Prevent Sunburn on Your White Cats

Just like fair-skinned people need to limit their exposure to the sun, or wear an adequate sunscreen for protection, white cats tend to have the same problem. Normally, the body part of a cat doesn't suffer from overexposure to the sun. A cat's fur helps to protect their skin from sunburn. Rather, it's a white cat's ears and nose that tend to sunburn. These areas aren't protected by much fur. White cats, or even cats who have dark fur otherwise, but have white white ears and faces, are especially susceptible to sunburn. There are steps you can take, as a responsible pet owner, to prevent sunburn on your white cats.

Sunburn is also known as "Solar Dermatitis" when it pertains to a cat. You may think that an episode of sunburn won't hurt your white cat. But just like on humans, sunburn is a red and painful burn. It can cause a great amount of discomfort. However, that's just the tip of the iceberg. Excessive sun exposure can also make any existing skin problems your white cat may have- dry skin, for example- worse.

Overexposure to the sun can lead to a serious medical condition called, "Squamous Cell Carcinoma." This type of cancer, which usually affects the ears and the nose of a white cat, can be fatal. If you don't prevent sunburn on your white cats, your veterinarians can offer two treatments: either surgery to remove the cancerous cells, or chemotherapy. However, prevention is better than the treatments, especially when it comes to dealing with "Squamous Cell Carcinoma."

To prevent sunburn, or "Solar Dermititis" on your white cats, here are a couple important steps you can take:

1. Restrict Exposure to the Sun
Cat's are very intelligent creatures. They can tell when they are too hot, and they know to move to a cool, shady area out of the scorching sun. What your cat can't tell, however, is when they have had too much exposure to the sun. This is where you as the responsible pet owner comes into play. To prevent sunburn on your white cats, limit their times in the outdoors on sunny days. The sun's ultraviolet (UV) rays are the strongest between ten o'clock in the morning and four o'clock in the afternoon.