Cat Microchipping Effort Breaks Record

by Steve Dale

Breaking the Guinness record book -- or maybe it's a Garfield record book -- 59,074 cats were microchipped and enrolled in the HomeAgain Pet Recovery Program from June through August. For the second consecutive summer, HomeAgain donated $1 per cat 'chipped to the non-profit Winn Feline Foundation.

"It's amazing news for so many reasons," says Dr. Susan Little, a feline veterinarian in Ottawa, Ont., Canada, and past president of the Winn Feline Foundation. "In this type of economy, the commitment to cat health is more important than ever, she says." The Winn Feline Foundation provides funding for cat health research.

Of course, some of those nearly 60,000 cats will be grateful they were microchipped. Little says, "People assume with an indoor cat there's no need to microchip, but cats are masters at getting out when you least expect it."

Last year, HomeAgain and the Winn Feline Foundation first teamed up to encourage microchipping cats. Gary McPhee, director and general manager of the HomeAgain business unit, explains, "While people typically might microchip dogs, most people, until now, haven't considered microchipping cats." That might be because, as Little points out, people assume indoor cats don't need microchips. Or people might assume that outdoor cats, and even indoor cats who accidentally get out, never get lost. Sadly, the reality is that the dog/cat disparity might be because at least some people don't value cats as they do dogs. If the cat gets lost, a cat is deemed more replaceable than a dog.

McPhee says he was pleasantly surprised when nearly 52,000 cats were microchipped last summer. "We were pretty impressed with that number," he says. Due to the recession, both McPhee and Little agree they would have been pleased even if they merely matched 52,000 cats. Instead, there was a 13 percent increase in cat 'chipping this summer compared to 2008, while the number of dogs receiving a microchip in 2009 remained flat compared to the year before.

McPhee attributes the dramatic hike in cats receiving a chip to a media campaign. He also credited the CATalyst Council, an independent nonprofit headed up by veterinary and animal welfare leaders as well as industry, nonprofits and academia to elevate the status of cats.

McPhee also praises animal shelters for their renewed effort to microchip all animals before they are adopted (actually a law in some places) but, equally important, insuring the animals are registered with the microchip company, in this instance the HomeAgain Pet Recovery Service.

It turns out that HomeAgain alone is reuniting around 10,000 pets with their families each month -- and that's only about one-half of the microchipping market. The biggest obstacle are the lost pets who don't have any identification (ID tags or microchip). The second biggest and most frustrating obstacle are pets who are microchipped, but the pet owner information isn't located in the database because the owner never registered.

If your pet has a microchip -- even if you're unsure which company's chip is in your pet -- you can register with HomeAgain's Pet Recovery Service (or for that matter any other microchip company). The American Animal Hospital Association announced in September the new online Microchip Lookup Tool. This is a universal sharing of pet recovery service databases from all participating companies -- so all registered pets can be found in one place.

As it turns out, those who enroll in the HomeAgain Pet Recovery system will never search for a lost pet alone because there is an army of volunteers available to help. If the pet is found more than 500 miles away from home, up to $500 can be paid to help return the pet. Also, lost pets are covered for up to $3,000 in veterinary bills (through insurance) while they are lost. Also, there's free toxicology advice available 24/7 through the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center. Annual renewal of the Pet Recovery system is $14.99. Learn more at www.homeagain.com.

Learn more about the Winn Feline Foundation at www.winnfelinehealth.org.

PET STORIES and PET ARTICLES ...

Pets | Cat Microchipping Effort Breaks Record