Most of my patients don’t have this problem. But there are just a few exceptions.
Owners of naturally hairless breeds of dog, such as the Mexican hairless, or breeds of cat, such as the Sphynx will know all about how to reduce the risk of sunburn for their animals.
But it is also a problem for any cat whose ears are white.
On the ear flap, also known as the pinna, of a cat there is an area towards the edges that have a particularly sparse covering of hair. This is not a problem if the fur in that area is black or ginger, as the skin underneath will be darker, and has a low risk of sunburn.
However, if the fur on your cat’s pinna is all white, or if there is a white stripe along the edges of the pinna, the skin underneath will be as pale as mine.
This means that, if they are sun lovers, and enjoy resting in a sunny patch they could repeatedly suffer from sunburn. And over time this will contribute to the risk of sun damage, and eventually cancer, usually squamous cell carcinoma.
I have certainly seen a good few examples of skin cancer on the ears of white cats, sadly.
To prevent this, there are simple sunscreens that are available and safe to be applied for feline patients, if you are sufficiently organised to remember on every sunny day.
Alternatively, you could train your cat to be indoors during the hottest part of our summer days, and only be free to exercise outdoors when it is cooler.
Unfortunately the scabby sores that develop as a precursor to cancer can bleed very easily, and are best removed under general anaesthetic. But this does alter the appearance of the cat, so prevention is better than cure.