Ear-Tipping Guide: What is an Ear Tip on Cats?

If you have any experience with shelter cats, animal control, community cats, or feral felines, you've probably seen or heard of ear tipping before.

You might not know what it is, why it's done, or how it works, though. So, let's talk about it! There's a lot to know and a few myths I want to dispel, so I've got a lot to say.

What is Ear Tipping?

Ear tipping is the polite way of saying, "cutting off the tip of the ear of a cat."

It's used as a way to identify certain kinds of cats and to facilitate dealing with community cats and ferals that aren't otherwise going to be adopted or taken in.

Why Are Some Cats Ear-Tipped?

Ear tipping is a signal. It's a visible sign that a cat has been trapped, spayed or neutered, vaccinated, and released.

The unfortunate reality of life is that there are a lot more cats out there in the world than there are parents to love them.

Shelters are routinely full, people looking to adopt have more options than they could hope for, and those cats do what all animals in nature do: produce more cats.

In order to control the population of feral and community cats, many cities across the country and around the world have set up TNR programs. TNR stands for Trap, Neuter, Release (and some versions add in V for Vaccinate), and that's exactly what they do.

They set up traps where they know feral cats are taking shelter, usually baited with food. When the cat gets trapped, they're brought to a vet.

The vet will examine them, check them for diseases or injuries, and give them treatment as necessary. If they're in otherwise good health, they'll be vaccinated.

Then, the cat will be anesthetized and fixed. Whether it's a spay or a neuter, it helps control the number of feral cats trying to survive in a neighborhood.

The more ferals there are in a cat colony, the harder it is for them all to survive; food and water are harder to come by, fights can cause injuries and infections that lead to death, and diseases can spread more easily.

TNR programs help cut down both on the common causes of death for feral cats and on the number of feral cats trying and struggling to survive.

Keep in mind that this is mostly done with true ferals. Stray cats are generally a lot friendlier and can be rescued and adopted, while feral cats are very scared, standoffish, and a lot harder to even get close to, let alone interact with.

Most people don't have the time, inclination, or attitude necessary to try to socialize a feral cat, so they're usually left more to their own devices.

Back to ear tipping. When a cat is a participant in a TNR program, there needs to be some way to identify them.

After all, you don't want to waste resources bringing the same cat to the vet multiple times to get them looked after, right? It's better to spend those resources on more cats.

Since there aren't really any good ways to leave a permanent mark on a cat that is visible from a distance and can't be removed (so, no collars, no dyes, nothing like that), ear tipping is the best solution we have. I'll talk a bit more about alternatives and why we chose ear tipping later on in this post.

What Are the Benefits of Ear Tipping?

Ear tipping has two main benefits.

Ear-Tipping Benefit #1

The first is for TNR programs, animal control officers, well-meaning people, and vets. Tipping the ear of a cat is a visible indicator that the cat has been through a TNR process.

If the cat is spotted and called in later, and a professional investigates, they can find that the cat has been tipped.

There still might be valuable reasons to capture the cat. A feral that is preying on local chickens or other small livestock, for example, might need to be relocated so they aren't disruptive.

A feral that is getting into fights with local cats and other animals, too, might be up for relocation.

But, if the only concern is that the cat might be stray or feral and need attention, that's not much of a problem. Ear tipping tells you everything you need to know; the cat is already treated and isn't going to be any more of a problem than a single cat on their own can be.

Ear-Tipping Benefit #2

The second benefit is for the cat.

Being trapped, brought into a vet, and possibly anesthetized can all be very stressful for any animal.

For well-socialized pets and the occasional stray, it's a little easier to deal with. For a feral, which is likely already very fearful and distrustful of people, it's an immensely stressful time.

Anesthesia also can be very stressful and even potentially dangerous for an animal. So, the less a cat has to go through that process, the better.

Ear tipping is a visible way to prevent picking up and stressing out the same cat over and over. It's simple, easy, and useful.

Are There Drawbacks to Ear Tipping?

While the benefits are clear, are there any drawbacks to ear tipping?

Truthfully, not really. The only real drawback is that some people don't like the look of a cat with asymmetrical ears, but really, that's not a problem.

The cats getting ear-tipped are usually afraid enough of people that you're not going to interact with them very much, so it doesn't really matter what they look like.

Some people are afraid that ear tipping is painful, disfiguring, or changes the personality of a cat.

Fortunately, nothing can be further from the truth. Most cats don't really notice or care that they've been ear-tipped. They don't really have the same kind of self-image that people do, and a cosmetic change like an ear tip is just a tiny change to adapt to.

Does Ear Tipping Hurt?

Yes and no.

Technically, ear tipping hurts. Any damage to the flesh triggers pain receptors, and that means pain.

But honestly? It's no different than getting an ear pierced at your local mall's Claire's. The ear is fairly light on pain receptors and nerves, especially in cats, where it's one of the more injury-prone parts of a cat. Catfights can leave ears damaged, after all.

More importantly, though, cats are never ear-tipped while they're awake. Since they're being anesthetized for the spay or neuter surgery, the ear tipping is done at the same time.

The cat won't feel a thing when their ear is tipped. For real, the recovery from the surgery is going to be more painful than the ear tipping, and even that is relatively minor. Cats can spring back pretty easily from a lot of injuries.

So, while it's technically true that ear tipping would cause pain, the cat in question isn't going to be awake for it, and it will heal quickly enough that they'll never feel it.

Are Cats Bothered by Ear Tipping?

Not at all.

Have you ever seen one of those videos of a cat with paralyzed back legs just dragging them around, or one missing a front leg that has no trouble running and playing, or a cat with no eyes that can still explore, jump onto furniture, and enjoy a good scritch? An ear tip is nothing compared to those, and cats can adapt to those life-changing injuries in no time.

It's kind of questionable whether or not a cat even notices that they've been ear-tipped. Yeah, the tip of their ear is missing, but it's not like that tip is used for much of anything.

Enough of the ear is still there that they can do all of their ear-based body language just fine. They don't have self-esteem that would be bothered by it, and they aren't exactly looking themselves over in the mirror before they go about their day.

Does Ear Tipping Affect Hearing?

Cats can go deaf, but there's no evidence to suggest that cat hearing is affected by ear tipping.

Maybe there's a tiny loss of acuity for very precise hearing, but it really doesn't seem likely. No real formal studies have been done, but it's not going to cause hearing loss, make them more susceptible to infections, or anything like that.

Ear-tipped cats still live long and full lives just as much as any other community cat, and ear-tipping doesn't impact that quality of life.

In fact, ear-tipped cats live better lives because of the vaccinations and medical care they're given; they're less prone to illness and disease that can cause long-term issues.

Is Ear Tipping an Infection Risk?

Only very slightly. Any injury, no matter how small, is a potential vector for infection. Even flea bites can cause an infection.

Ear tipping is a very small, superficial injury, though, and it's always healed before the cat is released back into the wild.

The chances of a cat being tangibly harmed from an ear-tipping procedure are pretty much zero.

What Should You Do if You Find an Ear-Tipped Cat?

What do you want to do?

I like to say hi, make a few pspspspsps noises, maybe refill their food or water dishes while I'm at it.

They don't usually pay much attention to me, and stay pretty wary and distant, so I'm not going to get any good headbutts or kneading going.

Ear tipping is almost always done for feral cats, and feral cats usually want pretty much nothing to do with you.

You'll only even notice that they're tipped if you're paying attention and know what to look for.

The exception, of course, is if the cat is in obvious distress. If they've been injured in a fight or hit by a car, if they're clearly sick and weak or emaciated, or if they're otherwise in a bad way, you can try to trap them and bring them to a vet for treatment.

For normal, healthy community cats that have been ear-tipped, just interact with them as you would any other cat.

There's not much else you can do. Just be cautious; don't try to push their boundaries, or you risk being swiped at and clawed up.

Should You Tip Your Cat's Ears?

No.

Ear tipping is, again, an indication of ferals and stray community cats. It's not something you do to your beloved pets and feline companions.

If you've seen someone who has a pet cat and that cat has a tipped ear, it's more likely that they adopted and socialized a feral cat than that they tipped the ear of a cat they adopted otherwise.

Are There Alternatives to Ear Tipping?

There are a few.

One is ear-notching. Ear tipping involves cutting off the top quarter inch of the cat's ear so it's visibly different than a whole ear.

Ear notching is smaller and is more like a little V cut out of the ear. Notching was also common, but it's hard to tell between a notched ear and a cat that had their ear clawed or bitten in a fight, so it's less reliable as an indicator.

It's also harder to see from a distance, so skittish cats might be trapped more often because of it.

Some people use things like chips to identify feral cats, but these also don't provide the same kinds of benefits.

A chip needs to be scanned, which means the cat needs to be trapped, and then you've already wasted the time and effort, removing the benefit of tipping.

In some areas, tags are used. Tags are visible, but they're bulky and can disrupt a cat's life more than a tipping.

They can also get caught on things or get snagged in a catfight and can be ripped out, causing pain, a possible infection risk, and removing the identification. They aren't very good.

Pretty much any method of identifying a feral that has been through TNR is less effective or less beneficial than ear tipping, which is why we use it. Until something better comes along, it's what we've got.

Want to know anything else about ear tipping? Have a question I didn't answer? If so, let me know!