This is one of Sumitra’s cats, neutered under our sponsorship last week.
Can you see the small V-notch on the left ear?
This clinic practises V-notching for both male and female animals.
Ear-tipping or ear-notching is a practice observed in many advanced countries as an indicator of a spayed-neutered community animal. It is done to safeguard the wellbeing of the animal. Its two advantages are:
1. To prevent another vet from opening up the animal for spaying again should the animal be lost and rescued by others.
2. In some countries, ear-tipped animals are spared from capture and subsequent euthanasia at the pounds. They are allowed to live out their natural lives since they will not breed and contribute to the increasing stray population anymore.
A common objection to ear-tipping is that it will affect the appearance of the animal and hence, reduces its chances of being adopted. This argument is noted and acknowledged, but after having weighed the pros and cons, we feel ear-tipping has far greater benefits than disadvantages. Our thoughts on this would be that an adopter who rejects an animal due to a small deformity on the ear (which is done for the benefit of the animal) may not be a very good caregiver on the long-term.
Please also remember that adopted animals sometimes get lost too. They may then be rescued by a kind samaritan who would not know if the animal has been previously spayed. The faint incision line may not be easily detected by even an experienced vet.
Hence, ear-tipping is done for all spayed female animals at all our panel vets. For males, it is optional. The absence of the testicles can be easily felt by the vet but not so for the incision line of the females.
We will be helping Sumitra’s friend, Amy, with the spaying of two more kittens.
There seems to be so many “Amy’s” in the animal rescue world!
There’s another Amy from Cyberjaya right now, requesting help for a kitten with a broken back.
And there’s Amy from Subang Jaya, cat-rescuer and top sales lady!
And Amy Lim of Subang Pet Products!
Anymore Amy’s?
BTW, Amy means “beloved”. How nice….!