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• Special instructionsAny special instructions for the veterinary staff should be written on a label affixed tothe top plate of the trap. Examples include the cat is limping and you want the left frontleg examined, you’d like the teeth looked at, there’s a wound that needs cleaning or youknow the cat is pregnant. Any veterinary care you’d like beyond the clinic’s standardtreatment should be noted. Also find out ahead of time what, if any, extra charges will beinvolved.It’s especially important to write down in big bold letters if you do not want the cateartipped because you plan to adopt him out rather than return him to his colony. Keep inmind, however, that many clinics require eartipping in order for you to qualify for adiscount feral rate. Otherwise, normal rates apply. Check your clinic’s policiesbeforehand. If eartipping is required for a lower rate, then pay the higher price foradoptables but still, if the cat is in a trap or transfer cage, make it very clear on the labelthat you don’t want the cat tipped. If a mistake happens and a cat is accidentally tipped,don’t be overly concerned – eartipped cats are no less adoptable in our experience.In addition to writing special instructions on a label, also put them on the clinic’sintake form. If there is no intake form, don’t rely only on giving verbal instructions.Something you only say can easily be forgotten or misunderstood. Print or write yourown simple intake form if necessary, listing your name, the cat’s name and description,the date, and your instructions, then hand it to the clinic staff when you bring in the cat.That way there should be no confusion about what you’re asking to have done.• Educating the veterinary staffTNR and the veterinary services available for feral cats continue to grow at a rapidpace. Nonetheless, working with feral cats is something many veterinarians and clinicsremain unfamiliar with. They are set up and trained to work with pet cats who are usedto being handled, not semi-wild animals who have to be treated with much more caution.As an experienced caretaker and trapper, it’s possible that at first you’ll know more aboutthe safe handling of ferals than your veterinarian or clinic. If that’s the case, it’simportant for you to educate them. Bring your cats in traps, covered with sheets, even ifthe clinic does not tell you to do so and explain why to the staff. Also bring a pair of trapdividers and demonstrate how to section the cat off on one end and feed and clean in thetrap. Many veterinarians new to ferals make the mistake of transferring them out of trapsand into cages. Explain how this increases the risk of escape and injury and how muchsafer it is to keep the cats in their traps before and after surgery. If a cat does need to becaged at the clinic for some reason, bring a feral cat den and show how to use it,including transferring the cat into the den before placing him in a cage.If your veterinarian or clinic is new to TNR, give them a photo of an eartipped cat andcopy the part of this chapter which explains how to perform the procedure. Do thiswhenever you’re working with a veterinarian who is relatively inexperienced with ferals,even if she says she knows what an “eartip” is. In veterinary school, students are taughtto perform “ear notches,” the V-shaped mark cut out of the side of the ear of livestock.This mark doesn’t work well with ferals because from a distance, it can look like a fightwound, making it hard to tell if the cat is neutered. When first working with ferals, a114