shackleford_rusty t1_iw3hu1i wrote on November 12, 2022 at 5:55 PM

Reply to comment by EternalMoonChild in I miss stray cats because rats took over the city by BoredHangry

I'm not the authority, my girlfriend is more of a cat expert than I'll ever be, but as I understand it, the ear clip means the cat has been trapped, neutered or spayed, and released back to its feral colony/its feral existence. We've fostered some cats that have had the ear clip before, and they've gone from the shelter to us to their forever homes.

It's also not a wholly missing ear tip, in case anyone misunderstands, but a little nick in the tip of the ear to denote their neuter/spay status.

Zoethor2 t1_iw65qnm wrote on November 13, 2022 at 6:35 AM

Yes, the ear tip is there to avoid unnecessary trips to the shelter for a cat that has already been spayed or neutered. An easy visual marker denoting their status.