(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