lounges on plastic surfaces, drape his favorite spots with thick, soft towels to prevent skin contact. Plastic allergies are often betrayed by outbreaks of rashes or raised, itchy patches on your cat’s throat, neck and chin — where he touches his food and water bowls.
Hormones?
Maybe the reason for pet breakouts is bacteria trapped in plastic, and maybe it’s plastic allergies, but I want to suggest another reason: leaching chemicals. Okay, don’t quote me on this! I haven’t found any studies definitively linking the chemicals in plastic to outbreaks of acne, but consider this: many plastics contain hormone-disruptors like bisphenol-a and phthalates. And changes in hormones are a major cause of acne.
I don’t know if the chemicals in plastic affect hormones in such a way as to promote acne or if they might even do the opposite. Biosphenol-A, in fact, mimics estrogen, not the male hormones associated with acne. But I’m just tossing the idea out there that we’ve created this environmental soup of endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and no one really knows what the long term affects will be for us or for the animals with which we share this planet. Why wait to find out? Let’s just stop feeding ourselves and our loved ones, including 4-legged ones, out of plastic.
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I just wrote the company, my cat is allergic to plastic and we use their litter.
Do you think I should replace the plastic container in which I store the cat’s dry food? And what about the plastic lids that we put on wet food cans to store them? Are those the cause too?
I can’t know for sure, but those are probably okay. The lids aren’t really touching the food. And the plastic is less likely to leach into dry food.
It is by now well documented that plastic pet fountains can cause chin acne in cats.
Bizarre! Makes me glad I feed my dog out of ceramic bowls
The place I buy our dog food also said that animals can develop cancers from plastic bowls.
Interesting article. And I’ve heard that before, actually.
But I currently have 12 cats and 11 dogs, and they’ve eaten out of plastic bowls their whole lives and none of them have acne. Meanwhile, at the animal shelter where I work, we feed our animals out of metal dishes, and there’s almost always at least one critter with chin acne. Maybe plastic can cause acne in some animals, who knows. But until I find some real scientific evidence that says so, I’m gonna save my monies and keep feeding my kids out of their old dishes. Why fix what ain’t broken?
My vet told me years ago to stop feeding my pets (who were suffering from “food” allergies) to stop feeing out of plastic bowls. They both (a cat and a dog) had what I now know is chin acne and it cleared up. Thanks for giving me a better explanation as to what caused it.
Well you learn something everyday!! Glad I’ve only ever used glass for ours.
re the stop feeding ourselves and loved one out of plastic:
I’m sitting here and eating peanut butter out of a glass jar while reading this. My favourite brand (unfortunately nothing compares to it in taste) is sold in plastic, thus I don’t buy it anymore.
When we had a cat its bowl was made out of plastic and she never had a problem with it, but knowing what I know now, if I ever have one again, I’m defintely not going to buy plastic bowls!
I`ve read something about animal plastic allergies prior to this post, an now I stumbled upon this. I just want to support life less plastic and to say that we need to recycle as much as we can.
Very interesting. Our dog developed an allergic reaction to his bed. We thought it may be the cedar filling but after removing the filling, washing the cover and stuffing it with a foam (made of I don’t know…bad me.) he again reacted to the bed. Not sure if it still has cedar oils, it has some funky fabric finish on the cover or if its a plasticy fabric that he is allergic to. Hmm, I think I still have the tag, will have to check its contents. In any case, he doesn’t have that bed anymore for daily use. Just blankets/towels on the floor.
I had never heard of this and my cats and dog never had acne. About a year ago, I replaced the plastic cat bowls (I no longer have my dog). I figured if plastic was bad for me, it was probably bad for my cats and they deserved at least what I deserved. They now have very cute little ceramic bowls that I got at deep discount at TJ Maxx.
I’ve used ceramic and glass bowls for my cats food for many years but there was a time I used plastic . . . and they had ACNE!!!! This is fabulous information Beth! I have shared it on FB and know I will get feedback . . . thanks again!
Well it makes sense if we’re taking plastic out of our life we should for our animals too.
But just curious what about wooden bowls? Cos, if like wooden chopping boards, they apparently have a natural antibacterial property. Plus wood (well in some case) is a lot more likely to be sustainably harvested and perhaps not as chemically intensive as glass and steel in the mining/manufacturing process (just look at the recent disaster in Hungrary)
Wow. Time to get some new cat bowls, clearly.
My cat Felix developed chin acne last year and the vet asked us about the bowls that we use. Yep, they were plastic and he told us to ditch the plastic and switch to ceramic or glass. That and a few weeks of benzoyl peroxide cleared it up and he’s been clear ever since. And I was thinking it was teenage cat stress….
Yes, plastic cat bowls = ewww.
Euwww! Although now that I think about it, my cats did have acne way back when they were younger. At the time I was feeding them out of plastic bowls.
After they were about a year old the acne went away… but that’s also about the time I bought these adorable small ceramic bowls from Uwajimaya (the awesome Asian grocery store in Seattle).
Crazy! Ya learn something every day!
Oh my gosh! Is this why my 8 year old grey kitty, Jacques, developed chin acne?? I am replacing the plastic bowls ASAP. Thank you so much for the great tip!!!!