Why cut off the tip of cat's ear?

[Bristol_Bay]

A stray cat started hanging around the school where I work. One of the ladies who was taking care of him arranged for him to be neutered/spayed if necessary (we weren’t sure of his gender but know now he is male and was already neutered) by an organization that does free or low cost spay/neutering. They also microchipped him.

Maybe it was a miscommunication–the lady may have said he was feral–but he came home from the their clinic with the tip of one ear clipped off.

We took possession of the cat today, and we are sort of upset.

Why clip the tip off the ear? It mars his beauty.

[ElisLove]

Maybe if they thought he was a feral/stray cat clipping the ear makes sure that they know the cat had already been neutered if someone else picked it up as a stray?

[pony_baloney]

I think it’s done to show which stray/feral cats are neutered. Maybe this cat was ear clipped because he had been a stray and was neutered by a T/N/R group.

[Pancakes]

It’s so you can tell from a distance whether the cat’s already been spayed/neutered and vaccinated (usually they’re at least vaccinated for Rabies while they’re spayed/neutered).

The ear has to be visible from far away if they’re from a feral/stray situation and may go back to that.

It probably was a miscommunication with your particular cat that the ear tip was done anyway. Don’t worry, he doesn’t miss it, and you’ll learn to get past it.

[mswillie]

It’s so that you can tell they’ve already been spayed or neutered and don’t have to catch them again or, in the case of the females, possibly subject them to another surgery just to discover it’s already been done.

[TBROCKS]

[QUOTE=Bristol Bay;8507499]

Why clip the tip off the ear? It mars his beauty. [/QUOTE]

Sorry about your kitty’s ear but…some jerk shot my cat and left her with one eye. I think she’s even more beautiful with a flaw.

[Finding_Serenity]

Yup around here it’s to know if a feral cat was spayed/neutered. I don’t even notice it with our barn cats and they don’t seem to miss it either.

[Horsegal984]

You took in an already neutered cat to be neutered again, it’s so the neighbors down the street don’t haul his ass in a third time. :lol:

[arapaloosa_lady]

It’s often much cheaper to get a “stray” or “feral” cat neutered than an owned cat at the subsidized fee clinics. Many people just pick the “stray” option for this reason on the form. This is because donors and funding to the clinics which subsidize the fees are intended to help with the stray population, not housecats. And strays are always ear-tipped. This prevents them from getting picked up multiple times by trappers, wasting resources.

[Beethoven]

Yup, he will be fine without his tip. We did TNR on St. Kitts and one caught a large long haired female who didn’t look like a typical “island” cat. Sure enough, she was spayed when we opened her. So, we tipped her ear. Yes, she could’ve been someone’s personal cat, but she wasn’t wearing a collar and out roaming, so she got tipped before she was released.

You get used to it!

Here’s a foster that got tipped as it was planned to release him but he was FIV+ and thankfully a sweetheart once he lost his boys, so he was adopted out instead.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10101076301944263&l=0e2325bc31

Didn’t seem to make him less cute!

[RPM]

As others have said, the clinics mark the ears of ferals when they neuter/spay them and vaccinate them. Problem is, most people, like OP, don’t know this “universal” sign because the feral support groups don’t advertise their work (including the ear marking). If they publicized it better, more people would know. As it is, most people don’t and if they notice the ear at all they think the cat is an entire tom who was in a fight. Because entire toms do get in fights, and often lose part of an ear.

[S1969]

[QUOTE=Bristol Bay;8507499]
We took possession of the cat today, and we are sort of upset.

Why clip the tip off the ear? It mars his beauty. [/QUOTE]

Just want to comment that this is why you have to manage your own vet visits with your own pets. The ear clip is not uncommon when dealing with strays.

But, in general, GOOD communication with your vet is really the only way to make sure things are done the way you want them. Years ago, I took my show dog into my clinic on a weekend for an emergency (possible broken leg) and they shaved his entire leg from the elbow down - as in bare skin. They took off years of growth of the feathering. I nearly fainted. Turns out it was only a bruise, as well. :no:

Now, my show dogs files are clearly marked - inside and out - “do not shave” without owners explicit permission. Obviously in a true emergency I wouldn’t care, but for a recent minor procedure we had a long discussion about clipping with the vet and the tech that would prep for the procedure.

Good luck with your kitty; I’m sure you won’t notice the ear once you get used to it.

[scierra]

Everyone else has done a wonderful explaination of why the tipped ear. Concerning the appearance, for those who care about the stray/feral cat populations, it makes him more handsome. Just by seeing a cat with a tipped ear it’s obvious someone cared enough for S/N. That makes them all the more attractive.

[skykingismybaby1]

I am guessing but I bet the low cost/free clinic was told the cat was feral in order to take advantage of the low/no cost. If they were told the cat was a pet I bet they would have had to pay full price. Strays get clipped.

Communication does not start with a lie.

[mvp]

[QUOTE=Horsegal984;8507539]
You took in an already neutered cat to be neutered again, it’s so the neighbors down the street don’t haul his ass in a third time. :lol:[/QUOTE]

Quite.

OP, ergo, you should chill on his “fore and aft plastic surgery.”

Also, could you imagine how great it would be if people did this? Say you were a swinger and wanted to party without pregnancy. You walk into a bar. That’s right: You look for the people with a subtle ear clip. No muss, no fuss.

[swmorse]

The gals at my spca told me it also designates ‘community cat’ so if it’s brought in as a stray, it’s returned to the area where it came from.

[french_fry]

I’m confused. Am I misunderstanding? It sounds like you were planning to adopt this cat but let him be taken to the low cost clinic as a stray so he could be neutered for free/cheap.

In that case, as explained above, it’s standard protocol for strays to get tipped.

If he WAS a stray and the idea was to return him to the streets, the clinic also did the right thing.

If he was already your cat and there was simply a miscommunication with the vet, no harm done anyway. It gives him street cred!

[cherham]

A stray cat also found us some years ago. The tips of her ears were frostbitten to the point that they would never re-heal. The Vet simply “trimmed” the necrotic tissue at the end of her ears to avoid infection. She looks like someone intentionally ticked off the top of her ears. I don’t know if this might be the same situation with yours.

[Bristol_Bay]

The lady caring for the cat had already arranged to take him in when I stepped up and said I would adopt him. For all I knew she was taking him to her vet. The cat had an injured leg, so she didn’t want to explore his gender if he was hurt. I just figured I would reimburse her for the vet bill. I didn’t know it was a charity spay and neuter clinic.

She had confused the words stray and feral when I met the cat. Indeed, on the form she gave me from the clinic they had checked “community cat” instead of pet cat.

He has been hiding in the basement since Friday, but when he decides to come out, I’m sure I’ll get used to his ear.

[Bristol_Bay]

The clinic visit was already in the works when we said we’d take him. I wasn’t trying to deceive anyone. The lady was trying to give the poor guy a chance.

I realize now that on the form the checked community cat instead of pet cat. She had mixed up the words stray and feral when I first met the cat, so maybe that’s what happened.

In any case, he’s been hiding in the basement since we brought him home.