Ear-notching!

Karen Chuplis dumped this in
on 15 May 2004:

in article , Steve
Touchstone at wrote on 5/15/04 12:30 PM:

On Sat, 15 May 2004 11:25:20 -0500, "jmcquown"
wrote:

Annie Wxill wrote:
If the cat is part of a feral colony, a lot of the cats probably
look alike. When a cat with an ear notch is trapped, it is easily
identified as having been spayed or neutered and saved an
unnecessary, stressful, and expensive for the rescuer, trip to a
vet. I love those little kitty ears, too, and wish there were some
other way. I suppose if there is an alternate. highly visible, but
not disfiguring way to identify those cats, the rescuers would be
using it.
Annie

I would think a tiny little tatoo inside the ear would do just as
well.

Jill

Might be a lot less stressfull for the cat to have an ear notched in
the long run, though. The notched ear could easily be seen when the
cat is trapped, and it could be released without any handling. I
imagine they'd have to drag the cat out and restrain it to see a
tattoo, which is not easy with a feral wildcat convinced you mean it
harm. I imagine the feeders in a trap, neuter and release program
could put out food, then sit back with binoculars and see if there
are any new unneutered additions to the colony, avoiding the trap
altogether.

Can't help but wish there was a some other way, though.

Who is it here that has a feral that got a BIG notch. I think it was
this group. It seems the most expedient way to be able to identify a
cat that does not need to be put under again if it gets trapped. It is
very common if not the international signal of a feral neuter/spay.



Here's Bonnie's eartip
http://community.webshots.com/photo/...85148094ZMNdzs
This one shows it as well
http://community.webshots.com/photo/...12572463UHnMUk

--
Cheryl

"Cheryl" wrote

Here's Bonnie's eartip
http://community.webshots.com/photo/...85148094ZMNdzs
This one shows it as well
http://community.webshots.com/photo/...12572463UHnMUk

Awww. Apart from the missing eartip there, she looks so happy and healthy.
Such a shiny coat and contented eyes. You've done well, Cheryl!

--
Marina, Frank and Nikki
Email marina (dot) kurten (at) pp (dot) inet (dot) fi
Pics at http://uk.f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/frankiennikki

"Cheryl" wrote

Here's Bonnie's eartip
http://community.webshots.com/photo/...85148094ZMNdzs
This one shows it as well
http://community.webshots.com/photo/...12572463UHnMUk

Awww. Apart from the missing eartip there, she looks so happy and healthy.
Such a shiny coat and contented eyes. You've done well, Cheryl!

--
Marina, Frank and Nikki
Email marina (dot) kurten (at) pp (dot) inet (dot) fi
Pics at http://uk.f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/frankiennikki

"Zorin the Lynx" wrote in message ...
Hey everyone.. this is just a small rant.

It turns out that some cat rescue groups around here cut a notch out of
the tip of a kitty's ear to show the he or she has been neutered or
spayed. While I'm all for neutering and spaying to reduce population, is
this mutilation really necessary? I look at my kitty, with his pristine
tufted eartips, and I can't imagine the horror of snipping any part of
his ears off as a marker. It would make him look unbalanced, and he
would lose one of those adorable eartufts that got him the name "Lynxie"!

I just wanted to find out if this practice is common across the country,
and if anyone feels as negatively about it as I do. There has to be an
alternate, non-disfiguring method of marking a kitty as neutered, no?

Feeling sorry for the kitties,
-Zorin

We have our cats tattooed. Highly visible, yet not disfiguring.

--
Flippy in Melbourne, Australia.
My Cats: http://www.flippyscatpage.com




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"Zorin the Lynx" wrote in message ...
Hey everyone.. this is just a small rant.

It turns out that some cat rescue groups around here cut a notch out of
the tip of a kitty's ear to show the he or she has been neutered or
spayed. While I'm all for neutering and spaying to reduce population, is
this mutilation really necessary? I look at my kitty, with his pristine
tufted eartips, and I can't imagine the horror of snipping any part of
his ears off as a marker. It would make him look unbalanced, and he
would lose one of those adorable eartufts that got him the name "Lynxie"!

I just wanted to find out if this practice is common across the country,
and if anyone feels as negatively about it as I do. There has to be an
alternate, non-disfiguring method of marking a kitty as neutered, no?

Feeling sorry for the kitties,
-Zorin

We have our cats tattooed. Highly visible, yet not disfiguring.

--
Flippy in Melbourne, Australia.
My Cats: http://www.flippyscatpage.com




---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.686 / Virus Database: 447 - Release Date: 14/05/2004

"Marina" dumped this in
on 16 May 2004:


"Cheryl" wrote

Here's Bonnie's eartip
http://community.webshots.com/photo/...85148094ZMNdzs
This one shows it as well
http://community.webshots.com/photo/...12572463UHnMUk

Awww. Apart from the missing eartip there, she looks so happy and
healthy. Such a shiny coat and contented eyes. You've done well,
Cheryl!


Thanks Marina. I had tons of help.

--
Cheryl

"Marina" dumped this in
on 16 May 2004:


"Cheryl" wrote

Here's Bonnie's eartip
http://community.webshots.com/photo/...85148094ZMNdzs
This one shows it as well
http://community.webshots.com/photo/...12572463UHnMUk

Awww. Apart from the missing eartip there, she looks so happy and
healthy. Such a shiny coat and contented eyes. You've done well,
Cheryl!


Thanks Marina. I had tons of help.

--
Cheryl

Cheryl wrote:

Zorin the Lynx dumped this in
on 15 May 2004:

Hey everyone.. this is just a small rant.

It turns out that some cat rescue groups around here cut a notch out
of the tip of a kitty's ear to show the he or she has been neutered or
spayed. While I'm all for neutering and spaying to reduce population,
is this mutilation really necessary? I look at my kitty, with his
pristine tufted eartips, and I can't imagine the horror of snipping
any part of his ears off as a marker. It would make him look
unbalanced, and he would lose one of those adorable eartufts that got
him the name "Lynxie"!

I just wanted to find out if this practice is common across the
country, and if anyone feels as negatively about it as I do. There has
to be an alternate, non-disfiguring method of marking a kitty as
neutered, no?

Feeling sorry for the kitties,
-Zorin

My Bonnie is ear-tipped. She never indicated that it hurt while healing,
but then again, she was spayed at the same time, and the sutures they
use for spaying have some pain killer in them. FWIW, I never saw any
blood on her ear. In our area, only ferals are tipped, and when Bonnie
was trapped I had no idea what to do with her, and never imagined I'd be
keeping her.

FWIW, many cats in ancient Egypt used to wear earrings - I don't imagine
the tissue of a cat's ears is any more sensitive to pain than that of
ours, it's just their hearing that's keener.

Cheryl wrote:

Zorin the Lynx dumped this in
on 15 May 2004:

Hey everyone.. this is just a small rant.

It turns out that some cat rescue groups around here cut a notch out
of the tip of a kitty's ear to show the he or she has been neutered or
spayed. While I'm all for neutering and spaying to reduce population,
is this mutilation really necessary? I look at my kitty, with his
pristine tufted eartips, and I can't imagine the horror of snipping
any part of his ears off as a marker. It would make him look
unbalanced, and he would lose one of those adorable eartufts that got
him the name "Lynxie"!

I just wanted to find out if this practice is common across the
country, and if anyone feels as negatively about it as I do. There has
to be an alternate, non-disfiguring method of marking a kitty as
neutered, no?

Feeling sorry for the kitties,
-Zorin

My Bonnie is ear-tipped. She never indicated that it hurt while healing,
but then again, she was spayed at the same time, and the sutures they
use for spaying have some pain killer in them. FWIW, I never saw any
blood on her ear. In our area, only ferals are tipped, and when Bonnie
was trapped I had no idea what to do with her, and never imagined I'd be
keeping her.

FWIW, many cats in ancient Egypt used to wear earrings - I don't imagine
the tissue of a cat's ears is any more sensitive to pain than that of
ours, it's just their hearing that's keener.