TNR

I took two cats into a local shelter. One was a stray and the other was a friend's cat. The local cat advocates said that we could get them both neutered and that wouldn't be a problem.

They came home with a large chunk cut out of their ears. The stray looks bad but the friends Siamese looking cat looks worse. Is cutting a piece of their ears off the only way to mark ferals and strays so they don't get operated on a second time? Can't they put in a chip or find another way to mark the cat without disfiguring her? Why do they do it to males? It's pretty east to see that a male has been neutered.

I feel bad and I don't think I'm going to try to trap any more strays. It seems sadistic to me.

'formerly known as 'cat arranger'' writes

You don't mention the locale in which this happened, but, if possible, ask around at other shelters BEFORE bringing any more cats in.

I think tipping is better than notching. It's easier to see in dim light (cats are crepuscular, not truly nocturnal as commonly believed

Yep. I have an ear-tipped one, myself. Such a sweetie! I've atually gotten so used to her missing bit of ear that I don't even notice it anymore. And it causes no discomfort to the cat that I've ever noticed. I'm not sure she even realizes that the top of her ear is missing. It really is far less traumatic than being captured over and over again by enthusiastic rescuers and really, if you can't get close to a cat, what else can you do that would be visible from several feet

That is very cool! I'll discuss this with our vets. We just got a cat in who has been opened up a second time because her spay scar was too old to see.

Sharon Talbert Friends of Campus Cats

So what's with that, do you think? I am puzzled. You are sure, I assume, that the cat has been surgically clipped and not been scarred in fights.

Sharon Talbert Friends of Campus Cats

Hope yours come around as well as my litter of 7 did. All 4 of the girls have already been adopted out. Don't know why the boys are still here unless it's that they are - boys - and 2 of them are black and white (we seem to be overrun with b&w cats around here) They have become absolute sweeties right down to flipping onto their backs for belly rubs. Their mom was TNR. She eventually tolerated being handled to an extent but wasn't happy about it at all. She's back where she came from where they said they'd continue to feed her, have built a shelter for her to get in out of the weather and are going to try to see if they can eventually make friends.

Hi, Wendy. We do what we can. I believe every cat (well, almost every cat) can be socialized, if only to the point of being comfortable around people. Some take a very long time to come around, unfortunately, and they are the ones I get stuck with. But that's ok, as long as they are content and healthy.

Sharon Talbert Friends of Campus Cats

My Cristobel has a small slice in her left ear. I thought she had just been in a fight? Is it possible it means she has been spayed? Vet said she had been and she has never come into heat.

She's a great kitty! I'm her 4th home. Forever home now. Good grief, someone is missing out on a great cat!

Sounds like she was part of a TNR program at one time.

If the cat has been trapped they don't always know right away whether the cat is suitable to be adopted or not so they notch the ear when they have the cat under anesthesia to be neutered. Sometimes during the post-op recovery they discover the cat is really a sweetheart and is put up for adoption instead of released. You may have gotten one of these.