Should I trap this cat? When?

scott77777

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Sep 14, 2003
Messages
460
Purraise
4


Hmmmm...so here's a question...

I saw this cat again tonight -- he/she only seems to come out very late at night. Which means I will probably only be able to trap it at a time that I'll have to leave it in the cage for the night, since my temporary caretaker for the cats can't pick the cat up in the middle of the night.

I have seen the cat sleeping on its own (once, the other day). It's pretty big, but hard to tell because I can't get close. So I'm assuming it's male, but not sure.

What are the chances this cat has already mothered kittens? Or probably a male?

My only concern is the possibility of trapping a female that might already have birthed kittens. Otherwise, I've got a pretty good chance of catching it after 11pm at night.
 

hissy

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Feb 19, 2001
Messages
34,872
Purraise
76
Is the ear folded over or tipped? If the ear is tipped the cat has probably be neutered or spayed already, I would bet this is a male-
 

tnr1

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Oct 5, 2003
Messages
7,980
Purraise
13
Location
Northern Virginia
Hey Hissy..I thought the same thing...but looking closer at the picture it seems there is a piece of the car in front of the rest of the ear. I could be wrong.

Katie
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #4

scott77777

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Sep 14, 2003
Messages
460
Purraise
4
Good catch! I didn't even notice that. Here are some more pics. I lightened that shot. It's hard to tell. Of course I always see him UNDER a car!!

There's a good reason to take pictures...maybe that's my calling. Launching a photography site for TNR groups.





 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #5

scott77777

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Sep 14, 2003
Messages
460
Purraise
4
Hmmmm....maybe just the pipe...


 

hissy

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Feb 19, 2001
Messages
34,872
Purraise
76
Poor guy- I hope you trap him soon!
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #7

scott77777

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Sep 14, 2003
Messages
460
Purraise
4
Well, I think I'm 15-0 right now.

I don't plan on being 15-1.
 

hopehacker

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jul 6, 2003
Messages
8,147
Purraise
4
Location
Los Angeles,CA
How can you tell a cat has been fixed by a folded or tipped ear? My cats have all been neutered and none of them have tipped or folded ears.
 

hissy

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Feb 19, 2001
Messages
34,872
Purraise
76
Hope maybe it is just regional, but here when they neuter or spay ferals, they cut just the bare tip of the ear off for identification purposes, that way, in a large colony you can tell who has been fixed or not. My vets do it as a matter of routine now unless I tell them not to.
 

chixyb

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Jan 21, 2004
Messages
953
Purraise
1
Location
CA
Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe when some vets fix ferals they take a snip of the cats ear, to show it has already been trapped and fixed. I am pretty sure they don't do this to household cats. I don't think they cut much off, maybe like a little v-shape cut?

EDIT: Whoops, hissy and I must have been typing at the same time, lol!
 

tnr1

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Oct 5, 2003
Messages
7,980
Purraise
13
Location
Northern Virginia
Hope...how do you know when you get a "newcomer" if there are no visual ways to determine which cats are fixed or not? I know some groups prefer to tattoo...but eartipping has been considered a very good visual way to determine that a cat has already been fixed and doesn't need to be trapped. Every once in a while we get a cat at the ACA clinic that has already been fixed...so they simply receive the eartip.

Katie
 

momofmany

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jul 15, 2003
Messages
16,249
Purraise
70
Location
There's no place like home
He looks male to me also (rounded head and scratches on his face). If you trap him and he is already neutered, nothing lost! If you do testing and/or vaccinations with the speuter, you could take him in for those.

What a beautiful boy!
 

tnr1

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Oct 5, 2003
Messages
7,980
Purraise
13
Location
Northern Virginia
Hey chixyb...the organization I volunteer with does a straight cut across the left ear...a v cut can often be mistaken as a fight wound from what I have gathered. So the cut is done like this /...but it only takes off enough of the ear to recognize that it has already been fixed. I'm sure that Scott has some pictures of his cats that have already been eartipped.

Katie
 

hopehacker

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jul 6, 2003
Messages
8,147
Purraise
4
Location
Los Angeles,CA
OK, now I understand. Since my cats aren't feral's they didn't clip a bit off the ear, but if I brought in a feral to be fixed, they'd probably do something like that, so that when he/she was introduced back into the feral colony, one would know that that particular cat had already been fixed. That's a really good thing to do.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #15

scott77777

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Sep 14, 2003
Messages
460
Purraise
4
I'm sure that Scott has some pictures of his cats that have already been eartipped.
Actually, this has been an issue for us, since the vet that does our ferals doesn't believe in eartipping. I had posted about that in the past. Unfortunately, my main job is the trapper (sometimes dealing with adoptions and taking care of kittens) and I don't have a direct relationship with the vet.

I'm not happy about it -- I believe the vet says that they have problems with infections or the ears getting torn up in fights, but I'm not sure what that's about.
 

tnr1

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Oct 5, 2003
Messages
7,980
Purraise
13
Location
Northern Virginia
Hey Scott...that could definately be an issue if you ever move out and there is no way to tell which cats have and haven't been fixed. What about tattoos?? Some places use tattoos to demonstrate that the cat has already been fixed...I believe they either tattoo the ear or the stomache (since ACA does eartips I'm not too familiar with the tattoo method).

Katie
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #17

scott77777

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Sep 14, 2003
Messages
460
Purraise
4
I was told that they're tattooing the ear, but I'm not sure what they're using to do it (my contact made it seem like they were using a permanent marker of some sort). I've complained about this, but since the vet works directly with the rescue group and is giving them (us) a break, I haven't made it a make-or-break scenario. We have a few vets in our area that are either extremely difficult or extremely expensive, so I guess it's been compromise.

One reason why I've been keeping a list of pictures is to provide it to the local neighbors, a nearby pet shop, and the rescue group as a "cheat sheet" on who has been taken care of.

 

houseofcats

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jul 14, 2003
Messages
425
Purraise
2
Location
Arizona
A technique of painlessly removing a quarter-inch off the top of a feral catâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s left ear while the cat is anesthetized for spay/neutering. Eartipping is the universal symbol of and only proven way to permanently identify (both close up and from a distance) a feral cat that has been evaluated, vaccinated, and sterilized. Eartipping ensures that a sterile cat will not undergo unnecessary repeat trapping and surgery.
 
Top