Dark spot on skin: pic included

[Emeraldgreen]

Now that things have settled down a bit with Tiger I can focus on Paddington's strange 'spot'. I noticed it a few weeks ago and it looks like a flat mole. It's dark brown and isn't raised at all. I can't be sure if it was there all along (in the few months we've had him). Maybe it became more noticable when the cats started scratching their ears and chewing their paws. During this time, his hair above his eyes got thinned out a bit with all the scratching which maybe made it more visible?!?
I treated everybody with Revolution last month and thankfully all the itching and chewing stopped so I think they were dealing with a mite problem. Anyway, I know the best thing to do is to take him to the vet but we're so broke right now. I'll be able to take him in a few weeks but for now I thought I'd ask if anyone has seen such a spot on their own cats? I'm hoping it's just an age spot but I'm worried it's something serious.

[Jessika]

I've had lots of kitties with brown spots like that, and even some that had it in that same spot. I don't think it should be cause for alarm unless it changes in size or color.

[Catlady711]

I've had lots of kitties with brown spots like that, and even some that had it in that same spot. I don't think it should be cause for alarm unless it changes in size or color.


I tend to dissagree.

I've seen many dogs/cats at the hosp. with dark colored bumps and the vets were immediately concerned, even more so if it's on the eyelid. Apparently dark colored bumps are more cause for worry than light flesh colored ones. Anyways many of the bumps the surgically removed were sent in to the lab and about 1/2 of those came back as a type of cancer. Although not all of those cancers were a spreading kind, or better to say that if the whole bump was removed at the time then it removed the cancer. I just know I'm not wording that quite right.

My mom's cat has a dark spot on her ear but it's only visable when the light shines through her ear flap. We took her in to be checked out and in her case it was just a pigment thing, so a few dollars let my mom not have to worry.

Anyways, any suspicious bump should be checked out because if it was cancer the longer it stays there the more chance it could spread and be more difficult/expensive to remove later. And if it isn't cancer then you can sleep easy and are only out a few bucks for peace of mind.

[Jessika]

My kitties didn't ever have bumps, just a colored spot like a freckle, and the vets saw it and were never concerned. She'd said it looks like a spot, not a bump (though now I go back and read I See "flat mole") so I guess I misread the post. I was reading it as though it were a "freckle", and not necessarily a bump. My apologies.

[Catty1]

Emeraldgreen - Why not just contact your vet and see what he says? Do let him know if $$ is a problem.

My employer's cat had a dark spot which he would lick at, and it would bleed a bit. The vet had a look and was not concerned...he said it would go away. I think it might be a hematoma...and that MIGHT - MIGHT be what Paddy has if there was a lot of scratching going on. That could raise a blood blister.

Is it hard? Squishy?

HUGS - all will work out.

[Emeraldgreen]

Sorry, I think I confused things when I used the word 'mole'. It's totally flat, not raised at all and is totally even with the surrounding skin so it is more like a freckle but a big one. The colour is quite dark. Paddy and the others were itching because of what I believe was mites. A few days after administering Revolution to each of them, the scratching stopped. This mark doesn't seem to bother him at all but I was alarmed when I noticed it.
I think the best route to take will be to have a vet check it to put my mind at ease, as has been suggested here. I'm sure hoping it's just a pigment thing, like a freckle as in the case of Jessika's cat. :)
I don't think I'll contact the vet who did the surgery on Tiger about it because he is located where we used to live which is many hours away. He's an excellent vet but he does like to upsell and try everything under the sun so even with my discount, it could get expensive.
I'll take him to a local vet in a few weeks time that I've used before on occasion. She's pretty good and I think if she had the higher tech equipment for rhinoscopy, she would have found Tiger's tumor too. She was the first vet I took Tiger too when he was having breathing problems and she suspected a tumor but wasn't sure exactly where it was located and just wasn't equipped to find it.