While browsing the internet I noticed this photograph by Nancy Simmons of an ear-tipped cat. I’ll guess and say that you thought the same as me: too much of the ear was amputated.
At least it is the left ear. I see ear tipping of the right ear as well as the left. As I understand it, and based on the advice provided by Alley Cat Allies, the left ear should be ear-tipped to a near fixed length.
Their full advice is as follows:
“Eartipping is a surgical procedure performed under anesthesia by a veterinarian – that removes of the distal one-quarter of a cat’s left ear, which is approximately 3/8 inch, or 1 cm, in an adult and proportionally smaller in a kitten.” – Alley Cat Allies. “Distal” means the extremity.
For clarity: 1 cm is .39 inch and 3/8th of inch is about 0.37 inch. Another site (neighborhoodcats.org) says that a 1/4 inch should be amputated. This is 0.25 inch. Some confusion.
The best guideline, I believe, is that 1/4 (0.25 or 25%) of the left ear should be amputated. This allows people to see the ear-tipping at a distance while keeping to a minimum the aesthetic disturbance of the operation which is carried out under anaesthetic by the surgeon who does the spay or neuter operation. This guideline also accommodates various ear sizes and feline ear size does vary considerably. It also accommodates young cats with smaller ears.
For those who are unaware (not many) ear-tipping is carried out by volunteers engaged in TNR programs on feral cats. It tells people that the cat has been sterilised under a TNR program. This is good for that. It protects the cat in fact. Sometimes these programs are government sponsored or approved.
In do not wish to criticise the good people involved in TNR; the opposite in fact. I simply think there might be a need for improved guidelines concerning feral cat ear-tipping and better training.
I believe cats are sentient beings.
They use their Pinna to funnel sound down into their ear canals. They depend on their exquisite hearing to detect & locate predators etc. And they use their ears to communicate with other cats.
I just read a study that said most of the public doesn’t have a clear idea of what an ear tip on a cat means. There’s got to be a better solution. Also, most of the Non-Profits & Gov’t funded shelters in the U.S. require ear tipping for their free or low cost spays, neuters, & veterinary care. So a lot of people with financial hardships who have cats as pets delay having their cats spayed & neutered & getting them medical treatment. And cats suffer. The International Association of Feline Veterinary Practitioners states that people should be required to sign a waiver saying the cats they’re having ear tipped are feral.
The argument that ear tips keep free roaming cats out of shelters is false. I see lots of ear-tipped cats in shelters & they’re less likely to be adopted because the general public thinks that a cat with an ear tip is a wild, ferocious, unsocialized animal. And they’re being killed at 3 times the rate of dogs in shelters even though more dogs than cats enter shelters.
People say it doesn’t hurt the cats because they’re under anesthesia when it’s done, but would we do the same to humans? I’m pretty sure I’d notice if my Pinna was cut off. I had a friend whose Pinna was missing after a car accident & he had hearing problems. I realize cats & humans are different species but it seems like common sense to me, & quite ignorant, to not take into account cats’ hearing & ears as their main sense for survival.
We don’t know how the cats feel after surgery. I’ve been a vet tech & cat rescuer/ rehabilitator/ neonatal kitten caregiver for years & I worked as assistant & office manager to a well known Veterinary Radiologist who invented the first Ultrasound Machine for Companion Animals. I have a lot to learn but I definitely am experienced in cats & somewhat in veterinary medicine.
I’ve noticed cats with ear tips tend to be less open to human contact, distrusting of humans, & intolerant of being touched near their clipped ear.
People who do TNR, in my experience, know which cats they’ve spayed/ neutered, vaccinated, microchipped etc. And they know when a new cat joins their colony. Perhaps microchipping would be a more humane way to identify cats who have been spayed/ neutered?
I’m grateful for your informative article & I respect your sharing of information. I just wish that humans advocating ear tipping, involved in TNR or not, would see that it’s arrogant to require amputation of a cat’s ear without taking into account the implications. And the harm.
Love & Light!
Tara, you have spread some love and light on the world in your comment. Not many comments are as long nor as good. So many thanks. Return and comment again! The cat world needs you.
I should have said that it is nice that you ‘believe’ that cats are sentient beings. But you don’t have to believe it. It is a fact! Thanks again for commenting.
I am the coordinator/trapper for our local TNR organization…I am wits end, because the vet that does the surgeries and ear tipping is cutting way too much of the ear on most of the cats. Sadly…there is a lot of drama where I work and when the vet is disgruntled at me…the ear tipping is worse! VERY unprofessional!
Wow, you comment is welcome and thanks but your information is distressing. Horrible. And well-done to you for all your great work. Your information is so shocking to me that I’m going to convert your comment to an article using your photograph to illustrate that page. It is just too horrific to learn that a veterinarian does this out of spite or some other ridiculous reason.
Nikki why did the vet stop half way?
I really have gone over this many times in my mind, Michael. Thank you for examining this topic. While I understand the reason for ear-tipping, I believe that only the tiniest portion of the ear should be clipped. Personally I think that a 1 cm portion is too large. I do not know why, but this bothers me a lot. It almost seems cruel, even though I know it is not done as a pointless procedure. Sometimes I cringe when I look at pictures of these precious cats. I agree that guidelines for the ear-tipping practice are necessary. 😔