Odd black round cat’s mouth

[Judystilldreamsofhorses]

Hello, does anyone have any ideas what this is? It feels sticky. We’ve got a vet appointment on Friday and I did a call with a vet nurse (part of our insurance) who looked at her on video link and wasn’t concerned. (But didn’t know what it was.) We’ve bathed it with a warm flannel but it isn’t coming off easily. No change to her behaviour, and greedy as ever.

Try some fairy liquid (depending on your cat's temperament ).
I would want to get that off in case it's toxic (vet nurse). Some charcoal might be a good idea in case she's ingested anything, again not easy to administer in some cats. See if you can bring the vet appointment forward. No change to behaviour is a good sign though, hopefully something harmless.

thanks for replying @Anonaymoose it’s actually been there a few days, Friday was the earliest we could get a vet - they weren’t concerned when DP explained the issue. She’s not been happy at the flanneling, we had another go just before I posted here and she is sulking under the bed. Is Fairy Liquid not toxic?

Sorry, just to clarify - do you mean what is round her mouth is possibly something she has eaten, or that she has potentially eaten something and is oozing toxins? That sounds so bonkers written down, but Google led me to stuff about glands round the mouth. I just went to see her under the bed and she gave me a big miaow and a kiss on the nose, then led me to her food cupboard.

My little dog had similar to this after trying to chew a slug. They seem to squirt lots of goo to defend themselves and then the sticky residue picked up mud/dirt from around the outdoors.
Was a pain to get out, just lots of warm flannels and combing.

Vet recommended a heart worm top up treatment for her.

Slugs!

Oh god we get loads of slugs round the bird bath/feeders. She doesn’t roam as such but she does go in our garden/next door, and quite often sits watching the bird bath.

Just in case anyone is interested the vet was a bit vexed, but cleaned her face and there was inflammation under the gunk. She thinks it is some sort of allergic reaction (to something she ate) and we have antibiotics to give her. I’m racking my brains. She is a terrible moocher, and I can only think of a plate she licked with the remains of a creamy sauce from a fish thing. There are some weird mushrooms on the lawn so maybe she had a go at those?