Dookin' For Chips

My Dear Fellows & Dear Princess,

One thing you may not know about pussycats in New Zealand is that they require sunblock. Yes, really!

When the boys visited the vet on Tuesday she announced that Punky has an "unlucky ear" and Jasper has an "unlucky nose". By which she means they are pink. Even being indoor cats, there is the chance that the high UV down here will cause cancerous growths.

Caro had mentioned this to me years ago. She had a friend whose cat developed cancer on both ears and had to have the malignancy trimmed away, leaving the cat looking like a teddy bear.

Caro went on to say that some cats in NZ get tattooed for this very reason. I thought this would be quite appropriate. We could have a little pair of Maori Cats, Jasper with his nose tattooed black, and Punky his ear.

On the other hand, I am not sure how I would feel about this. That nose is a big part of Jasper's personality. When he is mellow it is very pale, when he's playing up, it turns bright pink. Caro will occasionally tell me that Jasper has his "naughty nose" on, and we both know to anticipate trouble.

I would worry that, if Jasper had his "Naughty Nose" removed, then he would lose all his powers. I couldn't have that.

Fortunately, the vet did not prescribe tattooing, but instead this special kitty sunblock. You can see that it comes in regular or "bitter" flavours. This is to stop them licking it off again. 

So far, we have not had to use it, and I'm not sure how it will go when we try. But I'm predicting the "Naughty Nose" will make an appearance soon after.

S.