For example, one thing that I found quite interesting throughout the whole process of the surgery itself is that one of the steps of pre operation was double checking whether or not the animal was already “fixed”. The main way the technicians would determine this was by checking for a tattoo or spay scar.  Veterinarians do this so when animals come into the shelter without any type of history, other vets will know that they do not have to reopen this animal and waste time on a surgery that never had to be done in the first place.

According to Dr. Andrea Schweighoefer-Stuckenberg there’s more than one way in determining if an animal has been “fixed” usually among feral cats. Feral cats need to have a more obvious way to know if they are spayed or neutered in order to keep workers safe. From my personal experience with feral cats they tend to be very skittish and quick to use their claws or teeth to keep from being touched especially new mothers when around their babies. Unless one is taking time to get the cat used to humans, it is best to handle them as little and as quick as possible.

So, in Dr. Schweighoefer-Stuckenberg she talks about how the other ways to ID feral cats, which is ear notching or tipping. Ear notching is “a small, triangular section is cut from the side of the pinna, rather than removing the tip.” While ear tipping is the removal of the tip of the left ear leaving a straight line. “Feral cats need a method of identification that is clearly visible from a distance, in order to spare them the unnecessary trauma of recapture and repeat surgery” (Dr. Schweighoefer-Stuckenberg, pg.561).