Black patches on cats skin

Hi everybody, I hope you are all well.

A few days ago I noticed a small black patch that had appeared on our cats skin at the top of his ear. It is not dirt as it will not clean away and it does not effect his fur which remains white as it always was, the mark can be seen on both sides of his ear, if we touch it the cat does not seem to be in pain and there is no residue, the best way to describe it is to say it is like a tattoo mark. As we aren't exactly well off I don't want to rush to the vets and pay big fees to find out it's nothing so I am asking in places like this first, so any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Below is the best picture I can provide of the mark, apparently my cat is camera shy

Wow, I have no idea what that could be, but I don't think that it's just nothing. 

I suggest a visit to your vet. I know that money is tight, but really, it's important that your kitty be seen to find out what this is. Hopefully somebody else will be able to give you an idea of what it could be. 

This seems like 'lentigo simplex' to me. It's pretty much just a freckle. As long as it's flat and not raised and doesn't seem to affect him at all and is either on the nose, eyes, ears, or lips. Any raised spots in those areas or spots in other places should definitely be checked. Lentigo simplex  occurs mostly in orange cats, but can occur in torties and tuxedos and cream colored cats too.

Our 12 year old tuxedo cat has this on her nose. One day she just got a small black spot on her nose and now it's over half her nose but it's nothing but a freckle (did a ton of research on this when her nose started changing)

But if you feel he should be checked by a vet, do take him. A check over never hurts (except maybe a wallet, but maybe your vet would take payments if you did it?)

ashyfulz said:

This seems like 'lentigo simplex' to me. It's pretty much just a freckle. As long as it's flat and not raised and doesn't seem to affect him at all and is either on the nose, eyes, ears, or lips. Any raised spots in those areas or spots in other places should definitely be checked. Lentigo simplex  occurs mostly in orange cats, but can occur in torties and tuxedos and cream colored cats too.

Our 12 year old tuxedo cat has this on her nose. One day she just got a small black spot on her nose and now it's over half her nose but it's nothing but a freckle (did a ton of research on this when her nose started changing)

But if you feel he should be checked by a vet, do take him. A check over never hurts (except maybe a wallet, but maybe your vet would take payments if you did it?)

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I agree to this. However, not being a vet, I suggest that you take your cat for a check-up just to be sure. My 8-month-old muted calico kitten, Bella, started with three black "spots" on her front gum and within a few weeks they turned into black patches on her previous pink gums and lips. The patches were not raised or hurt her in any way. However, I was worried and took her last Thursday to our vet. He "diagnosed" Bella with "lentigo simplex", a pigmentation change in cats that are mostly white, orange (including tabbies) and calico cats. It is a harmless "freckling" and will never turn into cancer. (This was my main worry.) I was told to take a lot of pictures of Bella because she will continue to change. Apparently the most common places for freckling to occur are on the nose, gums, lips, and ears. So far with Bella it is on the gums and lips. Again, not being a doctor, I suggest that your kitty be seen by a vet. Only they know for sure. Good luck!!! Please keep us posted...

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