Cat owners are being warned to keep their cats indoors and apply sunscreen during the hottest days of the summer after a cat had her ears amputated.
Cats Protection has issued advice to owners, warning them of the dangers of letting cats lounge about in the sun.
One cat that passed through the charity’s care had to have the tips of her ears removed due to sun damage.
Smurf from Belfast was picked up from the streets last autumn. Believed to have been in a car crash, she was rushed to a vet who removed her right eye and ear tips, which had been badly sun-damaged, before she was eventually rehomed.
Smurf’s owner, Kate Large, told the PA news agency: “She wasn’t in Lisbon or Madrid. She was outside in Northern Ireland for less than a year, with the amount of sun we get in Ireland and this was the damage it caused.”
The 49-year-old, who volunteers at the shelter, said prior to adopting Smurf, she had not been aware cats could get such severe sun damage.
“Most people are great cat owners and would be mortified if their cat got…
