At what point do you know if the tomatoes have a catface problem? Can you tell very early on, and if so, how severe the catface damage will be? What should you do if the catfacing is or will be severe? Should you remove the tomatoes early so the plant can use its resources elsewhere?

Catfacing is a physiological problem, not a pest or disease problem.

The most common cause of catfacing is pollenization under cool conditions, and the second most common cause for it is damage to the blossom structures at the time of pollenization, usually a mechanical thing.

Catfacing is not found with all varieties, it's usually found only with some but not all larger beefsteak varieties.

I've never paid attention to when fruits first look like they might be catfaced so can't tell you anything about timing, or severity of that catfacing.

It's something that almost always happens, like BER, and I just ignore it b/c it's usually only the first fruits that set on a plant.

I never remove catfaced fruits b'c they are so few in number and are only found usually as first fruits. And since they are first fruits and are perfectly edible I EAT them. LOL

Carolyn

I had horrid problems with cat facing on my Brandy wines last year (too early to tell this year) but it was a cold spring/summer. Some varieties are more sensive to that than others. I still ate them though. YUM! Unless you are growing for commercial purposes, I wouldn't worry about it. Even then there's not much you can do except to plant varities less prone.