May is a month all about celebrating the lifesaving power of the microchip—a piece of tiny technology no larger than a grain of rice that can save a cat’s life.
For decades, Alley Cat Allies has led advocacy efforts to encourage the public to microchip their indoor and community cats, and to develop animal shelter and veterinary policies for immediate microchip scanning.
Because when a cat is microchipped, the chip information is kept up to date, and the chip is scanned immediately, the likelihood of reunion increases exponentially. Please join us in educating your community members on the importance of microchipping!
How a Microchip for Cats Works
The way a microchip works is simple. The chip is implanted like a typical injection beneath a cat’s skin, just between their shoulder blades. When it is scanned with a microchip scanner, the chip transmits a unique number corresponding to contact information registered with a microchip registry.
So if a cat becomes lost and is taken to a veterinarian or impounded by animal control, a scan will reveal where she belongs. Plus, a microchip will last a cat her entire life!
Our Microchips Save Lives campaign educates the public on the importance of microchipping all cats. And, equally important, to keep their registered information up to date and accurate.
On the other side, our Plan to Scan® campaign promotes immediate microchip scanning protocols for veterinary professionals, shelter staff, and animal control officers. Because the sooner a cat is scanned, the sooner she can go home.
How Microchips Save Cats’ Lives and How to Scan for a Microchip
Animal shelters are still very dangerous places for cats, especially community cats, who generally are not socialized to people and therefore unadoptable.
In the best case, shelters are an extremely stressful environment for any cat and should be as temporary a stop as possible. And at worst, shelters operate with archaic policies that kill cats—with community cats at highest risk.
But microchips, and policies for immediate scanning, ensure cats can be reunited swiftly rather than languish in the shelter. Most importantly, they reduce the chance a cat will be killed. Caregivers and Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) organizations can register microchips with their information so they can retrieve and return community cats if they are ever impounded.
Cats Reunited With Their Families Thanks to Microchips
We never get tired of stories of “miraculous” reunions of cats with their families! And they’re not really miracles at all—they’re the result of the scan of a microchip!
After four years missing, Kireina the cat was finally found thanks to a scan of her microchip! Her family moved across the country in the time since they were separated from her, so she’ll be making a long journey from Kansas City back into their arms.
Figaro’s family was uncertain they would see him again when he disappeared as a kitten three years ago. But because he was scanned for a microchip at a local Shasta County, California, shelter, they were able to be reunited.
In Fort Wayne, Indiana, Sulley the cat finally returned to his person after two years apart. He had since been taken in by someone else, who surrendered him when they could no longer care for him. Thanks to a scan of his microchip, Sulley’s rightful family was found!
When it comes to reunions, better late than never! Sunshine went missing way back in 2009, and just this year reunited with her family through a microchip scan! There’s a lot of time to make up for (Sunshine is 19 now!), but now it’s possible thanks to a microchip.
A microchip was how Ember, a cat from Tennessee, was recently reunited with her family almost a year after going missing! When Ember was brought into a local TNR day for community cats (chalk up another win to TNR!), she was scanned for a microchip immediately—and it made all the difference.
And in a great step to save lives, Chicago recently opened a free, 24-hour microchip scanning station for the public. Now, Chicagoans can scan cats or dogs for a microchip and potentially reunite them with their families, all without setting foot in a shelter!