Feral Cat Ear Notch

Fix our ferals offers the following information and photos to help identify a feral cat that has already been 'fixed'.

Feral cat ear notch. Instead of just cutting off the tip the removed half the ear to the point it almost looks like an ear crop. In some areas, an ear notch is also an indication that a feral or community cat has been spayed/neutered. Apply a sterile scrub to the left ear.

This is no longer the preferred method, although it is still widely used in some areas. 59 thoughts on “ feral cat ear notching ” kittiesblue september 21, 2014 at 8:41 pm. Would a notch in a cat's ear mean anything other than the fact that the cat has a notch in its ear?

I don't know why, but it seems to me that i read somewhere that some vets will place a small notch in the tip of a cat's ear when they place an id chip or neuter the cat, but i don't really remember. This is the universal sign of a fixed feral cat. The little notches usually are caused by a cat bite close to the edge of the ear so that it tears all the way to the edge.

The point is to be obvious, after all. Feral cats have established populations on all eight of the main hawaiian islands and contribute to widespread ecological disruptions that threaten native hawaiian wildlife. The instance that i became familiar w/ today….a woman took in a stray.

You can see in the photo the tip of the cat’s ear has been removed, some veterinarians will remove a portion of the ear from the side instead of the tip. Notched ear picture courtesy of fix our ferals Eartipping is an effective and universally accepted method to identify a spayed or neutered and vaccinated feral cat.

The cat had already been spayed. If you see a notch in its ear, it may be a feral cat that was part of the “trap, neuter, vaccinate” program. Trap, neuter and return (tnr) feral cats may have a notch out of their ear instead of a tattoo.

If you see a cat out roaming at night, it is most likely feral. Feral cats who have been altered have a tipped or notched ear. Tipping will require removal of the top one centimeter (1 cm) of the ear so only the top portion should be prepped;

Feral cats are one of the most devastating predators of hawai‘i’s […] Due to their fear of humans, the ear notch makes it easy to determine if the cat has been desexed from a distance. To mark each sterilized feral cat as fixed, the feral cat coalition requires that every cat spayed or neutered by us has its right ear tipped, straight across 1/4 inch.

It does not seem like a coincidence that you have found more than one cat with this. Welcome to hill country cats! It’s a very minor medical procedure and a proud badge, demonstrating to neighbors, animal control officers, and animal shelters that this cat has a home and a caretaker.

If you have rescued a cat and plan on releasing the cat back out, it is important to get his/her’s ear notched at the time of the spay/neuter surgery. Ear notching or ear tipping is a universal sign that a feral cat has been spayed or neutered (desexed), vaccinated and then returned to its colony. What does an ear notch or ear tip look like?

My brother was perplexed at the notch the vet took from the cats ear. An ear notch on a cat’s ear allows us to physically identify if the cat has been spayed/neutered. When i saw what they did to one cat i was horrified.

She took the cat to the vet to have it spayed and keep as a pet. Male cats are notched on the left ear and females on the right. When a feral is spayed or neutered, its right ear is given a small notch or tip.

Cats out and about during the day, are more likely to be strays or outdoor. This is done while the cat is still under anesthesia from the spay/neuter surgery. In other parts of the us and the abroad, the ear tip may not be an indicator of a particular sex.

The vet explained that this was to prevent the cat from undergoing the same procedure again should it run away. Ear notching refers to putting a notch or tears into the ear of a feral cat. Most cats who have been outdoors have some little chips in their ears.

Tatoos are difficult to locate without anesthesizing the cat. Tattooing—you can’t see that until a cat has already been trapped. This allows the cat, if trapped again, to be released without having to undergo anesthesia and surgery again.

Feral cat coalition clinic procedures. Feral cats tend to have more nocturnal behavior. Before tipping the cat's left ear, examine both ears for ear mites, infection or debris.

Eartags—they can cause infections, fall off, or tear a cat’s ear. I guess that's how they mark feral cats (in arizona anyway) maybe they do it everywhere? This will help ensure that none of the solution gets into the ear canal.

Never heard of or saw a notch like this before. The vet cut the tip of the cat’s ear off of the woman’s cat. Have you asked your vet?

When did you see it? Ear tipping is the standard here (virginia). Here are a few examples of beautiful cats with tipped or notched ears.

At fcsnp, we “tip” the right ear of female cats, and the left ear of male cats. Veterinarians notch or tip the ear during spay/neuter surgery which helps to identify a trap, neuter, return (tnr) cat from a distance. A few years ago when i got my strays fixed at a low cost clinic there procedure was to notch all stray/feral cats on one ear.

The vet didn't charge much, and my brother said his. Usually a spay/neuter notch is larger; A feral cat was hanging around their property for a while, and eventually shredded one of their domestic cats into spaghetti.