Last weekend I took a short-sleeved, cargo-shorted walk with the dogs at a beach. I slapped on sunscreen and felt smugly protected - there'd be no foolish spring sunburn for me this year, thanks very much! But how much thought did I give to keeping the dogs safe in the sun? None, actually.
Yet dogs can get sunburn - especially those with wispy coats and those that love to sun their bellies and other fur-less parts. And so can cats - especially those that are white.
A Four Legs Good reader named Sharon has a pure-white cat, named Lily, who's eight months old. As a good pet owner, Sharon heeded the advice of the SPCA and her vet, and resolved to protect Lily (pictured right) as much as she could from the sun and from the cancers that are a curse for snowy cats, particularly on the ears. Hence a daily wrestle with Lily to get her ears and nose sunscreened, using a spray that Sharon ordered from Britain called PetScreen.
Sharon has a feline lifetime ahead of her spent gilding the unwilling Lily every day with that stuff. But the effort is worthwhile if it prevents the skin cancers that often form on white cats' ears and can spread and cause death. "I'd rather do battle with her every day than have her suffer," says Sharon. (Any of you white-cat-owners have such a routine?)
And Lily, wouldn't you know it, loves the sun.
Sharon has raised my awareness of white pets' sun-weakness. Now, whenever I see a white cat wandering or basking in the sun, I'll wonder how safe it is (another thing for a worrier to worry about). In fact, owners of white cats often keep their pets inside during the middle of the day (just as we humans are warned to do), make sure there are shady places where the cat can rest, and like Sharon anoint the cat with one of a range of sun-blocking lotions. I suppose it has to become a part of a daily routine just as much as feeding.
Or indeed just as much as it is for fair-skinned people like me to coat ourselves in sunscreen at least daily when there's an "r" in the month.
I've had a pretty good routine, and have enjoyed several burn-free summers. But my problem time is right now, in the spring, when it doesn't feel like summer but when the sun is already revving up its UV furnaces so fridge-complexioned folk like me can cop a fierce burn.
So now is a good time to think about the pets and their safety in the sun, too. I figure that Connor may be the most sun-vulnerable of our pets: his wiry coat is thin around his ears and on his underside. So I may try a sunscreen on him before any long daytime walks.
I have to make sure that there's plenty of water around - usually we keep two bowls topped up during the warm months, and sometimes leave ice cubes for the cat and dogs to lick at.
Above all, and I've blogged about this before, we have to remember how hot the inside of the car can get, and how quickly, and to not leave the dogs at risk.
It may not feel all that warm yet, but I think it's worthwhile starting to act as though it were.
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Hi We have a nearly pure white kitten like Sharon, but ours has ginger patches on her ears and slightly mixed through her body. Is she as suseptable to get skin cancer? I heard not, but just checking.
A very timely post Nick with summer looming (I think). And well done Sharon for being so caring and conscientious towards Lily - what a beautiful girl Lily is. I also had a beautiful white cat who was diagnosed with skin cancer but fortunately it was detected before it had time to spread further than her ears which were immediately cropped as a result of the cancer. Prior to that though, I was completely ignorant of just how prevalent skin cancer was in white cats. Take note, owners of white animals.
I love "Dr Harry" in Australia & his sun screen was a non toxic felt pen, just scribble on the cat it will take a bit longer to come off the cream.
In case you're wondering what options there might be in NZ, I've supplied some info below from an NZ website that has pet sunscreen for purchase. You could go to the local pet store too but I thought it worth sharing this as it's often cheaper to get these things online. Anyway, this product is marketed to be a specially formulated Sunfilter for animals, which can also be used as an Antibacterial cream.
To use as a Sunfilter - apply a thin layer each morning to exposed areas, and up to 3 times daily as required. Filta-Clear can be gently massaged in until filming disappears. To use an Antibacterial and Antiseptic- Apply a covering over damaged skin areas daily until healed. Remove excess by bathing with warm water.
http://www.petpost.co.nz/dog-sunscreens/
So seems like a good idea for a number of uses/applications. I've not personally used any to date, but I'd love to hear from someone who has.
Our tabby-and-white happens to have the white part on his face, so he has a lovely little pink nose. Dark ears, though. I've got some stuff for it, it's just a matter of getting it on him before he heads out for the day! He seems to come in a lot during the hottest part of the day so that's good - I just need to be a little bit more vigilant about the sunscreen for when he is out.
Kind of like myself, really.
Good call Nick. I have a black cat and used to have a black and tan dog and have to say it's not something I really tend to think about - but perhaps we should at least be checking from time to time! I think black animals are perhaps doubly benefited - the darkness of the fur also absorbs the heat, so the cat or dog gets hot quite quickly and moves themselves into the shade. I wouldn't be surprised if they move into shade quicker than lighter animals - I know our cat gets to the almost too hot to touch stage pretty quickly - and yes, she does move then!
Gilding the unwilling Lily - EXCELLENT line, there Nick.
Our little fur baby Zeb has a half-white face and a pink nose. We got him in May so haven't had a summer with him yet. Will be watching him closely - thanks for those tips mchaggis!
Lost our beautiful ginger cat to nose cancer when I was a kid, so am planning to be very watchful of Mr Zeb!
My vet told me years ago that sunscreen for children is ok to use on pets. It's thicker so the pets don't lick it off as easily i think was the main idea.
I've put this on the facebook page, but I'll share it here too. Last year I bought some homeopathic type 'sunscreen' that you put in your pet's water bowl (or directly into their mouth) from a place called Animal Health Solutions. It was great, stopped our very pink skinned greyhound getting any sunburn. see: http://www.animal.co.nz/contact.php (pretty sure you need to email or phone them to order the stuff, ask for the 'Suncare' for pets :)
Good for Sharon for taking good loving care of her gorgeous cat Lily, by protecting her from the sun's rays.
We lost a beautiful cat to a nose cancer some years ago. He had treatment after treatment for it. Nothing worked. We had to have him put down in the end, as the disease spread inside his nose.
Watch every spot and freckle on pets. Take action on any changes. Doesn't matter how small. I regularly check our Puss for anything out of the ordinary on his nose or ears which might look even slightly suspicious. So far, no problems that I can see, but that's no reason for complacency on my part.