My crazy neighbor and animal control

[Kit-Ginevra]

I do keep males overnight before releasing them

Who on Earth are you-Joyce McKinney?? ��

[Kittykat]

I'm sorry, but cutting off a cat's EAR tip is just wrong.

[Minflick]

It's done under anesthesia during the surgery for spay or neuter. It's done that way because you can see it from a distance. When spay and neuter groups trap cats, the tipped ear lets them know that this cat has already had his/her surgery, and the cat is released. Untipped cats go on to surgery day. The cats are sometimes also tatooed along side the surgery incision, but you can't see that tatoo until the cat is sedated and shaved, and for groups operating on scarce donation budgets, that wastes resources that could have been used for an untreated animal.

One of the guiding principles of handling feral cat populations is that the cat is spayed or neutered and returned to where it was trapped, because that keeps the population stable. Catching and killing leaves an opening for another animal to move into. It would be optimal to not have feral cat populations in the first place, but because so many people will not spend the money to get their animals spayed or neutered, there are a LOT of intact animals roaming around, having litters. Trap, surgery and release helps a bit.

[ladyjaneinmd]

The cats are sometimes also tatooed along side the surgery incision, but you can't see that tatoo until the cat is sedated and shaved,

I got my cat from a shelter (actually, I've always gotten my cats from a shelter!). Rita has a tattoo on one of her inner thighs. I've often thought about getting her a tiny leather jacket to go with the tattoo.

[LadyofArc]

It's done under anesthesia during the surgery for spay or neuter. It's done that way because you can see it from a distance. When spay and neuter groups trap cats, the tipped ear lets them know that this cat has already had his/her surgery, and the cat is released. Untipped cats go on to surgery day. The cats are sometimes also tatooed along side the surgery incision, but you can't see that tatoo until the cat is sedated and shaved, and for groups operating on scarce donation budgets, that wastes resources that could have been used for an untreated animal.

All of my parents cats (when they were still alive) wound up being tattooed in the EAR rather than having it tipped or notched. Yes, my parents were responsible pet owners - they all went in for desexing as soon as they were old enough, although this became hilarious when we had one cat who WAS desexed and the other wasn't...they both liked to groom each other and we caught the neutered one trying to clean his brother's balls

Not sure if it's standard in Aussieland for the ear tattooing or the notching, although it could also be because they were microchipped at the same time.

[Minflick]

I should have prefaced my bit with it being true here in my area of California. For all I know it's not nationwide, let alone outside the US!

[MadMike]

I should have prefaced my bit with it being true here in my area of California. For all I know it's not nationwide, let alone outside the US!

I know they do it in PA. Some of the cats at the shelter where I volunteer have a tipped ear, and some do not. The manager explained that they did that with the TNR (Trap, Neuter, Release) cats, as someone else pointed out, but if it looked the cat was tame enough to be adopted as a pet, they'd try to adopt it out instead of releasing it back into the wild.

[Slave to the Phone]

I'm sorry, but cutting off a cat's EAR tip is just wrong.

Thank you Minflick for explaining the process and reasoning so clearly. I have seen ear tipping done, and I have seen cats recovering from their surgery. If done correctly, and I've never seen it done wrong, there is no seepage, no bleeding and no pain. Kitty doesn't even notice it because there is another pressing concern a little south.

Actually, ferals don't notice anything because they are so afraid all they want to do is hide or run away. After release, they take off and hide for a few days, but they come back for the food and water. We have some cats in our colony who are 6-8 years post TNR which is pretty amazing for feral cats.

(Our vet does kittens at 6 weeks, and they are the worse. Happy, nice domestic kittens recover within hours and are running and jumping and playing right away. As the caretaker of a cat recovering from surgery, its MY responsibility to not allow them to do such things, but its really hard to herd 6-8 kittens. I'll take the ferals any day.)


PS No mink lined handcuffs for my males, they get stainless steel traps and have to pee through the floor mesh.

[XCashier]

I'm sorry, but cutting off a cat's EAR tip is just wrong.

I think they only do that for feral cats. I got my two from the animal shelter. Both were spayed there, both have fully intact ears, one has an "S" tattooed on her abdomen (she's the long-haired one, so you really have to dig through the fur to find it) but otherwise there are no markings.

[Kittish]

I've got a feral rescue that has her ear tipped. Hasn't ever seemed to be anything she even notices. She's very sweet, and wants to be a cuddle-cat so bad, but she has mental issues that make her get all twitchy and anxious for no reason I can see (I suspect she has some brain damage from trauma she went through before I got her). She and my Mister Kitteh are good friends and she tolerates the dog and my boyfriend. I'm probably the only human that can pick her up without being gouged as she tries to get away, and even I have to be careful about how I approach her.

I got her when she was still just a baby, when a friend of ours found her and the rest of her litter (who sadly were all deceased by then) where they'd taken shelter in his truck engine after being dumped by some TNR group here. Mama cat either wasn't caught, or had rejected the kittens. Bittle was skeletal, and so weak she couldn't eat kitten kibble for the first several days I had her. I fed her kibble soaked with water or (homemade, unseasoned) chicken broth several times a day, in tiny little portions until she was able to manage dry food.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

I think they only do that for feral cats. I got my two from the animal shelter. Both were spayed there, both have fully intact ears, one has an "S" tattooed on her abdomen (she's the long-haired one, so you really have to dig through the fur to find it) but otherwise there are no markings.

Our dog, Abby, came from the county animal shelter and she was spayed while she was there. If you look closely, she has a pale green line running down her belly, which I suspect is left there to signal that she has already been spayed.

She also has a microchip but I'm not sure where that's located. Might be near where the incision was but I've never investigated it. But there again, she's not went missing in the 7 years or so that she's been with us.

[Kit-Ginevra]

The one with the S on her abdomen is just to show she's Supercat!!

[Minflick]

Our dog, Abby, came from the county animal shelter and she was spayed while she was there. If you look closely, she has a pale green line running down her belly, which I suspect is left there to signal that she has already been spayed.

She also has a microchip but I'm not sure where that's located. Might be near where the incision was but I've never investigated it. But there again, she's not went missing in the 7 years or so that she's been with us.

It's SUPPOSED to be inserted just behind the tops of the shoulder blades. It can end up close to there, but not THERE, if the aim was bad, if the pet was awake when the ginormous needle went in and the pet wiggled. [I think it's about a 12 gauge needle? It's about the size of the lead in a wood pencil] But even if it goes in the proper location, that doesn't mean it stays there. Oddly, some of them can really migrate. I know one little Yorkie where his chip has ended up down in his right arm pit!

I'm a big fan of the tattoo ink. I wish every vet did it on every pet. It's always a shock when we sedate the pet and shave their belly and, guess what? She's/he's been done before! But it still prevents re-opening the pet, and that's a big deal. A little sedation isn't going to kill them, and the charge to the owner is going to be far less for the aborted surgery than it would be for the completed surgery, so it's a win all around.

[Racket_Man]

Our dog, Abby, came from the county animal shelter and she was spayed while she was there. If you look closely, she has a pale green line running down her belly, which I suspect is left there to signal that she has already been spayed.

She also has a microchip but I'm not sure where that's located. Might be near where the incision was but I've never investigated it. But there again, she's not went missing in the 7 years or so that she's been with us.

Yeah my little lady rescue (local Humane Society so mandatory spaying and chipping) Pit Bull has the green line on the back end of her belly

[LadyofArc]

It's SUPPOSED to be inserted just behind the tops of the shoulder blades. It can end up close to there, but not THERE, if the aim was bad, if the pet was awake when the ginormous needle went in and the pet wiggled. [I think it's about a 12 gauge needle? It's about the size of the lead in a wood pencil] But even if it goes in the proper location, that doesn't mean it stays there. Oddly, some of them can really migrate. I know one little Yorkie where his chip has ended up down in his right arm pit!

The needle for the microchip sounds far smaller than the needle for the Implanon! (with the same migration risk)