Microchipping

Microchipping

Microchip Your Cat to Help Bring Them Home

A microchip is about the size and shape of a grain of rice and is implanted under the skin between your pet’s shoulder blades. The process only takes a few minutes and is no more painful to your cat than a typical injection. No surgery or anesthesia is required and it can be implanted during a routine veterinary office visit.

Each microchip carries vital information about your cat, including your name, address, and contact information. Once your cat’s microchip has been placed, you will be given a registration form to complete. Registering the number on the microchip includes your cat in a national pet recovery database, so it is a very important step to complete. Veterinary hospitals, animal shelters, and animal control offices across the country are equipped with special electronic scanners that can detect the microchip and read the identification number. If a lost cat is picked up by animal control or found by a good Samaritan and presented to a veterinarian, a quick scan of the microchip reveals the identification number. A toll-free phone call to the pet recovery database alerts the microchip company that a lost cat has been identified. The cat owner can then be contacted and reunited with his or her cat!

Young kittens can receive microchips, but even if your cat is already an adult, you should consider microchipping. Even indoor cats can get outside accidentally and get lost, so if you’re relying on other forms of identification, you could be placing your cat at risk. Microchipping is a safe, effective way to help ensure your cat’s return home if the unthinkable happens.