# Do Kittens Need Sunlight?



## natzsm (May 1, 2009)

My two seven week old kittens who I "rescued" from their stray mother have been living in a cage indoors. (They are caged because I want to home them)

The Mom cat and another older cat who both have access indoors and outdoors just love basking in the sunlight especially after having their morning meal.

Should I take my kittens outdoors so they can receive direct sunlight?


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## PureMuttz (Jul 3, 2009)

No. Kittens/cats do not NEED sunlight or outdoor access.
It is safer for them indoors, and protects them from fleas/ticks, amongst other health risks.

I do not understand why they must be caged, though. Are you unable to close off one room to dedicate to them, so they can run and play and be kittens? Even when I fostered kittens, they got a room to play in, even if it was just the bathroom.


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## natzsm (May 1, 2009)

Many thanks for the advice regarding sunlight. I would have to find away though to prevent the two older cats from basking in the sun everytime they go out in the garden where their litter tray is situated. 

The kittens are presently caged because I haven't finished kitten proffing my room. The cage which is actually more of a play pen is about 5' by 6' and about 3 feet tall so they could do alot of jumping around and playing. I was even able to fit in two shoe boxes so they just love playing hide and seek and their litter tray in one corner.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Cats don't "need" sunlight, but if they enjoy it there's no reason to prevent them from basking in it. My cats are always seeking sunbeams in the house. Just be careful if any of your cats are white, just like humans, too much sun can cause skin cancer and white cats are way more susceptible to it than other cats, particularly the face and ears.

Time to get that room kitten proofed, sounds like a good weekend project. Those babies are at the point where they need more room than that to play. I would keep them caged when I wasn't home, but when you're there they need to get out and raise havoc!


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## Lacie (Sep 12, 2009)

Don't cats get Vitamin D from licking their sun exposed fur? I believe I read that somewhere. Of course they get it from food too, but human made vitamins (if you're not feeding raw) aren't as good as the natural source. The kittens don't need to go outside though, as I'm sure you have windows in your house they can enjoy sunlight from.


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## hoofmaiden (Sep 28, 2009)

Lacie said:


> Don't cats get Vitamin D from licking their sun exposed fur? I believe I read that somewhere.


Um . . . no.

Cats can synthesize D just fine and get it from food. They love a sunny window but don't need UV rays (which are filtered out by window glass).


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

> Cats can synthesize D just fine and get it from food.


Correct. It's just us puny, inferior humans who do not have that great of an ability to synthesize our own vitamin D that must get it from the sun. Cats are fine without it... but they sure do love it!


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## Jack&Harley (Nov 2, 2008)

Yes give them room to run and play. I too kept my kittens caged, but it was purely d/t to circumstance as their other option was complete freedom outdoors. They were given daily time 3-4 hours usually if not more outside of their cage to have more to run. They were caged in an outdoor enclosure. As the owner of one of the babies it doesn't seem to have been detrimental to her well being now that she is 6 months old (wow they grow up so fast). 

Leslie


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## WhiteKitties (Dec 22, 2008)

hoofmaiden said:


> They love a sunny window but don't need UV rays (which are filtered out by window glass).


Actually, the glass doesn't filter out all of the UV rays, unless you have some newer and very expensive windows. I was puzzled to find peeling skin on Fern's pawpads earlier in the year, and shocked to discover that she had sunburn from her window time! It's not common in dark cats, but white cats with their pink noses, eartips and pawpads can get sunburned and can actually develop skin cancer. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen the peeling skin, but if you do a search on feline sunburn online you'll find some pretty graphic pictures.


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