Ear-notching!

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

Annie Wxill wrote:
"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? ...
Feeling sorry for the kitties,
-Zorin

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


can't see a tatoo from a distance. I understand this is a method of
identifying ferals who have been neutered.

I trap ferals to take to a low cost spay/neuter clinic here, they notch all
ferals. I have no problem with that at all. The females would have to be
operated on to see that they have already been done. I would hate for them
to go through that unnecessarily. Most of the males had ripped up ears
already from fighting. Now they have one more notch, but don't fight enough
to get anymore. Two of my ferals will let me pet them, another will let me
pet him in a month or so, and yet another that would run at even a sight of
a person, has been about 20 feet from me.
Head butts to all, Lisa.


"~*Connie*~" wrote in message
...
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? ...
Feeling sorry for the kitties,
-Zorin

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



Most cats are too feral to look inside an ear once you catch them.. so you
would have to sedate them to find out if they had the tattoo, and once
you've done that, you might as well look under the tail or shave the belly
to see if they have done it, and that is not only a waste of anesthesia,
its
not good for the cats.

Cats do not suffer when their ears are cut. My own cat got into a cat
fight
once and her ear was ripped, and she barely noticed it. It was tougher on
me than on her.

I trap ferals to take to a low cost spay/neuter clinic here, they notch all
ferals. I have no problem with that at all. The females would have to be
operated on to see that they have already been done. I would hate for them
to go through that unnecessarily. Most of the males had ripped up ears
already from fighting. Now they have one more notch, but don't fight enough
to get anymore. Two of my ferals will let me pet them, another will let me
pet him in a month or so, and yet another that would run at even a sight of
a person, has been about 20 feet from me.
Head butts to all, Lisa.


"~*Connie*~" wrote in message
...
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? ...
Feeling sorry for the kitties,
-Zorin

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



Most cats are too feral to look inside an ear once you catch them.. so you
would have to sedate them to find out if they had the tattoo, and once
you've done that, you might as well look under the tail or shave the belly
to see if they have done it, and that is not only a waste of anesthesia,
its
not good for the cats.

Cats do not suffer when their ears are cut. My own cat got into a cat
fight
once and her ear was ripped, and she barely noticed it. It was tougher on
me than on her.

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.
--
Steve Touchstone,
faithful servant of Sammy, Little Bit and Rocky

[remove Junk for email]
Home Page: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/index.html
Cat Pix: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/animals.html

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.
--
Steve Touchstone,
faithful servant of Sammy, Little Bit and Rocky

[remove Junk for email]
Home Page: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/index.html
Cat Pix: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/animals.html

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.

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.

It is a common practice when trying to manage a feral population. It saves
having the same animal captured and hauled in to the vet to be fixed
numerous times.

Jo
"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

It is a common practice when trying to manage a feral population. It saves
having the same animal captured and hauled in to the vet to be fixed
numerous times.

Jo
"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

Aside 411 on notching: that's how lobster fishermen (under federal mandate
to do so) identify females w/egg sacs - big notch in tail - before throwing
them back into water, as it is illegal to include them in their catch. Now a
lobster is not a cat for sure but one thing applies to both: easy sight
identity for one reason or another w/o messing with the critter physically.
Fast and efficient but briefly brutal.


"Jo Firey" wrote in message
...
: It is a common practice when trying to manage a feral population. It
saves
: having the same animal captured and hauled in to the vet to be fixed
: numerous times.
:
: Jo
: "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
:
: