Our new baby is already microchipped, Animal Control does that to all their adopted animals, but Envy isn't. Anyone have any success stories with this or reccomend it? It just seems so unlikely if Envy ever got out she would be picked up by animal control, but then again she tears off every collar ive ever put on her so maybe its a good idea after all? If she got out and I couldnt find her id contact animal control and all the local shelters anyways so is there really a point?
Does Microchipping Really Work?
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For me it cost £14 and thats a lifetime thing then. Under very very extreem circumstances if she was stolen can it be removed- but they have to know its there first. I definatly think it is worth it.
ive never had anything personally happen, but from watching animal rescue programs lots of pets have found their owners again because of them. And even better is people who dumped their pets and forgot somehow they were microchipped.
ive never had anything personally happen, but from watching animal rescue programs lots of pets have found their owners again because of them. And even better is people who dumped their pets and forgot somehow they were microchipped.
Ive decided to get Envy done, I had a thought that if she got lost and hurt and someone took her to the vet or animal hospital they too have scanners for the chips. So while its not likely if she got out she would be picked up by animal control, it IS likely she would get hurt (cry) and hopefully taken to the vet.
I don't really get what it does. I mean I know it's a chip that they carry around with your info on it. But if your cat gets out, who is going to know the microchip is there? You mentioned animal control checking for them, does the humane society? do all shelters? Do all vets? Who has the means to do this if they get in a homeless animal? And if someone wants to steal your animal, they aren't going to care that it has a microchip, and Animal Control doesn't go knocking on doors to see if someone is keeping a stolen animal. :? If the microchip were a TRACKING device...then *that* would be something. 
Anyway - could someone explain to me the function and probability of it's use? I'd also like to hear those stories about abandoned animals' owners getting in trouble. hehe
Anyway - could someone explain to me the function and probability of it's use? I'd also like to hear those stories about abandoned animals' owners getting in trouble. hehe
Just yesterday on Animal Cops Detroit they had someone trying to claim some pit bulls. He didn't have registrations or proof of ownership and the dogs weren't microchipped. He didn't get the dogs.
So the Detroit SPCA definitely checks.
Edit: Oh yeah! In Akron, OH the animal wardens routinely pick up pet cats, remove their collars, and claim the cat was abandoned. The cat is put down within three days (sometimes sooner; the city claims the animals are hurt, but don't document how they're hurt, so their claims are iffy). A microchip takes away some of their power. And any chink in their armor is a good thing as far as I'm concerned.
So the Detroit SPCA definitely checks.
Edit: Oh yeah! In Akron, OH the animal wardens routinely pick up pet cats, remove their collars, and claim the cat was abandoned. The cat is put down within three days (sometimes sooner; the city claims the animals are hurt, but don't document how they're hurt, so their claims are iffy). A microchip takes away some of their power. And any chink in their armor is a good thing as far as I'm concerned.
Good info, Annissa? Keep it coming, people. How much does it cost usually?
I thankfully live in an area that is very kind to animals. I have been checking up on two cats that were brought in several weeks ago -- the Humane Society called me at first because they looked just like the two that I adopted! Anyway -- the cats had bad upper respiratory infections, then it was discovered that they had ringworm, and THEN it was discovered that they have heart murmurs. The Humane Society is doing all they can to get these cats healthy...and it really reassures me about my area. In Akron I have no doubt in my mind what these cats' fates would be.
How much does it cost usually? I thankfully live in an area that is very kind to animals. I have been checking up on two cats that were brought in several weeks ago -- the Humane Society called me at first because they looked just like the two that I adopted! Anyway -- the cats had bad upper respiratory infections, then it was discovered that they had ringworm, and THEN it was discovered that they have heart murmurs. The Humane Society is doing all they can to get these cats healthy...and it really reassures me about my area. In Akron I have no doubt in my mind what these cats' fates would be.
In the pound they have little to no hope. Luckily Akron's surrounding areas have many no-kill shelters dedicated to removing cats from Akron's pounds and keeping them safe and healthy. Unfortunately, there's not enough room for all of them. If you look at Petfinder (try area code 44306), you'll see several cats with the word URGENT. These are all Akron City Pound cats. They have no more than 3 days to find a home. I used to look at PetFinder just to see what was out there, now I can't stand it.
It does warm my heart to hear about your local Humane Society. They sound wonderful.
It does warm my heart to hear about your local Humane Society. They sound wonderful.
Here in Sweden all purebred kittens are microchipped and registered. It's all great and good, but the organisation that is keeping the database with the ID-numbers has no office open during nights and weekends. So even if the police have a scanner to find the chips, they can't get to the database to find the owner until the day after or after the weekend.
I guess in a way it depends what some people are like. Animal wardens who dont care if the animal has a home they wont check. BUT here in the uk anyway every animal rescue center and vets have the means to check for microchips. I mean look on the internet, you can buy the kit yourself! (its pretty expensive) If your cat got stolen/lost you can phone up where you register the microchip, and it will be updated to stolen/lost, and so hopefully when it next got scanned that would come up with your details. And NO ONE can change the details except you.
When we adopted Magic from the shelter he was already microchipped. The shelter here microchips all animals that come in. Maleke, however, is not. They both wear collars with identification tags on them, and Magic's also has his ID number on it for his microchip. I know if they actually get taken to the shelter, the shelter will scan them for a microchip. But, if they get out of the house and someone just picks them up on the street without even knowing what a microchip does or that it even exists, then unless they take the cat to the shelter it's not going to help. That is why both my cats wear identification tags with their phone numbers on them. Just in case.
I do think it is becoming more common for vets/animal shelters to offer and check for microchips, especially in large cities. The no-kill shelter I volunteered with here in Dallas would check every animal for microchips. If the owner info was not up to date and could not be located by other means (phone book, forwarding address, etc) they would put the animal up for adoption.
I dont have mine microchipped because they wear collars but they have learned how to take off their collars recently. So if they DID escape the collar would not likely be on their little fluffy necks for long. I am going to do it the next time they are due for a checkup. I did a search for vets that offer microchipping on www.homeagainid.com and found 22 PAGES of vets that would do it in my area.
Does anyone know how much this procedure costs in $$ ?
I dont have mine microchipped because they wear collars but they have learned how to take off their collars recently. So if they DID escape the collar would not likely be on their little fluffy necks for long. I am going to do it the next time they are due for a checkup. I did a search for vets that offer microchipping on www.homeagainid.com and found 22 PAGES of vets that would do it in my area.
Does anyone know how much this procedure costs in $$ ?
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I highly recommend a microchip for additional peace of mind. It's one more way to identify your cat if he/she slips the collar, and it is definitive. Sure, the downside is that if a regular person ends up with your cat, they may not think to go to the vet/shelter to get scanned.
All my cats are microchipped with HomeAgain. There's only 2 major chip brands in the US: AVID and the HomeAgain. WARNING: there's a new ISO chip being sold by 24PetWatch through clinics like Banfield that cannot be read by most machines here in the U.S. yet. I would advise against buying them until everyone gets their act together. Here's the Humane Society article: ISO chip warning.
ForJazz: a chip gets injected into your cat above the shoulderblades. Then you give your contact info to the company you chose. The chip only contains a unique number that pops up when scanned. Then the shelter/vet calls the AVID/HomeAgain registries to get your info off their database. So it's basically up to you to keep your info updated. Mine is staffed 24/7.
Cost: I got ours chipped for $28 each at a mobile vet. My regular vet charged $35. I called various vets in my area to get prices, and some charged up to $50, and it's for the same thing. A few shelters may offer it for a lower price. You pay an additional $12 to be registered in the company's national database. It was very easy to register and update info online.
ISO chips: this is a universal chip that's already common and available in other countries, except the U.S. They're slowly rolling it out, but again, most American scanners can't read it, and they're not providing the support. :roll: The advantage of an ISO chip is that you can move from country to country (except U.S.) and still be able to recognize the chip.
Future chips: My hubby told me some company displayed a prototype of a new chip with GPS capability at some trade show, that can track exact location within a certain distance. It's only in research stage now, so it'll probably take a few years to get it into the market, but BOY am I excited.....it's about time!!! Although the primary target is parents with human children, I don't care, as long as it trickles down to those of us with furrchildren. And that means more kinds of chips and better to follow. Woohoo! Now if only someone could come up with an idea so we don't have any more litterbox duties.
EDIT: Clarified Banfield as vet clinic.
All my cats are microchipped with HomeAgain. There's only 2 major chip brands in the US: AVID and the HomeAgain. WARNING: there's a new ISO chip being sold by 24PetWatch through clinics like Banfield that cannot be read by most machines here in the U.S. yet. I would advise against buying them until everyone gets their act together. Here's the Humane Society article: ISO chip warning.
ForJazz: a chip gets injected into your cat above the shoulderblades. Then you give your contact info to the company you chose. The chip only contains a unique number that pops up when scanned. Then the shelter/vet calls the AVID/HomeAgain registries to get your info off their database. So it's basically up to you to keep your info updated. Mine is staffed 24/7.
Cost: I got ours chipped for $28 each at a mobile vet. My regular vet charged $35. I called various vets in my area to get prices, and some charged up to $50, and it's for the same thing. A few shelters may offer it for a lower price. You pay an additional $12 to be registered in the company's national database. It was very easy to register and update info online.
ISO chips: this is a universal chip that's already common and available in other countries, except the U.S. They're slowly rolling it out, but again, most American scanners can't read it, and they're not providing the support. :roll: The advantage of an ISO chip is that you can move from country to country (except U.S.) and still be able to recognize the chip.
Future chips: My hubby told me some company displayed a prototype of a new chip with GPS capability at some trade show, that can track exact location within a certain distance. It's only in research stage now, so it'll probably take a few years to get it into the market, but BOY am I excited.....it's about time!!! Although the primary target is parents with human children, I don't care, as long as it trickles down to those of us with furrchildren. And that means more kinds of chips and better to follow. Woohoo! Now if only someone could come up with an idea so we don't have any more litterbox duties.
EDIT: Clarified Banfield as vet clinic.
Thanks for all the great info, Superkitties! Wow -- that tracking chip would be awesome. Won't it be weird if one day we are all walking around with tracking devices?? Sounds great until you think about the privacy you lose...teenagers will no longer be able to lie and say they are at their friend's house when in actuality they are at a party with a boy. :lol: Small price to pay though when you think of their parents being able to find them when they are lost or kidnapped...
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Yup! I'm struggling with that principle because it feels so Big Brother-ish, but your point about the ability to track one's child in today's society is very important. But yeah, what you and Payge said, it would be SO awesome for our cats!ForJazz said:
Payge, that is EXACTLY what I said to hubby, word for word what you wrote!!
You can tell he's starting to have cats on the brain too, 'cause he'll actually think how various technologies he runs across can benefit our kitties. Have I made a cat convert out of him. Shhhhh. Can't embarrass him.OK, I just called hubby to ask for the company info. It's (Apple founder) Wozniak's new company, *wOz.com website*.
I love that sentence: Find them when they aren't where they should be. LOL. Gives new meaning to, "You're busted!"
AngelZoo, oh, yeah, couldn't have put it better, waaay to go. Here's another article I posted a while back. *Some can't read new chip.* I wanted to clarify that the brand is Canadian company 24PetWatch, and Banfield is a chain of vet clinics that operates out of PetsMart stores. I fixed my earlier post also. Sadly, here's a CBS show link about this *Poor dog*.
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