Owners of cats with light-coloured ears are being warned to protect their pets from the risk of cancer caused by too much sunlight.
Gracie, a seven-year-old white cat, had to have her ear flaps amputated after the disease was found in both.
The decision may have saved her life because the cancer could have spread, vets said.
When the Bracknell and Wokingham branch of charity Cats Protection took the cat in as a stray last summer, they were alarmed by the damage to her ears caused by too much exposure to the sun.
Vets chose the nickname Crispy because of the damage, and the then-six-year-old had both cancerous ear flaps surgically removed as a precaution.
Crispy, who was adopted by Beryl and Tom Henry in Bracknell, Berkshire, and was renamed Gracie, went on to fully recover from the amputations.
She learnt to compensate for the lack of outer ears by moving her head more to better locate sounds.
Ms Henry said she was not put off by Gracie’s unusual appearance. “I fell in love with her as soon as [I saw] her, and she was absolutely lovely,” she told the BBC.
“Inside she's wonderful. Her looks don't count… I love her to bits.”
Cats Protection advises owners to protect pale cats from sun damage by keeping them indoors while the sun is at its hottest and providing outdoor shade areas.
It also advises owners to consult their vet about using special sunscreen.
The charity said thanks to the swift action of the vets, the sun took only Gracie’s ears - but nearly took her life.
Nikki Butcher, from 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.
“But Gracie is not alone. Across Cats Protection we see too many cats suffering from the effects of sun damage and it can be easily prevented.”
A 13-year-old tabby-and-white cat in Bredhurst, Kent, had its ears removed in January after pre-cancerous cells were found.
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