Lynda called me a few days ago, requesting help to get a female cat spayed. Apparently this cat has been going to her house for a year now and she has been feeding her.
So, the cat was brought to our panel vet today, and our vet did the operation but could not find the uterus or the horns.
The cat had already been previously spayed.
This is why we impose the notched ear for female animals. If only the people who had got her spayed previously (whether another rescue group or her owners) had got her ear notched, the poor cat would not have had to be opened up twice.
The spaying operation is a major operation (it’s an ovariohysterectomy) and we do not want to subject already-spayed animals to this operation twice.
There was no way Lynda could have known the cat had already been spayed. Even the vet sometimes cannot detect the fine line.
It now becomes imperative that we all do the right thing – to notch or tip the ear of a spayed female animal. It is for the animal’s own wellbeing, not to mention, for our peace of mind, too.
We still have to pay our vets the full rate in cases like these because it actually takes more time to try to locate the missing uterus, and the operation has already been done.
In this short span of time, this is our third case of a previously-spayed animal being rescued and opened up again.
Pets do get lost. Pets sometimes get abandoned. Strays animals may be captured and spayed by other groups of well-meaning animal-lovers.
Please notch or tip the ear. It’s for the animals’ own good. Please help reduce the risk of them being opened up twice.
Note: We do not notch the ears of male animals as any vet would be able to detect the missing testicles.
In other places like Thailand, India, Sri Lanka and Bali, the notched ear has a further purpose – local councils do not capture notched or tipped ear animals. These animals are allowed to live on as they do not breed anymore. In such countries, both the male and the female animal would have their ear notched once spayed-neutered.
In our country, our councils have not reached that level of compassion yet. Nor have the complainants who cannot tolerate the presence of animals in their neighbourhood.