A black-and-white photo of a person mid-air in a Superman-style body suspension pose, supported by multiple hooks in their back and legs, smiling joyfully toward the camera. They are suspended horizontally in a large indoor space with high ceilings and visible rigging. A group of onlookers—some seated, some standing—watch with expressions of admiration, amusement, and support. The atmosphere is lively and communal, capturing a moment of shared experience and transformation.

Dermal Punched Ear… On a cat!

Before you freak out about this 2ga punched cartilage on this cat’s ear, which was done by a Connecticut veterinarian under anesthesia, please read Chelsea‘s explanation of what you’re seeing —

“This was done while she was under anesthesia because she was a member of an established feral cat colony that was going to be released back into the wild. The holepunch was supposed to signify that she has been spayed — they do this to control the population, as the cats usually are completely wild and un-adoptable. She was an anamoly and decided that she liked being a pet better!”

Comments

166 responses to “Dermal Punched Ear… On a cat!”

  1. Ana Avatar
    Ana

    I don’t like body mod.. on animals.. is it just me, or is it completely unnecessary?

  2. Ana Avatar
    Ana

    I don’t like body mod.. on animals.. is it just me, or is it completely unnecessary?

  3. Ana Avatar
    Ana

    Nevermind, just read the rest of the description. But still.

  4. Ana Avatar
    Ana

    Nevermind, just read the rest of the description. But still.

  5. devo Avatar

    it is unnecessary. however this is a different case.

  6. devo Avatar

    it is unnecessary. however this is a different case.

  7. MrWill Avatar
    MrWill

    are human mods really “necessary”?

  8. MrWill Avatar
    MrWill

    are human mods really “necessary”?

  9. Shannon Larratt Avatar

    Yeah, fuck reading the explanation. Complaining is more important! 😛
    (Just teasing Ana!)

  10. Shannon Larratt Avatar

    Yeah, fuck reading the explanation. Complaining is more important! 😛
    (Just teasing Ana!)

  11. rebecca Avatar

    Aw the cat is really cuuuute!

  12. rebecca Avatar

    Aw the cat is really cuuuute!

  13. jordyn Avatar
    jordyn

    okay well now that I read the explanation I think we should get her some kaos earskins lol jk

  14. jordyn Avatar
    jordyn

    okay well now that I read the explanation I think we should get her some kaos earskins lol jk

  15. Andreas Avatar
    Andreas

    In germany tattooing in the ear is common (a tattoo is readably by everyone even without equipment like it is needed for reading transponders and it shows that the cat belongs to someone – my cat was 2 years away because someone “adopted” him until he was brought to a vet who checked him to find out that he was wearing a transponder), so I’m not sure why punching a hole would be preferable (usually you need a trap to catch feral cats and if you caught the cat you could check for the tattoo as well).

    So I’m not quite sure why these people chose an ear hole instead of a tattoo, but I have to admit it makes neutering a whole colony of feral cats probably much easier if you know right away which cats were already “processed”.

  16. Andreas Avatar
    Andreas

    In germany tattooing in the ear is common (a tattoo is readably by everyone even without equipment like it is needed for reading transponders and it shows that the cat belongs to someone – my cat was 2 years away because someone “adopted” him until he was brought to a vet who checked him to find out that he was wearing a transponder), so I’m not sure why punching a hole would be preferable (usually you need a trap to catch feral cats and if you caught the cat you could check for the tattoo as well).

    So I’m not quite sure why these people chose an ear hole instead of a tattoo, but I have to admit it makes neutering a whole colony of feral cats probably much easier if you know right away which cats were already “processed”.

  17. Jen Avatar
    Jen

    It’s interesting that they do punches instead of tags…

  18. Jen Avatar
    Jen

    It’s interesting that they do punches instead of tags…

  19. losubres Avatar

    I would imagine that tags could be cumbersome and even dangerous to the animal – what if it were to snag or get torn out? The tiny little hole in the ear seems much less obtrusive.

  20. losubres Avatar

    I would imagine that tags could be cumbersome and even dangerous to the animal – what if it were to snag or get torn out? The tiny little hole in the ear seems much less obtrusive.

  21. melsgam Avatar

    Jordyn i totally thought the same thing! lol

  22. melsgam Avatar

    Jordyn i totally thought the same thing! lol

  23. Masticate Avatar

    Oh in Panama they cut off the tip of their ears to signify the spaying…

  24. Masticate Avatar

    Oh in Panama they cut off the tip of their ears to signify the spaying…

  25. Lunar Avatar

    Aw, I want to give strokes to this cat, it’s cute !

  26. Lunar Avatar

    Aw, I want to give strokes to this cat, it’s cute !

  27. snap Avatar
    snap

    aww what a cute kitty. my cat’s ears are all torn because they love to pick fights, the ear heals pretty quickly

  28. snap Avatar
    snap

    aww what a cute kitty. my cat’s ears are all torn because they love to pick fights, the ear heals pretty quickly

  29. wlcm2t3hmachine Avatar

    Thats still fucked up. Even after the explanation.

  30. wlcm2t3hmachine Avatar

    Thats still fucked up. Even after the explanation.

  31. Mac Avatar

    Here in Seattle, I’m pretty sure they notch the cat’s ears. I like this better and would love to see a nice plug in there… 🙂

    To those who don’t know much about this, it is a very kind and healthy thing for the cats (getting them fixed, that is). Cats who have gone completely feral almost never can be brought home to be pets. It would be like taking any other animal from the wild and trying to cage it.

    So, what people do is work to keep the colonies from breeding out of control and provide shelter and food in some cases. In that way, the cats have a good life, but don’t create more little ones.

    The purpose of the notched/punched ears is so that they don’t have to be trapped and carted to the veterinarian over and over again, which can be very traumatic to the cats.

    More info can be found at: http://www.feralcat.com/

  32. Mac Avatar

    Here in Seattle, I’m pretty sure they notch the cat’s ears. I like this better and would love to see a nice plug in there… 🙂

    To those who don’t know much about this, it is a very kind and healthy thing for the cats (getting them fixed, that is). Cats who have gone completely feral almost never can be brought home to be pets. It would be like taking any other animal from the wild and trying to cage it.

    So, what people do is work to keep the colonies from breeding out of control and provide shelter and food in some cases. In that way, the cats have a good life, but don’t create more little ones.

    The purpose of the notched/punched ears is so that they don’t have to be trapped and carted to the veterinarian over and over again, which can be very traumatic to the cats.

    More info can be found at: http://www.feralcat.com/

  33. socialcoma Avatar
    socialcoma

    it’s better than shooting feral cats which is a common practice in some “civilized” country’s….Australia.

    Someone throw a plug or an earskin in that thing already. I’m thinking hot pink Kaos silicone

  34. socialcoma Avatar
    socialcoma

    it’s better than shooting feral cats which is a common practice in some “civilized” country’s….Australia.

    Someone throw a plug or an earskin in that thing already. I’m thinking hot pink Kaos silicone

  35. LovelyGrasshopper Avatar
    LovelyGrasshopper

    I just met a cat the other day who had been fixed and released and to show that he was fixed they CUT OFF the end of his ear. Poor thing. When the current owners found him it was not healed and it was all gross. That’s definitely way worse than just punching a little hole.

  36. LovelyGrasshopper Avatar
    LovelyGrasshopper

    I just met a cat the other day who had been fixed and released and to show that he was fixed they CUT OFF the end of his ear. Poor thing. When the current owners found him it was not healed and it was all gross. That’s definitely way worse than just punching a little hole.

  37. LD Avatar
    LD

    oh ok. feral cats… that’s why someone pays a kid in Gummo to kill a bunch of cats. that’s bad.

  38. LD Avatar
    LD

    oh ok. feral cats… that’s why someone pays a kid in Gummo to kill a bunch of cats. that’s bad.

  39. Lori Avatar

    The very common practise of shooting cats in Australia has nothing to do with how “civilized” we are, and a lot more to do with the vast negative impact that feral cats (and free-roaming domestic cats) have had and continue to have on Australia’s very delicate island ecosystems. Trap/desex/return programs are in effect in several parts of Australia, but the cost and labour-intensity of such programs means they will probably never become common in rural areas.

    And most, if not all, desexed animals are tattooed with a squeeze-plier type of animal tattoo punch here in Australia. Ear notching is commonly used to mark farm animals such as pigs or cattle, though, and it doesn’t seem any more cruel than the practises that the notching or punching indicate. 🙂

  40. Lori Avatar

    The very common practise of shooting cats in Australia has nothing to do with how “civilized” we are, and a lot more to do with the vast negative impact that feral cats (and free-roaming domestic cats) have had and continue to have on Australia’s very delicate island ecosystems. Trap/desex/return programs are in effect in several parts of Australia, but the cost and labour-intensity of such programs means they will probably never become common in rural areas.

    And most, if not all, desexed animals are tattooed with a squeeze-plier type of animal tattoo punch here in Australia. Ear notching is commonly used to mark farm animals such as pigs or cattle, though, and it doesn’t seem any more cruel than the practises that the notching or punching indicate. 🙂

  41. Brian xVx Avatar
    Brian xVx

    Fuck that shit.
    I really don’t see why it’s necessary, even after reading why.

  42. Brian xVx Avatar
    Brian xVx

    Fuck that shit.
    I really don’t see why it’s necessary, even after reading why.

  43. Mikhail Avatar

    In a book Im reading it talks about a society that is so blind to the obvious truth of things or the usefulness of some things because they let their beliefs blind them. These comments make me worry we have those amongst us much like that. I think that if this is a completely legitimate reason to do, and many people fight for the “rights” of the cats. These Feral cats often end up with wounds much more severe from simple fights over territory. Dont be blind and use the “victimizing of cats” as a defense to why you are so, fact of the matter is, this prevents more generations of cats from suffering, and makes it more easy and likely that the groups that do this helpful service will continue.

  44. Mikhail Avatar

    In a book Im reading it talks about a society that is so blind to the obvious truth of things or the usefulness of some things because they let their beliefs blind them. These comments make me worry we have those amongst us much like that. I think that if this is a completely legitimate reason to do, and many people fight for the “rights” of the cats. These Feral cats often end up with wounds much more severe from simple fights over territory. Dont be blind and use the “victimizing of cats” as a defense to why you are so, fact of the matter is, this prevents more generations of cats from suffering, and makes it more easy and likely that the groups that do this helpful service will continue.

  45. Laurel Avatar
    Laurel

    Most people that are saying “That’s just wrong!” Probably haven’t ever seen what a real feral cat would look like out in the wild. They’re torn up, scarred, injured…this humane catching of the cat, spaying/neutering, then marking without a tag that could get caught or torn is a great idea and much less expensive than an ear tattoo or implanted chip…that way they can afford to spay and neuter more ferals, which is a good idea. Collars also get caught on things, sometimes even causing the cat to be trapped permanently and end up strangling them or causing them to starve to death while caught on a fence or whatever.

    Plus, that cat looks fat and happy to me! 😀 Adorable all around.

  46. Laurel Avatar
    Laurel

    Most people that are saying “That’s just wrong!” Probably haven’t ever seen what a real feral cat would look like out in the wild. They’re torn up, scarred, injured…this humane catching of the cat, spaying/neutering, then marking without a tag that could get caught or torn is a great idea and much less expensive than an ear tattoo or implanted chip…that way they can afford to spay and neuter more ferals, which is a good idea. Collars also get caught on things, sometimes even causing the cat to be trapped permanently and end up strangling them or causing them to starve to death while caught on a fence or whatever.

    Plus, that cat looks fat and happy to me! 😀 Adorable all around.

  47. gillian gamine Avatar

    i would totally give kitty some sweet jewelry.

  48. gillian gamine Avatar

    i would totally give kitty some sweet jewelry.

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