Black spots/flakes on a healthy tabby's mouth?
 

Hi everyone!
I adopted my cat, an orange tabby, about 6 months ago from the SPCA. He's a year and a half old now and seems to be in perfect health - he's affectionate, playful, and has a great appetite. He was given a clean bill of health when I adopted him. Yesterday, I noticed that he has very small black flakey-looking bits where the fur begins near the lower corners of his mouth. You wouldn't notice them unless you were looking closely. I've also noticed a couple small black spots on his lower lip and one on his upper lip. The spots aren't raised or indented and there are no bumps present. Google says that it may be cat acne, however the photos all look different than how Fred looks. Should I be worried about these spots? Is there anything I can do at home to see if they can be reduced? As I said, he's still acting 100% healthy and does not react negatively when I touch the area around his mouth or his lips. Any help would be most appreciated. I'm not [I]too[/I] worried, but as he's my first pet, I'm a bit wary and looking for some insight. Thank you in advance!

I'd keep an eye on them and see if they change but some small flaps of skin in that area are normal and black spots are normal. If they just appeared I'd have the Vet take a look. But it you just noticed them and they were there all along I'd monitor.

I'm assuming that by "flakey" you don't mean they are actually falling off?

Great, thanks very much for the response! I feel like they haven't just appeared and that this is the first I'm noticing them, but I can't be totally certain. Glad to hear that it's somewhat normal. I'll definitely monitor to see whether there's any spreading.

No, nothing is falling off. The things that look like 'flakes' stick around - I initially tried washing them off with a cloth and warm water, but they stay put.