TNR

Eartipping is standard (thought not quite standardized) practice for TNR.
Alley Cat Allies promotes a 1/4 inch be snipped the tip of the left ear.
They even provide surgical instructions for vets. It is an excellent way
to mark a feral cat has having been "done," both helping to identify the
animal in the field and by animal control officers who chose to cooperate
with feral colony caretakers. Campus Cats made one its most rewarding
rescues by responding to a notice that Seattle Animal Control had taken in
an injured ear-tipped cat. Thanks to the local feral cat mailinglist and
the cooperation of the City of Seattle, a great (and non-feral) cat was
scraped off the street and given a good home.

It sounds like your vet got a bit carried away with how much ear was
trimmed. I've seen that myself from time to time; a chat with the vet
takes care of the problem. If they need instructions, Alley Cat Allies
can send them a handout on how it's done. Straight cut at the tip of one
ear, no notch. (A notch is too easily confused with old war wounds.)

It would be nice if a standard established itself that allowed observers
to identify the sex of the animal from a distance. (Left ear for boys;
right ear for girls, for example.) That may come, and of course
caretakers can always come to such an agreement with their vet.

Please don't be put off by the eartipping, though. As long as it is
conservatively and competently done, it is certainly as humane and the
sterilization surgery and causes little discomfort to the animal.
Eartipping should only be performed on feral cats who are being returned
to the field, of course. But those animals who may later find a home
simply have a heartwarming story to tell. It's just another way to get
the plight of the feral cat out there.

Sharon Talbert
Friends of Campus Cats
Seattle

If you told them it was for TNR I can see why that happened. They tip the
ears to show they are feral cats that have been spayed or neutered.

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Cat Galaxy: All Cats, All The Time!
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"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.

If you told them it was for TNR I can see why that happened. They tip the
ears to show they are feral cats that have been spayed or neutered.

--
Panther TEK: Staying On Top Of All Your Computer Needs!
www.panthertekit.com

Cat Galaxy: All Cats, All The Time!
www.catgalaxymedia.com
"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.

"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.



The vet I work with does ear tipping for ferals, and all surgeries receive
green tattoo ink in the incision. Boys and girls. It helps mark even an
owned cat as being fixed, (and not cryptorchid for the boys) so if they ever
get lost and are rehomed, there won't be a need to put them through the
trauma of surgery again just to be sure they are fixed.

"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.



The vet I work with does ear tipping for ferals, and all surgeries receive
green tattoo ink in the incision. Boys and girls. It helps mark even an
owned cat as being fixed, (and not cryptorchid for the boys) so if they ever
get lost and are rehomed, there won't be a need to put them through the
trauma of surgery again just to be sure they are fixed.

Yep. I have an ear-tipped one, myself. Such a sweetie! I've atually
gotten so used to her missing bit of ear that I don't even notice it
anymore. And it causes no discomfort to the cat that I've ever
noticed. I'm not sure she even realizes that the top of her ear is
missing. It really is far less traumatic than being captured over and
over again by enthusiastic rescuers and really, if you can't get close
to a cat, what else can you do that would be visible from several feet
away?

Yep. I have an ear-tipped one, myself. Such a sweetie! I've atually
gotten so used to her missing bit of ear that I don't even notice it
anymore. And it causes no discomfort to the cat that I've ever
noticed. I'm not sure she even realizes that the top of her ear is
missing. It really is far less traumatic than being captured over and
over again by enthusiastic rescuers and really, if you can't get close
to a cat, what else can you do that would be visible from several feet
away?

The vet I work with does ear tipping for ferals, and all surgeries receive
green tattoo ink in the incision. Boys and girls. It helps mark even an
owned cat as being fixed, (and not cryptorchid for the boys) so if they ever
get lost and are rehomed, there won't be a need to put them through the
trauma of surgery again just to be sure they are fixed.



That is very cool! I'll discuss this with our vets. We just got a cat in
who has been opened up a second time because her spay scar was too old to
see.

Sharon Talbert
Friends of Campus Cats

The vet I work with does ear tipping for ferals, and all surgeries receive
green tattoo ink in the incision. Boys and girls. It helps mark even an
owned cat as being fixed, (and not cryptorchid for the boys) so if they ever
get lost and are rehomed, there won't be a need to put them through the
trauma of surgery again just to be sure they are fixed.



That is very cool! I'll discuss this with our vets. We just got a cat in
who has been opened up a second time because her spay scar was too old to
see.

Sharon Talbert
Friends of Campus Cats

My Cristobel has a small slice in her left ear. I thought she had just
been in a fight? Is it possible it means she has been spayed? Vet said
she had been and she has never come into heat.

She's a great kitty! I'm her 4th home. Forever home now. Good grief,
someone is missing out on a great cat!

~Melanie