"formerly known as 'cat arranger'" wrote
in message news:Y4pJc.6582$nF1.5972@lakeread04...
I took two cats into a local shelter. One was a stray
and the other was a friend's cat. The local cat advocates
said that we could get them both neutered and that wouldn't
be a problem.

They came home with a large chunk cut out of their ears. The
stray looks bad but the friends Siamese looking cat looks worse.
Is cutting a piece of their ears off the only way to mark ferals
and strays so they don't get operated on a second time? Can't
they put in a chip or find another way to mark the cat without
disfiguring her? Why do they do it to males? It's pretty east to
see that a male has been neutered.

I feel bad and I don't think I'm going to try to trap any more
strays. It seems sadistic to me.


Around here they notch the ear so they know they've been neutered if they
get trapped again. The notch is a small slice in the edge of the cats ear
not a chuck missing. Apparently where you are they take a chunk out. I would
assume with feriles they want a marking that is easy to spot. Frequently if
the cat is freaked out they will tuck the tail between their legs. If the
cat is wild, I know there is no way I'd lift the tail to see if he still had
cajones and there would be no way to tell with a female before preparing her
for surgery.

Did you tell them your friend's cat had a home? If not they probably thought
it was a TNR as well. If they were being neutered through the rescue
organization (as far as the shelter knew) it's not an unreasonable
assumption.

I don't imagine the rescue groups have the resources to chip every ferile
they trap. The ear notch is probably the least painful and most easily
spotted method of marking these animals.

W