Brown Spots

I've noticed in the past year that my cat is developing little brown spots on the outside of his gums. From what I can see there are about 3. Might anyone know what causes these and if it is something to be concerned about.

Exact same here with Rocket. Looks like pigmented lip skin. His is near the corner of his mouth. I don't think they were there when I adopted him. I've been watching them to see if they are getting bigger and haven't noticed so far. Will ask the vet at his next physical, but will be watching your thread to see if you get an answer.

Feline acne? Are you using plastic feeding bowls?

No, not feline acne with Rocket, because he's had that, too, and this is different.

KittysMom - upon reading your post again, I think our two cases are different. You say your cat's spots are on the outside of the gums. My cat's spots are on his lip. I think spots on the gums would be a concern to me. Some kinds of periodontal disease are manifested by discoloration of the gums. Are the spots near the teeth? Is there any swelling and/or bleeding?

Like Tim has said if their on the lips my Rosie also has them. Rosie is a tortie and their quite common

All of my red tabbies have them and they get more pronounced the older they get. Some are on their gums and some on their lips. Pinky has actually gotten some spots on his nose. I have the vet look at them closely with their annual visit and he is not concerned. Feline acne usually shows up on their chins so I would guess it is not that.

Read through this old thread for some more comments:

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50069

In a nutshell, nothing to be concerned about according to multiple vets. Wouldn't hurt to mention it during your next regular checkup but probably not worth a separate visit.