Question about 'marked' cats.

[RICHARD]

Since I am a buffoon and still believe that I can train a cat to feed itself-I have a question about the ear clip on cats that are neutered/sterile.

I am looking towards trapping the girl cats of my harem and having them sterilized. I noticed that one of the cats has an ear 'clipped' in the way that feral cats who have already had sir jury.

I have to catch the cat, but I wanted to know if it's either ear clipped or one side only?

Thanks!

[Freedom]

Note: some call it an ear notch, some call it an ear tip. In all cases, it means the pointed part of the top of the ear has been clipped straight across.

The standard is to clip the ear
right ear notched, female
left ear notched, male

Check around , (try craigslist for example) for rescues near you who do feral cat rescue, also call TNRM (Trap - Neuter - Return - Maintain). They will know:
- the standard in your area
- the low cost programs available
- the requirements - see below what I mean

We have 3 vets in our area who will fix feral cats. Two of them require the cat be in the trap; one of them asks that we transfer the cat to a carrier.
Doing a transfer is tricky with most ferals, and requires TWO people and a closed in space like a small bathroom. Some ferals have learned to come to their caretaker and using a carrier is preferable for those cats. So when I was trapping, it depended on who I caught which vet I wanted to use.

Each of the 3 vets has a different drop off time, although all are early morning. Each has separate pick up times, some as early as 3 PM, some don't start pick ups until 6 PM.

All programs: at the time of being fixed, the cat also gets a rabies shot.

Some programs:

- also test for FIV / Felv ( a positive test means the cat is PTS),
- check for ear mites and administer meds if needed
- apply one dose of flee protection (Frontline or some such)
- check for and remove any tics

There may be different things for your part of the country compared to mine.

You said "I have to catch the cat," but if the ear is already tipped, WHY? do you have to catch that one?

And, AHEM! catching only the girls is a nice idea, but the males do roam, ya know? ;) They can be trapped and fixed as well. You can't a trap to "catch girls only." If you've put the male through the stress of being trapped, may as well fix him; plus, often you can't tell the sex while the cat is in the trap, ferals don't like to allow you to "see back there!"

[RICHARD]

.

You said "I have to catch the cat," but if the ear is already tipped, WHY? do you have to catch that one?

And, AHEM! catching only the girls is a nice idea, but the males do roam, ya know? ;) They can be trapped and fixed as well. You can't a trap to "catch girls only." If you've put the male through the stress of being trapped, may as well fix him; plus, often you can't tell the sex while the cat is in the trap, ferals don't like to allow you to "see back there!"

Sorry, I wasn't clear.

One of the four has, what looks like to me, a clipped ear, it may be due to a fight, but, I wanted to be sure, just in case.

If I go thru with the trapping, the girls are very friendly and I have no problem putting them into a cage and getting it done.

Thankfully the 'boys' show their 'boys' rather prominently and they are the ones that will be harder to catch because they are more distant and I have more time to put them at ease for the trapping.

[Moesha]

Here's just an observation from my own personal experience. I've taken several cats and have had ears "tipped". But I also had this tiny kitten show up with the top part of his ear injured and it soon fell off. So now my dear Higgins has a "tipped ear", but he wasn't fixed until I had the vet do it. So make sure that the ear that is "clipped" isn't a result of an old injury instead of being sterilized. How you do that is another question; one for which I don't have the answer.

ETA:
I've attached a photo of Higgins so you can see the ear.

http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp45/runningazoo/Misc/HigginsOutside2.jpg

http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp45/runningazoo/Misc/025.jpg

[catmandu]

Thats good of you Richard and anything that stops the flow of unwanted Kittens does a favor not only to those Kittens, but to the Older Strays in the shelter who tend to be dispaced by tiny new arrivals, and overlooked.
;););)
I have done that with Tubster Panther, and would have with his son Ebony Beau Tubster , but couldnt.:(:(

[Freedom]

Gotcha, Richard, get that one caught.

Good luck with this project!

Moesha, Higgins is quite a guy! And wow, his ear DOES looked tipped! Good thing you knew his history.

[kitten645]

OMG I'm in LUV with Higgins! I'm a blackie at heart but a grey prince like that..woo hoo. LOL. He is such a DUDE! LOL. Cutie patootie..ps don't tell Calvin or Hobbes I'm being unfaithful..LOL:love::love: