When you see a cat out in the wild, you might notice a lot of things about them, depending what stands out to you. You might notice their coloring, or their fur, in fact this might be the first thing you notice about them. Other things you might notice about them are their eyes, their body shape, if they look healthy or not, if they look pregnant or skinny, or if they look like they are being taken care of. Something else you might notice is if a cat has the tip of their ear missing. So, why do cats get their ears tipped?
Well, first let us discuss when ear tipping started. Ear tipping began in Europe in the 1970’s as part of program Denmark started through their Society for the Protection of Cats. They were tipping the ears to identify cats that had been neutered. In the US the program Alley Cat Allies popularized ear tipping cats to identify cats that had been neutered or spayed. When this program started, most of the cats at the time were part of a Trap-Neuter-Release (TNR) program. These programs would trap the cats, neuter or spay then, then release them back into their communities, hoping to help keep the cat and kitten population down.
Of course, none of this will make sense if you know nothing about ear tipping. When a cat or feral kitten is neutered or spayed, a very small portion of their ear (usually the top tip) is surgically removed. The removal is done while the animals are under anesthesia for their spay or neuter, so no pain is felt. After they wake up, the animal does not feel pain in their ear and they are safe to release back into their communities. Often, vets will want the animal to be kept in seclusion (especially females) for a few days before releasing them into their communities – only so no one has to worry about infection or injury and the cats can heal up.
Ear tipping tells anyone looking that the animal has been spayed or neutered. Sometimes, these animals are not let back into the wild and it is found that the animal might actually make a good house or barn cat. Every now and then you will meet a cat or kitten who is living in a house, and if their ear is tipped, it generally means that they have already been neutered or spayed.
Neutering and spaying is very important, not only for cats, but also other animals like rabbits, dogs, and ferrets. The animal population is huge, not just across north America, but in a lot of countries. Being part of a TNR program is important to keep populations down so that the populations do not become a problem in areas where the animals might be injured or killed. TNR programs, like shelters and rescues, have one goal – help animals.
If you are interested in helping fund TNR programs you can donate to Cattyshack for spays and neuters (not all of the cats we help are cats that can become house cats). Or you can donate to Alley Cat Allies at https://www.alleycat.org/our-work/trap-neuter-return/ to help pay for the spays and neuters of cats. If you cannot donate, you can also learn how to help by conducting a trap-neuter-return yourself.
Anything helps.
Sweet and shy Ivy is available for adoption and wants nothing more than to have a family to call her own. It took her several days to get comfortable but once she decided she liked having all the kitties around that were just her size, she settled in quickly. We are not sure how she is with dogs, so we will go ahead and say she needs a dog-free home. She definitely prefers other cats her size to play with! We will NOT adopt a single kitten into a home with no other cats unless it states in their listing that they are not good with cats and need to be an only cat. We prefer our little kittens are adopted in pairs or at least have another cat in the home to bond with. If interested in Ivy you can make a reservation to visit her at the Cattyshack Lounge in Lowe Mill, or you can fill out the adoption application to adopt her or ask for a meet and greet. You can find her information under the “Our Kitties” tab, or make a reservation under the “Reservations” tab.