Different groups might notch the ear differently. Friends of mine
adopted a former feral cat who used to live in a colony. He was TNR'ed
and they notched his ear by cutting off the entire point (maybe about
1/3 of an inch in depth). So the top part of his ear is flat.

They named him "Van Gogh", by the way. :)

Joyce

I'm only guessing that when they round up strays they treat them all the
same.  Feral or lost would get altered first and notched, before they even
decided whether or not they were to be released or put up for adoption.

But I don't think notching is common around here in any case.

My wandering mind wonders if ferals that are rounded up to be altered and
released ever even go to the shelter.  Isn't feral colony management usually
done by private groups?

Jo

Jo

All of them I have ever seen take the tip off so there is a flat topped ear.

I would think a notch in the ear is more likely to be caused by fighting
with other cats. All the TNR cats I've seen have the top of one ear cut off
so it's flat. Shadow, the semi feral that I feed and had neautered has a
couple of notches in his ear from fights.

Hi Julie -

Most of the groups around here that deal with ferals trim
the tip of the cats ear, just about 1/4 inch or so.  It's
pretty obvious once you've seen it.  What side they trim
tends to depend on what side they can get to while the
cat is under for neutering/spaying.  It makes the top of
the ear noticeably flat.

The v notch in Barnabus's ear is most likely from a
sparring match.  Tripper has one that he got from
his brother when he was still a kitten, and previous
furry owners have gotten them over the years thanks to
arguments with each other and with neighbors.

I have seen some colony cats make their way in to
adoptions.  One big old ex-tom cat was at an adoption
a few weeks ago, and had the trimmed ear tip, but he
was soaking up the attention...drooling, blinking, purring.
Didn't get a chance to read his card, but he wasn't there
later, so hopefully.....

Purrs-

Chris, The Fairfax Fur Factory, and Oreo the no longer stray

Julie,

I forwarded your question to the president of our local Alley Cat Allies.
They foster kittens and young cats that can be socialized and then put them
up for adoption.  They emphasize TNR for older cats and true "ferals," and
they maintain feeding stations around town for colonies of ferals.  They
also "pull" cats and kittens from the animal shelter when they have foster
parents for them, and thereby help to adopt out still more furbabies.

Here is the reply I received in response to your question:  "Actually
shelters are now using microchips to identify pets. My guess is that the cat
was in a fight and the ear was ripped? Most ear tips are flat across the ear
so that it is easily recognizable for the caretaker of the colony."

Adding to that:  I adopted Duffy from a shelter, and his ear is not tipped.

MaryL

Photos of Duffy and Holly:      >'o'<
Duffy:  http://tinyurl.com/cslwf
Holly:  http://tinyurl.com/9t68o
Duffy and Holly together:  http://tinyurl.com/8b47e

Depends upon how long he was wandering BEFORE being
neutered!  My Patches, who'd been a wandering intact tom for
about three years had a very large "notch" on one ear - the
result of one of many fights, I know, because it was
slightly infected when he first adopted me, but was already
nearly healed so the vet said it wasn't worth worrying about.

What does TNR mean?

I've only seen ear marking in Rhodes - there is an eneormous feral
cat population there, and the locals shoot almost all of them at
the end of the tourist season.  The ones with the tip of an ear cut
off are spared.  There is a local campaign for more responsible
and humane treatment of the cats: see
http://www.siamese.mundikat.nl/subweb/siamese/rhodos/index.htm
When I was there the campaigner I spoke to (at the same display
pictured on that page) was a local Greek woman, so it isn't just
a concern of British ex-pats.

==============  j-c  ======  @  ======  purr . demon . co . uk  ==============
Jack Campin:  11 Third St, Newtongrange EH22 4PU, Scotland | tel 0131 660 4760
<http://www.purr.demon.co.uk/jack/>   for CD-ROMs and free | fax 0870 0554 975
stuff: Scottish music, food intolerance, & Mac logic fonts | mob 07800 739 557