Les rayons du soleil

~ iamthesunking

Louis Catorze’s ears are starting to go bald again.

This happened a few years ago, for no reason whatsoever, and the vet was unable to provide any answers. Then the fur grew back again, so we didn’t bother pursuing it any further (not that we would have known what to do, had we wished to treat it).

Now the bald, piggy ears are back. They’re not fully bald, but a good 40% of the fur is gone.

Since they don’t seem to be bothering him, we don’t think it’s worth a vet visit just for that. But, now that the summer is approaching, it’s probably time to revisit the sunblock on the ears.

Now, please hear me out. It’s a thing. It’s more of a white cat thing, but a thing nonetheless. Because feline ears are so delicate, and because white fur provides so little protection from the sun, sunblock for cats was invented. And, of course, having no fur at all provides even less protection than having white fur so, for a cat who gads about outdoors all summer, we need to take action.

This is one of the many photos that prompted my decision to deploy the sunblock. Yes, he is, indeed, sleeping mostly in the shade, with THE ONE BODY PART THAT WE WANT TO PROTECT exposed to the sun:

‘Sake.

And here he is again, fully sunblocked. Predictably, the application process was pretty grim for both of us, from beginning to end:

Without the block you’d see daylight through these wispy ears.

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30 thoughts on “Les rayons du soleil”

      1. Could it be stress related? Whatever the cause, it’s weird poor Louis goes through it periodically.

        I’m glad you take precautions to protect them from sun exposure.

        I’ve seen similar ear hair loss in caged dogs that were attacked by flies, but those ears were covered in scabs, too.

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        1. No scabs, no redness, no irritation of any sort. Just no hair! 🤣🤣🤣 And I can’t imagine what the little sod could be stressed about. It can’t be anything outdoors (random impingers etc.) as he is always outside!

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  2. Yes – sunblock on his ears IS a good thing (and his nose if it were pink) . Cats do get skin cancer on their ears (and face in lighter-skinned cats) so you are exactly right. Human sunblock is a danger because fo what it contains – there are sunblocks formulated to be pet safe. (Light-colored dogs face the same dangers.)

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  8. absolutely sun block is a thing for all pets, overlords and ‘Kin Kings. It’s getting to the time when I have to think about lopping off Merlot’s shiny and glorious long fur. Luckily he has a double coat, so a course dense undercoat that protects his skin but for me it’s a tough decision because he has a beautiful long coat so apart from health reasons he spends all winter cultivating his luscious locks only for me to spoil it all by chopping it off! And then there’s the possibility of it getting cold again and having to make sure he has a coat or jumper on to stop him from getting too cold! Honestly we do all we can to ensure safety and comfort only to bring ourselves more grief!! Also from the past I learned that a little zinc supplement helps the fur grow back and maintain it, zinc can be lost by drinking water with too much copper content and seeing as we have our water delivered through copper pipes it’s something that can happen. I can’t remember but zinc can go from our bodies via other naturally occurring substances.

    ‘ Zinc is an essential trace element commonly found in red meat, poultry, and fish. It is necessary in small amounts for human health, growth, and sense of taste. Zinc is found throughout the body. The body doesn’t store excess zinc, so it must be obtained from the diet.’

    ‘Zinc is a nutrient that people need to stay healthy. Zinc is found in cells throughout the body. It helps your immune system fight off invading bacteria and viruses. Your body also uses zinc to make DNA (the genetic material in cells) and proteins.’

    ‘When taken by mouth: Zinc is likely safe when used in amounts no greater than 40 mg daily. It is possibly safe when taken in larger doses, especially when used only for a short period of time. But taking doses higher than 40 mg daily might decrease how much copper the body absorbs.’

    All worth a discussion with a vet, cos he’s only a tiddler! I had a dog that lost all her fur, probably told you about her I the past very very sad, but with people quality zinc supplements her fur started to grow back and the other thing that helped was E45 cream but she was kept completely out of sunlight and as the Sun King is always out there soaking it up maybe that could burn him, so I don’t know about that. Hopefully it will just regrow as in the past, goo luck! Xxx

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