Don't forget to chip your cat.

ancient_mariner

ancient_mariner

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Aside from the potential for jokes about AI and ladybits, it seems that from Monday you need to have had your cat chipped:

www.bbc.co.uk

Cats must be microchipped by 10 June by owners in England

New legislation comes into force on Monday 10 June.
www.bbc.co.uk

I had no idea until 5 min ago. We don't watch TV, and this is the first I've seen. Fortunately we don't have a cat any more, but just in case you do and didn't know, this is a public service announcement.
 
I had no idea it was going to be law until yesterday, my mog was chipped 13 yrs ago .. phew :)
 
This Regulation was pushed through a committee on Monday 17 April 2023 and it's worth reading the minutes, here...


...on the basis of 33,000 self selected people saying it was a good idea, which may seem a lot until you realise that there's an estimated 9 million cats in the UK and I doubt that many of them share their slaves with another cat (the most who ever graced us with their presence, at the same time, was 3).

All our cats were chipped, once the technology was available, so I'm in favour of the process. However, a £500 fine? That's enough to make a cat laugh!

Figaro Yawning 7293.jpg
 
Ours came (via Mum and Dad) from the CPL who "supply" all cats (over [IIRC] 3 months) chipped.
 
Couldn't believe this - how will they fine the said owners if cats are not chipped, they cannot be traced?

Seems a bit OTT IMO
 
Always chipped our cats/dogs............... but,

When my mum passed away in 2010, there was nobody to take her cat, so I brought her from Wales to live with us in Scotland. She was a moggy, fit to live and an outdoor cat, unlike our other 2, which we kept indoors. We kept my mum's cat indoors for almost 2 months but the call was too much for her and she eventually was allowed outside. All was fine, for a few years, she'd go out, do her rounds and come back for her food and sleep.

Then one day, she didn't come home. Long story short, a helpful neighbour ( :mad: ) had reported her as stray (you'd only have to look at her to know she wasn't stray :rolleyes: ) and she was lifted by the Cat's Protection League. Mika was missing for 3 weeks, until it dawned on us that she might be at a home, so we called around. Keeping the story short, Mika was indeed with the CPL in Glasgow, over 20 miles away.

My point? Mika wasn't chipped, I never gave it a thought but if she had been, she'd have been back with us the same day, not 3 weeks later.

Microchips are worth their weight in gold x10.
 
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Marc said:
At some point, they'll have to take their cat to the vet who will scan them.
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And then is the vet obliged (legally?) to report them or will they just go ahead, with telling the owner, that they are going to be chipped at cost £x ?
 
Box Brownie said:
And then is the vet obliged (legally?) to report them or will they just go ahead, with telling the owner, that they are going to be chipped at cost £x ?
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I don't know, but I would imagine that will be the only way to enforce the law. Or maybe the vet will be obliged to chip the cat there and then and only if the owner refuses do they get reported.
 
Some animal charities like Blue Cross will do free of charge https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c258w9ypdzwo

...and Battersea will do it free of charge. Normally, this service would be provided free for those on some kind of benefits but these days people not on benefits are struggling https://www.weenect.com/uk/en/guide/cost-pet-microchip/

Vets charge £20-30. £6-20 to change details..eg..if owners move house. Owners who have not had their cats microchipped have 21 days to do so. I have no idea how that works. Maybe, as Marc suggests, reporting by vets/animal charities. It's the LAs that police it. Vets and animal charities won't have powers to enforce that. They are the people with the scanners, though Cat Protection will have microchipped a cat adopted by new owners and it will be priced into the cost. The RSPA carry out free days but ordinarily will do it for £10.

See 'Enforcing the Rules'..It refers to dogs but gives an indication of how successful microchipping has been. https://www.battersea.org.uk/what-we-do/animal-welfare-campaigning/compulsory-microchipping
 
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Strange cause when dog chipping was being made law it was everywhere, and yet I have to agree this is the first time I've heard of mandated cat chipping. Granted we don't have a cat right now, but its still news that doesn't seem to have been as loudly broadcast.

That said I agree chances are you won't get fined on the spot, you'll get a "get it chipped in X days" and then a fine after if you fail to comply.

I can see potentially bigger benefits for cats over dogs since cats are often left to free roam far more so than dogs are and the UK doesn't really have issues like feral dog populations and the like, but very much do have feral cat populations (which have all but driven the native wildcat into extinction save for a few tiny remote areas of scotland and private collections/zoos)
 
Overread said:
Strange cause when dog chipping was being made law it was everywhere, and yet I have to agree this is the first time I've heard of mandated cat chipping. Granted we don't have a cat right now, but its still news that doesn't seem to have been as loudly broadcast.

That said I agree chances are you won't get fined on the spot, you'll get a "get it chipped in X days" and then a fine after if you fail to comply.

I can see potentially bigger benefits for cats over dogs since cats are often left to free roam far more so than dogs are and the UK doesn't really have issues like feral dog populations and the like, but very much do have feral cat populations (which have all but driven the native wildcat into extinction save for a few tiny remote areas of scotland and private collections/zoos)
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The 'x' days to have your cat micro-chipped , after being found to have not done so, is..as I stated in my post above yours .... 21..
 
How long before humans have to be chipped? I thought that it would happen in 1994! ;)
 
Pixbarmy said:
How long before humans have to be chipped? I thought that it would happen in 1994! ;)
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One or both shoulders? ;)

I'm also inclined to ask if you were vaccinated. 8)
 
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I don't think it's by law here in Ireland, but our Ginger Tom is chipped, he went missing for 4 days one time and was a bit ill after we found him, so he's had all the jabs and shots and darts and chips and bells and whistles a cat can take since. He sees the vet more than I see my GP! and he costs a hell of a lot more too!
 
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