black spot on tongue

[Yuna]

I am really scared of finding spots, because almost 3 years ago when I found some weird black spots in Ziggy's eye they turned out to be melanoma and he had to have his eye removed. I posted about it here when it happened I don't know if anyone remembers though XP

anyway for awhile now maybe about a year and a half he's had a black spot on his tongue. and its making me so nervous, my old vet looked at it once, and said if it changed or grew to be concerned. same thing he told me about the spot in his eye =( so the spot stayed the same for a long time but lately I think it looks bigger. please tell me tongue spots are not necessarily melanoma?? I would be wrecked if he still had this cancer. the spot definitely does NOT look raised or anything... too bad I can't get a picture of it for you guys =( anyway if anyone knows anything about tongue spots please let me know. thanks.

[farleyv]

and see that it is common. Its a pigment thing. Some tortie and calico cats have them. Just google it and you will come up with some info.

[Violet]

I remember Ziggy's eye melanoma very well and I think of him often, hoping he is all right.
The spot on his tongue might very well be a "freckle" or harmless pigmentation, but with his history, for peace of mind, I would have it looked at by a veterinary dentist.

Veterinary dentists
http://www.avdc.org/dipl-list-table.htm

[otto]

I was thinking freckle too, at first, but given his history I agree with Violet's advice.

Please keep us posted.

[Yuna]

thanks everyone <3 the reason I'm hoping its not melanoma was that the vet told me that if it did spread from his eye it would spread to organs like his liver or lungs although I had a different vet tell me it would show up in his other eye while the first vet told me that wouldn't happen. so I don't know who is right or what to think. the spot has stayed the same for a long time, and I did see on google that is fairly normal for dogs but I didn't find much for cats. I'll probably make an appointment for him sometime before the end of the month for peace of mind. poor ziggy, he's such a happy cat too he shouldn't have so many problems.

[strange_wings]

I have a black cat that has black spots in her mouth and on her tongue. I've seen other black cats with spots, too - sort of how a lot of black dogs will have them.
I hope that's all Ziggy has.

[Yuna]

thank you he's always had black spots on his gums, and its possible I just never noticed the spot on his tongue before I saw it a few years ago but I'm not sure. I'll keep you guys updated on it

[Rosiemac]

Rosie's isn't on her tongue but she has them in her mouth and on her lip, and Sophie has one on the roof of her mouth. The vet said they were blemishes

Here's a close up of Rosie's

[dandi]

I would get this checked soon. I DO NOT want to scare you, but I had a similar situation and waited too long. The spot on Shady's tounge was never raised but unfortunately it was cancer. One side of his tounge swelled until eventually he was no longer able to eat. I am haunted by the thought that if he would have been diagnosed sooner, he would still be with me. Something else to keep in mind - That spot had been on Shady's tounge for over a year. In that time he had been to the vet for an annual exam, a routine teeth cleaning and a subsequent visit because I knew there was something wrong with his mouth or throat but I didn't know what. The vet never spotted the cancer. It wasn't until I took him in yet again for the same undiagnosed problem that a different vet at the same office took one look in his mouth and said "I think it's cancer". He wanted to be absolutley sure so he took a biopsy. His suspicion was right. By then it was far too late to remove the mass, it had grown too large. Two months later I had to say goodbye to my baby boy. I know this sounds like a nightmare (for me it was) but I just want to stress the importance of getting your baby to the vet and having that spot tested. I think what happened to Shady was pretty rare so it's unlikely that your cat has the same thing but I just wanted to put that out there. I hope your baby is happy and healthy.