Why Ear-Tip Feral Cats?



Ear-tipping is simply removing the top 1/4" from the cat's left ear.

 Many people new to feral cat management question why feral cats must be ear-tipped when they’re sterilized. Ear-tipping is simply the removal of the top ¼” of the cat’s left ear while they’re being spayed or neutered and still under the effects of anesthesia. The practice began in Europe in the 1970’s and was later popularized in this country by Alley Cat Allies. Our TNR program – as most others -- follows their guidelines and requires ear-tipping of all participants.

Buy why bother identifying them as sterilized outdoor-only cats? Sterilizing a colony of cats is a challenge for any care manager. First you have to set up a meal-feeding routine that conditions the cats to come at the same time each day and be hungry when they do – then you have to convince them to go in a food-baited live trap so you can safely take them to their surgery. You’d think that once a cat is caught in a live trap they would never be caught again yet many cats do return to the trap. So once colony sterilization is underway, the caregiver needs a reliable method to know if the cat in the trap is still intact. Otherwise they’ll waste a surgery appointment by taking in a cat that’s already done. This is often complicated because the colony may consist of mostly black or gray cats – and it’s hard for to tell them apart – that is without the assist of an ear-tip. And often care managers are surprised to learn they're feeding more cats than they thought.  Where they thought they had 1 or 2 gray or black cats, they fix and ear-tip them only to find look alikes without ear tips still to be sterilized.

And, as ear-tipping becomes the standard for identifying managed outdoor cats, it’ll help well-meaning cat Samaritans too. When they see an ear-tip on an outdoor cat, they’ll know the cat is not a lost or abandoned pet cat and won’t accidentally cart the cat off to a shelter. This will help take the load off shelters that are often given cats that should never have been taken out of their outdoor home and let them  focus their time and resources on the cats who actually need their help.

Although there are other ways to identify a sterilized outdoor cat, they’re not as effective. Micro chips and tattoos require close examination -- which is often difficult with a fearful and shy feral cat – and cat collars with ID tags by their nature are designed to come off if a cat gets hooked on something – which they invariably will. Only the ear-tip can be seen from a distance and without handling the cat. It’s permanent, safe and painless – and if it prevents a cat from being live-trapped twice for sterilization – or carted off to a shelter when it’s not lost or abandoned – it’s well worth the cosmetic intrusion.