 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeDiscussion GroupsGeneral TopicsCat AnecdotesHealth and BehaviorRescue CatKB.com Contact UsLink To UsSearch & Site Map |
Cat Forum / Cat Anecdotes / May 2004Chipping my Cats
Our three cats go in and out as the please, and even though we live in a fairly safe, cat friendly environment, if they don't come home every day, I get worried. They all wear collars with tags, but they loose them often. Last week, Smokey was gone for a couple of days. On the third day I went to the Pound to see if had been arrested, or worse if he had been scraped up of the road somewhere. It was an emotionally gruelling ordeal, but In a way, I was relieved not to have found him there. When I got home there he was, sitting by the door waiting to get in to eat. I had thought about getting microchips for them, but had never gotten around to it. That visit to the Animal Shelter convinced me to get it done - now. The cats didn't seem to mind it at all. The worst part of the whole trip was standing in line waiting their turn as they were the only cats among a couple dozen dogs. A couple of big ones were curious and stuck their faces right up to the carriers and looked in. The owner said they had cats at home and the dogs loved them, but my cats didn't know that and were probably terrified. It cost about $60 to have all three done. When I got home I registered them on-line with the AKC. That cost an additional $12.50 each, but if they are scanned I will be notified right away, including on weekends. While the regular notification is only during regular business hours. Although these chips won't protect them from anything, I feel much more at ease knowing that if they don't come home I won't have to go looking around the streets for dead bodies or going to the shelter to see if they have been picked up. >Although these chips won't protect them from anything, I feel much more >at ease knowing that if they don't come home I won't have to go looking >around the streets for dead bodies or going to the shelter to see if >they have been picked up. I think that was an excellent idea. The idea of dead bodies is grisly, but it makes me wonder now if they scan roadkill? >> Although these chips won't protect them from anything, I feel much >> more at ease knowing that if they don't come home I won't have to go [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > I think that was an excellent idea. The idea of dead bodies is > grisly, but it makes me wonder now if they scan roadkill? I know they do in some parts of the UK.  SignatureAdrian (Owned by Snoopy, Milo & Bagheera) A house is not a home, without a cat. > > ...The idea of dead bodies is grisly, but it makes > > me wonder now if they scan roadkill? I don't know if it's the same everywhere, but our local County Animal Shelter told me that they scan all animals that they pick up, dead or alive. >> Although these chips won't protect them from anything, I feel much more >> at ease knowing that if they don't come home I won't have to go looking [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > I think that was an excellent idea. The idea of dead bodies is > grisly, but it makes me wonder now if they scan roadkill? I think they do. Something about the "yearly report" from our shelter makes me think this is so. Karen > I had thought about getting microchips for them, but had never gotten > around to it. That visit to the Animal Shelter convinced me to get it > done - now. Persia was a foundling and she is an indoor kitty; she escaped one day about 2 months after she acquired me. She was gone for 24 hours. I was so upset... I was out walking around the neighborhood, calling for her half the night. I almost had her, then some guy opened his front door and let his dogs out and she took off. The next night after work, I just sat down on my patio and cried, thinking I'd lost her forever. I went back inside and not 10 minutes later I hear this plaintive "Ow?" at my back door. Oh, you CAT you! Where have you been?! ROFL She was covered in leaves and mud; had obviously slept under a bush. I took her to the vet to be chipped the following Saturday. The vet said, "We're going to go weigh her, be back in a few." I sat there for what seemed like a really long time. Then he came back and said, she's such a good girl, she didn't even squeak. HUH? Yeah, he didn't want me to see the size of the needle until it was all done. The tip is about the size of the end of a ball-point pen cartridge. OUCH! Jill One thing I didn't understand is the registering w/AKC...last I heard, that's a d-pet pedigree registry. Are they in charge of the records of chip-implanted identities, whether they're in cats or d-pets? : > I had thought about getting microchips for them, but had never gotten : > around to it. That visit to the Animal Shelter convinced me to get it [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] : : Jill > One thing I didn't understand is the registering w/AKC...last I heard, > that's a d-pet pedigree > registry. Are they in charge of the records of chip-implanted > identities, whether they're in cats or d-pets? I dunno. I've got a phone number to call if I lose Persia which has nothing to do with the AKC. Jill >>> I had thought about getting microchips for them, but had never >>> gotten around to it. That visit to the Animal Shelter convinced me [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] >> >> Jill > > One thing I didn't understand is the registering w/AKC...last I heard, > > that's a d-pet pedigree registry. Are they in charge of the records of > > chip-implanted identities, whether they're in cats or d-pets? > > I dunno. I've got a phone number to call if I lose Persia which has nothing > to do with the AKC. The way it was explained to me was this: The chip is registered with the vet who implanted it and if the cat is scanned, the vet gets the call from the Shelter and he calls you. This is included in the price of the implant. The AKC also maintains a database of microchipped animals, the CAR (Companion Animal Registry). To register with them costs an additional $12.50. But the advantage is that it is a universal database maintained as a 24/7 service so you get notified immediately, where your vet may be closed on weekends or after hours. For just a few bucks more it seemed like a good idea to me if only for my peace of mind. By the way, even though it is a big needle used to inject the chip, my cats didn't seem to notice it all. As a matter of fact, I have never seen them even blink when they have gotten any shots, so I guess cats don't have much feeling in the skin on their shoulders which is where they get most of their shots. I agree. I used to give Hopitus1 his twice-daily insulin injections into back-of-neck, between shoulder-blades loose skin while he was eating his twice-daily meals, and he never once stopped chowing down nor appeared to notice any pain at all. That is, I gather, where they put the chip..... : > > One thing I didn't understand is the registering w/AKC...last I heard, : > > that's a d-pet pedigree registry. Are they in charge of the records of [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] : don't have much feeling in the skin on their shoulders which is where : they get most of their shots. >The chip is registered with the vet who implanted it and if the cat is >scanned, the vet gets the call from the Shelter and he calls you. This >is included in the price of the implant. We've had two separate incidents where a cat and dog were scanned, had the microchip, but the owner had moved and didn't change their address in the registry, and had an expired forwarding address at the post office. We still managed to find the owners, but it took some dedicated people digging to do it. It's important for people to remember to update that registry. Sherry >Our three cats go in and out as the please, and even though we live in >a fairly safe, cat friendly environment, if they don't come home every >day, I get worried. They all wear collars with tags, but they loose >them often. <Snip> I'm with you on the chipping thing. Anything that improves the chances that they'll be returned if they ever get lost is a good. And, it doesn't cost much, though the price seems to have gone up since I had it done. Been a while, but I think it was only $5 a piece for registration, and the price for putting in the chip will of course vary depending on TED and location. SignatureSteve Touchstone, faithful servant of Sammy, Little Bit and Rocky stouchst@JUNKsirinet.net [remove Junk for email] Home Page: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/index.html Cat Pix: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/animals.html > ... the price seems to have gone up since I had > it done. Been a while, but I think it was only $5 > a piece for registration, and the price for putting > in the chip will of course vary... They do it at our County Animal Shelter for $20 or a vet comes to a local feed store and charges $28. We went to the feed store because it was more convenient for us. That includes registration, but the AKC registration service cost an extra $12.50. While we are talking about chipping, here's some info I learned: There are a couple different kinds of chips, they are all about the size of a grain of rice, but some have a little hook on them that catches under the skin and keeps it in place between the shoulders. The ones without the hook can migrate and sometimes the scanner misses them because they are not where they are expected to be. |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.