Cat cancer warning after pet has ears amputated

Cat owners are being warned to protect their light-furred felines from potentially cancer-causing sun damage.

Gracie, a seven-year-old white cat, had to have her cancerous ear flaps amputated after she was taken in as a stray by a Bracknell charity.

The damage was caused by prolonged exposure to sunlight.

Keeping cats indoors while the sun is at its hottest, sunscreen and providing outdoor shade areas are among the ways suggested to protect vulnerable cats from sunlight.

When Gracie was taken in as a stray last summer by charity Cats Protection Bracknell & Wokingham vets nicknamed her Crispy due to the damage on her ears.

The then-six-year-old cat had both cancerous ear flaps surgically removed at their base as a precaution against the disease spreading.

A year later and fully recovered from her ordeal Crispy has been renamed Gracie and has been adopted by Beryl and Tom Henry in Bracknell, Berkshire.

Nikki Butcher, co-ordinator at the charity, said: "Vets probably saved Gracie's life by spotting the severity of the sun damage to her crispy ears and then treating her so effectively.

"Any cats that are light-furred or have unpigmented ears or noses are particularly susceptible to sun damage.

"If it's caught early it can be surgically trimmed. In Gracie's case, because it was such extensive damage, then the decision was taken to take the flaps down to the base.

"Additional tests indicated that was a life saving decision for Gracie as it could have spread to the rest of her body."

Grace's new owner Beryl, who adopted her after her surgery, said she was not put off by the animal's unusual appearance.

"I fell in love with her as soon as I've seen her, she was absolutely lovely," she said.

"Inside she's wonderful. Her looks don't count… I love her to bits."

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