Well, I get the purpose of it for the protection of spayed cats to be less likely to be harmed but wish it was not so

Not a bad idea.

@SkiVegChick It just looks like a triangle with the tip cut off. It is not really noticeable unless you are close and you see the hear that has not been messed with.

I didn’t know this was a common thing that people do. None of the ferals in my area are ear tipped but all of them are spayed and neutered. One of my cats is actually ear tipped. We got him from a shelter and clipping a little from the top of an ear was how they knew which cats were spayed/neutered and which cats weren’t. I don’t agree with shelters doing this just because they could keep the spayed/neutered cats in a separate room from the ones that weren’t. However, for TNR I suppose ear tipping is okay, otherwise there isn’t an easy way to tell if a feral has already been spayed or neutered.

what does a cat who has been ear tipped look like??

I’m chill with it

My cat (adopted from a shelter) has a tipped ear, and he seems not to notice it as being any different. We live in a decently rural area, and I think it’s good in case he loses his collar. (He has one that falls of if he tugs hard enough, so he doesn’t strangle himself.)

Ear tipping is a visual indicator to let to make people aware that the cat has already been spayed/neutered. Without this practice, the cats could have to endure multiple needless surgeries rather than one initial surgery.

I got my 3 female cats fixed in June, and they tipped their ears. They look fine & they get around and hear just right. It’s not that bad of idea because as it was already mentioned it seperates those from cats that have not been fixed.

Thanks for clarifying that for me. I’ve never seen an ear tipped cat but we have plenty of feral cats in my neighborhood. We see them alone and in packs roaming the area and when I’ve had the rare chance to sit outside late at night I hear them yowl and fight.

@Slayla Actually Ear Tipping is not used for “pet cats” Its only used for feral cats, because no one would know if they are already fixed or not because people just trap them and release them after the surgery, not that they keep them in their house they might live an entirely different neighborhood than the cat or something. Ear tipping is only for cats that no one owns and live on their own. Not domesticated cats that people take responsibility for.

I’ve never noticed an ear-tipped cat but why exactly are we still doing this? Surely a half-intelligent human being can tell if a cat has already been fixed and that it’s domesticated. If the owner hasn’t given their cat proper identification (metal tag on collar, micro chip between shoulder blades) then that person doesn’t know how to be a responsible cat owner. I’m only speaking of the suburban types as farm cats don’t usually wander from a sizable land source. And if your domestic cat is hanging around the feral cats most of the time, why did they bother getting a cat? I don’t think it’s right to disfigure a cat to account for lazy humans who don’t care.

“The eartip is the universal symbol that an outdoor or free-roaming cat has been fixed. It is done while the cat is under anesthesia, is relatively painless for the cat, and does not significantly alter their beauty. ”

It allows people not to bother cats again if they are trying to help out and get them fixed in their community if someone has already done that. Plus spaying and neutering all animals, pets or feral cats and strays is important to help stopping over population , but is ear tipping humane?