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My cat has black spots on her tongue. Is it just pigmentation?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Maine Coon | Female | spayed | 2 years old

My cat has black spot on her tongue. Since atleast two weeks. They were not ther before, they cannot be removed with any tool at all, She can eat,drink,chew on toys. Two vets were not sure what is it, the 3rd one said it is just pigmentation. Saliva was checked, nothing found. They said only biopsy could tell for sure what it is. My kitty is really stressfull and I do not want to cause her pain or have her tongue cut if it's really just pigmentation. They do not change and look flat. (attached)

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Dr. Heidi DVM, CVA, CCRT, CVTP, CVSMT, CVCH

Answered By Dr. Heidi DVM, CVA, CCRT, CVTP, CVSMT, CVCH

Veterinarian, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist, Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner

Published on January 14th, 2018

I certainly understand not wanting to put Violet through surgery. Unforunately, a biopsy will likely be the only way to tell what the black areas are and the biopsy may very well say that it is only pigmentation. One possibility of why the pigmentation has just developed would be if Violet ate or chewed on something that irritated her tongue. We do not commonly see this on the tongue, but when skin is irritated, it will often turn a darker color. If that is the reason for he change in pigment, it should not get worse and should not look raised. If at any point the pigment is getting larger or looking raised, then it may be time to biopsy it just to be safe.
Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.
Vote Icon6Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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