If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
ear tipping question
Good evening ladies and gentlemen:
I am concerned about ear tipping my ferals. I don't have a "colony" as such, and I don't see most of the cats for much more than 4 months. There really will be no one here to feed them when I move away. Several have not returned after being trapped and fixed. Under these circumstances should I tip their ears? Will someone see them in the future and not feed them because they think they are already being cared for? Tip - yes or no? Chelle "The day may come when the rest of the animal creation may acquire those rights which never could have been withholden from them but by the hand of tyranny. The question is not can they REASON, nor can they TALK, but can they SUFFER?" -- Jeremy Bentham |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
RedRiver35 wrote:
Good evening ladies and gentlemen: I am concerned about ear tipping my ferals. I don't have a "colony" as such, and I don't see most of the cats for much more than 4 months. There really will be no one here to feed them when I move away. You should start looking for replacement feeders well before your departure. It is irresponsible to make feral cats dependent on you for food and then simply disappear. Canvass your neighborhood for cat-friendly individuals. Offer to provide food for anyone willing to take on the task of feeding. Don't leave the cats high and dry!!! Several have not returned after being trapped and fixed. It's not unusual for nomadic males to return to their own territories after being neutered nor for short-time feral residents to be so frightened by the T/N exerpience that they look for another place to live. Under these circumstances should I tip their ears? Absolutely. The purpose of ear-tipping is to indicate to subsequent caregivers that the cat has been altered. That way, neither the caregiver nor the cat has to go through the unpleasantness of re-trapping and vetting. Will someone see them in the future and not feed them because they think they are already being cared for? I doubt it. Anyone familiar with ear-tipping knows enough about ferals to figure out they've got a hungry, altered feral on their hands. Also, in my area, ear-tipping saves cats' lives. Any tipped ear cat that is impounded at the public shelter is automatically bailed out of jail by the SPCA feral cat program and released near the site where it was trapped. Participation in the feral cat S/N program is so widespread in San Francisco that it isn't hard to find a number of caregivers in an area who are willing to allow the "jailbird" to be released in their colony. Many times, the program coordinator can pinpoint the exact colony the impounded cat is from and can reunite the cat with the colony overseer. Tip - yes or no? No question about it, yes. |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
I guess it would depend on what tipping meant in the area you're in. I think
here they tip so they know the cat has been fixed and it has little to do with whether someone is feeding them or not. That could differ in other areas so maybe you could check with local rescue groups to see what their understanding is when they encounter a tipped cat. W "RedRiver35" wrote in message ... Good evening ladies and gentlemen: I am concerned about ear tipping my ferals. I don't have a "colony" as such, and I don't see most of the cats for much more than 4 months. There really will be no one here to feed them when I move away. Several have not returned after being trapped and fixed. Under these circumstances should I tip their ears? Will someone see them in the future and not feed them because they think they are already being cared for? Tip - yes or no? Chelle "The day may come when the rest of the animal creation may acquire those rights which never could have been withholden from them but by the hand of tyranny. The question is not can they REASON, nor can they TALK, but can they SUFFER?" -- Jeremy Bentham |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Property damage question | Rob | Cat health & behaviour | 0 | November 10th 04 04:48 PM |
Cat in heat - behavior question | KellyH | Cat health & behaviour | 8 | April 4th 04 08:16 PM |
laser declaw question on alt med vet | Alison | Cat health & behaviour | 26 | January 13th 04 12:54 AM |