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My senior cat has a black hard lump on her lip. Is it cancer?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Female | spayed | 8 lbs

My 18 year old cat has a black hard tumor on her upper lip. What is the most likely diagnosis?

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Kevin Sanada, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on August 25th, 2017

The most common causes of oral tumors in cats are melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma and fibrosarcoma. A black tumor would be more suspicious of melanoma. In either of these cases, you want to get it removed and identified soon, because they are all cancerous. However, there are many benign (non- cancerous) causes of nodules in the mouth, so don't worry too much yet. A veterinarian may see it and not be as concerned based on the appearance. I hope that helps and all turns out OK with Alexis.

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