The sun in summer can be described as poisonous. It’s almost like a sauna. You’ll start sweating if you stand under the sun for a while. When the sun shines into the balcony, the lazy white cat is lying there basking in the sun. Can the cat bear the sun that humans can’t stand?

Important! Light-colored cats can get sunburned! Cat owners should not take it lightly!

　01

Really? If you don’t believe it, let’s take a look at the following case:

Pinna is a seven-year-old urban loner. The sunburn accumulated from years of wandering has made her snow-white ears full of black cancer spots, and the skin on the edge of the auricle has become necrotic. The pain makes her restless, and she extremely refuses to be touched. Is roaring in response to volunteers' concerns.

After being admitted to a stray animal rescue center, doctors spent four hours amputating an inch and a half of each of her ears to remove all the diseased tissue caused by squamous cell carcinoma.

Pinna, who lost her ears, was freed from the terrible pain and became a good-natured cat. Her round head made her look like a cute teddy bear.

Cats naturally love to bask in the sun, but they never thought that the sun also has a dark side, which has brought such a serious disaster to the cat.

There are many cases showing that sunlight radiation causes varying degrees of damage to cats. A large amount of ultraviolet rays in the sun can cause cat skin inflammation, and in severe cases can even induce skin cancer. Among all cats, white cats are more susceptible to the effects of sunlight. harm.

The reason is similar to humans. People with very light skin and white cats (especially in parts with little hair) have much lower levels of melanin than people with dark skin and cats with other coat colors.

Melanin is a skin pigment that can protect the skin from ultraviolet damage. The skin of white cats lacking melanin has the lowest resistance to ultraviolet radiation and therefore suffers the most damage.

In addition, melanin can also deepen the color of hair, skin, nose and flesh pads. The dangerous areas for sunburn in white cats are often concentrated in parts with almost no melanin, such as ear tips, eyelids, noses and lips, while among all cats, black cats are at risk of sunburn. Cats are least susceptible to sunburn.

Sunburn not only occurs outdoors. Cats’ obsession with sunlight causes them to be exposed to harmful ultraviolet rays for a long time indoors. Of course, the geographical location also has a great influence. Cats in sunny areas will suffer from sunburn. receive more radiation.

Like humans, cats' sunburns are graded from mild to severe, but for cats, even minor sunburns cannot be ignored, because cats' scratching constantly irritates the injured area, and minor sunburns often develop into serious ones. health problems.

In addition, shavingCats are also prone to sunburn because they have no hair protection, and hairless cats are also prone to sunburn.

　02

How can I tell if my cat is sunburned?

Presumably this is also the issue that many parents are most concerned about. The following are the characteristics of cats with different degrees of sunburn:

　▼1 degree sunburn

The surface of a cat's skin is damaged by overexposure to the sun, causing the skin to appear pink or red.

　▼2nd degree sunburn

As the degree of sunburn deepens, it not only damages the surface of the skin, but also affects the underlying skin layers. The sunburned area may become red and may be accompanied by blisters.

　▼3rd degree sunburn

Sunburn affects all layers of the skin. The skin on the ears and nose may look white or even like a patch of dry skin or a crust. Grade 3 sunburns are often worsened by repeated sunburns in the same area. .

Third-grade sunburn can even lead to squamous cell carcinoma after getting worse, just like the cancer Pinna suffered from. Of course, sunburn will not automatically cause skin cancer, but it is the best breeding ground for cancer to break out, especially if the wound is exposed to repeated exposure to sunlight. Injury and irritation from scratching.

Squamous cell carcinoma is a terrible cancer that spreads quickly and menacingly. Affected cats can only be treated by removing the cancerous part or chemotherapy. No matter which one, it is a very painful process for the cat.

　03

Since the consequences of sunburn are terrible, just like humans try to avoid getting tanned, white cats also have ways to avoid sunburn:

▼Try to isolate the cat from the sun between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., because the radiation intensity of the sun is the strongest in this period. If the cat wants to go out, he must find a way to avoid the sun when it is most toxic. , of course, the length of the interval also depends on the latitude of residence. If you live in a low latitude area with sufficient sunshine, you must be more careful if you want your cat to avoid the sun.

▼When raising cats indoors, you must pay attention to drawing curtains or providing cats with suitable shady corners that they can choose.

▼Pets also have special sun protection clothing. (I didn’t expect it, but times are progressing)

▼Don’t shave cats or dogs casually!!!

　04

InThere are solutions after discovering sunburn:

★For first-degree sunburn, you can use a wet towel to apply cold compress. It is not recommended to use spray or cold water because it will cause the cat to strongly resist;

★For more serious sunburns, it is recommended that parents take their cats to the doctor immediately. The earlier the treatment, the better the effect and the smaller the side effects.

Many parents may not have thought that a small sunburn can cause such great harm to cats. Of course, who doesn’t want to see their beloved cat lying lazily on the balcony enjoying the sunbath?

But we still can’t take sunburn lightly. Now that we have decided to become parents, we must take responsibility.

Pinna, who underwent ear removal surgery, survived the long period of anesthesia. Now she is always seeking attention and hoping to be touched. Of course, volunteers have to apply thick sunscreen on her every time before going out.

Because many cat owners are novices and don’t have much experience in raising cats, they take some of the cat’s behaviors lightly, causing the cat to be harmed. However, these can be remedied. Learn the knowledge of cat raising and let the cat accompany you healthily and happily. Come on!