Some people who have come to view our cats at adoption events have commented on the fact that our cats have been ear tipped. Most instinctively see this as cruel as wonder why anyone would do such a thing - I did too before I was educated on the subject. While I certainly don't love the idea, I now realize that it's a necessary evil, done for the benefit of stray and feral cats. Neighborhoodcats.org provides a terrific explanation. Their article can be found at http://www.neighborhoodcats.org/HOW_TO_EARTIPPING. I'm going to quote the article below in case the link changes in the future.
"Eartipping is the universal sign of a neutered feral cat. The procedure involves removing approximately a quarter-inch off the tip of the cat's left ear in a straight line cut. This is done while the cat is anesthetized for spay/neutering and healing is rapid. As a guide to veterinarians, a detailed description of the procedure is provided at the end of this page.
When we first started working with feral cats, we avoided eartipping as it seemed like a kind of mutilation. But everything else we tried failed. Taking photos of the neutered cats was fine if you saw the cats often and could easily tell similar-looking ones apart. But in colonies where the cats were all black and white and the caretaker caught random glimpses, the photos were useless. We tried tattooing the inner ears, but then it was impossible to tell at a distance whether the cat had the tattoo and needed to be trapped or not. Ear tags, which are small metal clips, can get caught in twigs, branches or the like and cause the ear to tear and become infected. In some cases, they fall off.
We were won over to eartipping when we had a cat operated on who had already been spayed, but not eartipped. Fortunately, the veterinarian saw the scar and stopped the procedure. Nonetheless,
the cat was unnecessarily trapped and anesthetized, with all the corresponding stress.
In addition to avoiding needless trapping and surgery, eartipping also benefits the cats by clearly identifying them as members of a managed TNR colony. In New York City, animal control notifies us whenever an eartipped cat ends up in one of their facilities, giving us the opportunity to find the caretaker. In addition, depending on local policies, animal control may refrain from trapping eartipped cats, knowing they "belong" to someone."
I hope you learned something today!
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