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Microchipping in cats
Abstract
On April 6th, 2016 microchipping because compulsory for dogs in the UK. The question now is should microchipping also be compulsory in cats? International cat care strongly advocate the voluntary microchipping of cats — in the article below Veterinary Director Andy Sparkes answers the questions your clients may have when discussing this important issue.
In the UK, recent legislation regarding the microchipping of dogs means that all dogs over 8 weeks of age must be micro-chipped or their owners may face a fine. Similar laws are already in place in other parts of the world, and in some countries cats are also included.
Whether cats should be included in legislation to make microchipping compulsory is controversial, as cats hold a very different legal status to dogs under UK law. However, International Cat Care strongly advocates the voluntary microchipping of all cats as studies have shown that cats with a microchip are 21 times more likely to be reunited with their owners than non-microchipped cats if they become lost (Dingman et al, 2014).
The accurate and permanent identification of pet cats is therefore both important and desirable. While collars with tags can be useful to identify cats and carry contact information, these are not ideal as they can sometimes be broken, become separated from the cat and if not designed well can also cause injury. Microchipping is the best method of permanent identification.
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