To not want to get my cat microchipped

[Geriatriccatowner]

My cat is 18. She’s an indoor cat and spends most of her days curled up on a bed.

She won’t attempt to go outside.

Why should I pay for this invasive procedure on a cat that doesn’t need it?

Ours won’t register an animal with them without checking the chip. They also check at the annual vaccinations.

OP, about 3 weeks ago, my DS found a very old, very tired, very scraggly looking but friendly cat pottering around outside our house. It clearly belonged to someone, but was in no state to be out and about.

In our case, I was able to have a look on our local FB page, find out that there was indeed a missing cat matching that description and reunite her with her family. She was very elderly (22 years old) and an indoor cat - who had slipped out.

Our next step, had FB not worked, would have been to go to a vet and look for a microchip, which would have found her owners and had the same outcome.

Got it now?

PS microchipping is about as invasive as having a vaccine booster.

Another OP who never returns.

My vet has told us that they give owner's of unchipped cats 21 days to do so. If it's not done, they report them. We've got 2 unchipped cats left that are both indoor cats but will get done at next visit to the vet.

I’m here, been reading all of the replies

have been too busy to respond which I will soon.

Ours are both indoor only, but are both microchipped in case god forbid they escape. They're also vaccinated yearly in case anything is picked up on our shoes/when they are out in the garden accompanied on their harnesses

I am a vet.
Vets don't police the id chipping and will not police it.
Feral and farm cats are okay without id chips.
It is just like an injection with a large needle holding the rice grain shaped id chip. It sits under skin, above the muscle and doesn't bother them.
My cats and dogs are all id chipped in case they get lost etc.
For me it's a non brainer.

You have never been asked about it because it will be on the cats vet records.

I'm surprised vets don't have better things to do, tbh.

Facebook etc. is always full of dogs who are found and not chipped - AFAIK the owners face absolutely no legal repercussions whatsoever.

The vet microchipped my cat when he was under for his neutering. He said it's good to do it when they're under anaesthetic as it can be a little painful.
My DM's 18 year old cat is frail and skinny, if she weren't already microchipped we wouldn't want to do it either.

I had mine chipped it's vanished I'm wondering how the law will apply to me because I have got him chipped its just vanished into the fat

Who will fine you though ? Seriously if the cat doesn't go out what the problem ffs

I honestly don’t understand the mentality of people that don’t chip their animals, its the responsible thing to do, and honestly why wouldn’t you want to ensure they were returned if they ever got lost / loose, or want to be contactable if your animal is found in need of medical attention, it happens all the time. Its not like its even expensive.

If I had a pound for every missing / found cat that wasn’t chipped because ‘it doesn’t go out’ I’d be rich. They never go out until they do!

It is far from an invasive procedure, its essentially a quick injection, its the size of a grain of rice. I even had my little rabbits chipped.

YABU not to have had it done years ago!

Having worked in a vets its so frustrating having stray animals brought in and having no way to locate the owners especially if they need medical attention. Its also time consuming having to sort a kennel, take photos, put out a post on social media which you have to keep checking, hold and care for the animal for seven days in the hope someone recognises it from a shared facebook post, if not having to try and find it a home or otherwise ringing around countless rescues trying to find somewhere with space to take it and freeing up staff to get it there. All when a simple phone call could have sufficed and had it home the same day. Or not being able to let those owners of deceased animals know they are there giving them a chance to say goodbye, or pick them up for burial etc. All for the sake of a £10 2 second jab!

I’m glad it has been made a legal requirement however like most things it’ll only be the responsible law abiding folk that actually comply so if dogs are anything to go by there will still be thousands years on that are not chipped and I haven’t heard of anyone ever actually getting fined for it yet because its so hard to enforce, so I guess you could take your chances if you really wanted to. Vets are required to inform you of your legal duty but they have no powers of enforcement.

With dogs, the vet would scan for a microchip at routine appointments, to check for compliance
utter nonsense, i've never had a vet scan for a chip, I've had many dogs and lots of fosters too.

I really doubt the vets would bother to log the cats chip number then check the online database during or after the appt (your details aren’t on the chip it’s just a unique ref number) and then challenge the owner if the details don’t match or the chip was marked as stolen. It’s just not worth their time and any cat thief would just say the chip was out of date so the vet would need to mess about ringing old owners to see if the cat really was stolen/lost and then what? They can’t give old owners new owners details. They aren’t going to call the police who really wouldn’t care anyway. Some people watch toI much animal hospital type shows as kids.

Equally I really can’t see vets reporting anyone for no chip or facilitating fines. It’s not really in their interest as it would just dissuade people from using them and you could always lie and say it was previously chipped but it’s obviously migrated which happens a lot. I’m sure they will encourage getting cats chipped but if people lie and say they’ll do it elsewhere /later thatll be the end of it.

i also wouldn’t be getting an ancient cat chipped op. Taking her to the vets just for that is unnecessary stress.

Disclaimer: my cat was chipped and I think cats in general should be chipped. But maybe influencing what I’m saying here is that owner address and name was wrong by the end of her life thanks to a relationship change and house moves but it was never an issue because no one ever had reason to scan and check her details across 3 different vet practises. I never bothered paying to change the details because phone numbers were right still so if she ever did leave the house we’d get called.

Until she needs the Vet.

Then there is a 21 day grace period to get it done OP so don't fret.

My dog gets scanned every time she visits the vet.
If they don't, I ask because the chip can move and its always good to know where it is.
My old dog had hers moving slowly down the leg, so we just kept track of it once a year with vaccinations.

It good to get the chip regularly scanned by the vet, to make sure it’s not migrated, but I’ve never had a vet do it without asking.

At that age, being an indoor cat I would hope a vet would use common sense.

The amount of dogs that go missing round here is unreal. They picked up by people/vets/rescues who can't find their owners because they aren't chipped. There are never any repercussions and all dogs have to be chipped now.

I have four cats. Two of mine were chipped as they used to go out. My other two are house cats and aren't chipped. I see no need for it - they don't go out. They're also thick as mince so wouldn't escape.

People who have animals who don't give a shit about them (and there are lots) are definitely not going to be chipping their cats.

Exactly this

I work at a vets. The amount of deceased non chipped or non up to date chip cats we get bought in that never have an owner come forward is heartbreaking. For the sake of a simple one off procedure that takes seconds I don’t really understand why you wouldn’t. It’s that peace of mind if she ever were to get out. I’ve seen pets reunited with owners in less than half an hour thanks to up to date chips. So many more unclaimed deceased cats that end up getting sent off for cremation however

We also get a lot of sick/injured strays with no chip so it creates a stressful grey area of how much can we do when there’s no one to pick up the bill. It often ends up falling on a generous rescue if we find one. We’ve also had issues of people handing in injured strays with no chips (happens with dogs still too) waiting for us to treat them and then wanting to claim them once they’re better.

It’s not invasive. They do it into the scruff of the neck and my cat didn’t even flinch.

Ours are chipped and have been since they were kittens. I would not have an 18 year old house at chipped. I think it's unnecessary and at that age probably quite a trauma.

You have to make a decision about how close your cat is to the end of life. I had a cat who made it to nearly 25. That sort of longevity is extremely rare though so it’s unlikely you would no compliant with the law for so long.

you should know that the procedure is actually very quick and simple. It’s just a shot at this point. If it’s done at the vet it can be very expensive, but our cats have always been chipped at mass events sponsored by rescues. The price drops considerably that way.