MICROCHIP YOUR CAT, WE REPEAT, MICROCHIP YOUR CAT
03 October 2022
It might seem a boring message - but a really important one for all cat owners.
It
is also worth checking whether your cat’s chip is properly registered- some are not ( Link at bottom of post )
We have been involved with three cases very recently where, without the microchip, the outcome would have been different. (Photo is of one of our volunteer's cats demonstrating a chip check).
One cat turned up in a garden, very skinny, and wouldn't leave. Normal "found" posts were done on Facebook, but nobody came forward. As she got used to the person who was now feeding her, we were able to obtain her microchip and contact her owners. This little girl had been AWOL since 2020 and was reunited with her owners.
Another cat was spotted, very distressed, late at night outside a shop. The person who found the cat thought it was a hungry stray bought some cat food and gave it to the cat at the shop, before heading home. They didn't expect the cat to follow them all the way home, so they ended up with a very friendly overnight guest. We attended to check the microchip and contacted the owners. The owners were on holiday and they were very surprised to hear about where their cat was found as he normally doesn't leave the house/garden. It seems the cat was missing them so much he went looking for them and got himself lost. They arranged for someone to pick him up and give him extra fussing whilst they were still on holiday.
The final case, is a sad one. We were alerted about a deceased cat found at the side of a road on a country lane in Chiswell Green. We picked her up and took her to a vet so that they could contact the owner and arrange next steps. The little one actually lived in Abbots Langley so we can only assume that she jumped into a delivery van and become displaced.
Without the microchip, the first girl could still be on the streets waiting for someone to rescue her, the second boy's family could have come home from holiday to find their cat missing and the third girl's owner would still be wondering what happened to their cat and wouldn't get a chance to say goodbye.