Veterinary Clinics and spay/neuter clinics will ear tip a feral (wild) cat when they spay/neuter them, so anyone seeing that cat will know it is altered.
An ear tip is only done on one ear of a feral cat, and only about 1/4-1/2 inch of the tip of the ear is cut straight off while under anesthesia. Normally it is the left ear that is tipped. This way, anyone who sees that cat knows it has been altered.
When a stray cat shows up, the concern is always about — is the male intact? Is the female spayed or not. Because if they aren’t, there will be offspring. If the ear is tipped, you know the cat has been altered, and it saves you the money of a vet appointment, and the cat the stress of undergoing trapping and anesthesia, only to find out there is nothing there.
It is relatively easy to see the backside of a male cat with short hair. And if you can get within a few feet, you can sometimes tell if he has been neutered or not. But how can you tell on a long-haired cat, with hair covering his back end? The ear tip is the best solution.
The calico cat was found huddled in the bushes by the side of the road, starving. It was obvious she had been on her own for quite some time. After several weeks of good food and security, we went to the veterinarian to see if she was spayed. There was no ear tip, or tattoo, or spay scar. So we scheduled a surgery appointment, and after searching and searching, the vet found no female organs – she had been spayed sometime in the past.
I was out unnecessary money, and the cat underwent surgery she did not need. An ear tip would have prevented that. She was tame, so even a tattoo on her stomach would have prevented the unnecessary surgery. Scars from the incision can fade over time. But a tattoo mark remains visible, just as an ear tip remains.
