“Cutting Cats’ Ears? Isn’t That Mean?”

“Cutting cats’ ears? Isn’t that mean?” I hear you say. Well, there’s actually a very good reason behind it and Kitten Lady aka Hannah Shaw is here to explain why. It’s official name is an ear tip and if you see a kitty on the streets with part of their ear missing it means that they’ve been through a trap/neuter/return programme or TNR as it’s more commonly known.

TNR was set up to help reduce the amount of stray kitties on the streets, so basically the stray cat is caught, neutered, vaccinated, ear tipped and then returned to their colony. Having the ear tip doesn’t hurt or affect them in any way, it is there to help care givers identify that the kitty has already been through the programme. It also stops animal control catching and taking them to the shelter where they would possibly be euthanised.

Click here to see what Kitten Lady discovered on a Japanese island full of cats!