Nine Out of Ten Cats...Are Not Microchipped

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RSPCA launch campaign to help identify missing pets

Pet owners are being urged to microchip their cats as the RSPCA say almost nine out of ten moggies coming into its care are not chipped.

Dogs have to be microchipped by law, however, cats do not, which makes it much more difficult to discover if they have an owner and then reunite them.

New figures show that 5,647 cats came into the 17 national centres in England and Wales between January and December 2017, there were 4,896 cats who were not chipped.

Caroline Allen, the director of the RSPCA’s London Hospitals, said: “We see heartfelt stories where cats have been reunited with their owners after a few weeks, a few months or even a few years because we were able to trace them with the microchip details.

“However, there are thousands of cats coming into our care with no microchip at all, or details which are not kept up-to-date, meaning there are lots of cats who are unlikely to ever see their owner again. It’s absolutely heartbreaking.”

Gizmo, [pictured above] a ginger cat with a microchip which showed an address and number in Poland was found straying and poorly with diarrhoea, dehydration and a distended abdomen. As the microchip was registered to a Polish database, the staff believe the owners of the cat did not update their details when they moved to the UK.
If you recognise Gizmo please contact the RSPCA Putney Animal Hospital on 0300 123 0716

Four-year-old Elvis came in with a fractured pelvis and had no microchip but was wearing a collar. He went to RSPCA Southall Cattery in December (2017) and as an owner was never found he is now looking for a new home.

The RSPCA microchips every cat and strongly recommends that every owner gets their cat microchipped and keeps the details updated.

To find out more about microchipping your pet visit the website.

 

17th January 2018