"Wendy" wrote in message
...
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

Around here it's called ear tipping because the tip of the ear is cut off.
The cut is straight across the ear and it's done while the cat is under
anesthesia for the speuter.
Alley Cat Allies has a sketch showing a fairly large tip being removed,
enough so it would be evident at 10 or 20 feet which may be as close as
you'll ever get to the cat again. It doesn't say anything about which ear
gets tipped. I understand that there's a blood vessel going part way up the
ear that shouldn't be cut so the tip is removed above that.
ron
charlottesville virginia