Cat/Kitten Microchips for Identification

by Stan Beck

(Photo from: fogcitycat.com) 

Too many stray cats end up in shelters, separated from their owners that truly want them.  It’s a heartbreaking processing to have to euthanize so many cats.

Fortunately, Microchip Identification technology is gaining popularity and provides a way for each cat (or animal) who has been implanted with a tiny rice grain-sized microchip to be identified and returned to their rightful owner(s).

The chip is about the size of a rice grain and is encapsulated in a covering of bio-glass and is injected under the skin, typically between the shoulder blades - no anesthesia is required.  Each chip has a unique number – currently the standard is a 9 digit number, but the standard is quickly moving to a 15 digit standard.

To read the chip, you must use a special scanner which when it passes over the chip, causes the chip to emit its number by a low-frequency radio wave – very similar to the RFID technology used for tracking packages. 

Two companies dominate the market for producing the Microchips – Schering-Plough Animal Health, marketer of the HomeAgain™ microchip identification system and AVID™.  With the lack of a true standard, shelters are having to arm themselves with both types of scanners.

The HomeAgain™ chips can only be implanted by veterinarians while the AVID™ chips can be implanted by veterinarians, shelter personnel or individuals.  So the battle is on for who is going to dominate the market.

The AVID™ microchip.  About the size of a grain of rice.

Cat Identification
Cat Identification

Tags: Kitten Pictures - Friendship, Articles, Cat Tips, Cat Shelters, Cat Identification