Ear-tipping allows a person to tell from a distance whether or not a community/feral/outdoor cat has been spayed or neutered!
 

A tipped ear saves the cat the stress of being trapped and anesthetized a second time.
 

Ear-tipping can also help anyone who is feeding the cats keep track of them, and notice if a new cat has joined the group!
 

Sometimes people have their indoor/outdoor cats ear-tipped so people don’t mistake them for strays. (Obviously we would rather that your cats are indoor only...)
 

The ear-tip doesn’t hurt the cats or effect their hearing abilities in any way. It is done at the same time as spay/neuter surgery while they are under anesthesia.
 

Sometimes at N2T we will have cats ear-tipped before we really know if they will be adoptable. It saves the hassle later if they do have to be returned outside.
 

Sometimes stray cats come in super shy, hissy, and a little unsure of humans, so we don't know immediately if we would have to place them in a barn home or not. A lot of the time they prove us wrong and the ear-tip just adds to their story!
 

Please don't let an ear-tip discourage you from adopting a certain cat!