Since yesterday, 13 March 2023, a law has been enacted in the UK which will make micro-chipping of domestic cats compulsory on June 10, 2024. It has been a long time coming. It is said that the government has delivered on a key manifesto pledge. It will make it easier to reunite lost or stray …
Compulsory microchipping for cats in the UK on June 10, 2024 written into law Read More »
New Zealand and Australia lead the way on discussing and implementing obligatory cat registration through specific legislation. This is because the authorities believe that they have valuable native wild species, normally small mammals and birds, which need protection against predation by indoor/outdoor cats. For example, New Zealand is a country with a low human population …
Is mandatory cat registration the future of cat ownership? Read More »
Here are 11 recommendations for microchip scanning of domestic, stray and community (feral) cats. The illustration shows a recommended scanning pattern to ensure that the chip is not missed. Alley Cat Allies have a nice quiz on Twitter about scanning for a cat microchip and they ask whether you should scan the sides, between the …
11 recommendations on scanning a cat for a microchip Read More »
Usually, the discussion about protecting wildlife from predation by domestic cats is binary: either you confine them to the home or you allow them to be free-roaming. A lot of people think domestic cat should be allowed to roam freely in the interests of their cat’s health. People generally prioritise their cat companion’s health over …
Targeted domestic cat confinement a better solution to protecting wildlife Read More »
We all know that sometimes domestic cats just wander away from their home. Cats get lost but it is not always because they’ve been stuck in a shed or transported away from their home by a van into which they’d climbed. Sometimes they just wander off which tells us that, depending upon the cat’s character, …
If a cat leaves home it isn’t necessarily the fault of their owner Read More »
We know how indoor/outside cats wander into neighbours’ gardens. They don’t go that far very often. And in this instance an elderly male cat (19) with a female name, Milly, wandered into a neighbour’s garden to sunbathe and died peacefully in the sun. Milly had a good life at his home near Kingsway in Rochdale, …
Homeowner throws away the body of a neighbour’s cat who died in their backyard Read More »
It appears that compulsory microchipping of cats in the UK is to become a reality. All cats will be microchipped. There’s been a long discussion proposing the compulsory microchipping of domestic cats in the UK in order to catch up with the already compulsory micro-chipping of dogs. The pandemic has created a surge in pet …
Cats to be microchipped by law in the UK as government cracks down on pet thefts Read More »
You probably know that the UK government is planning to introduce compulsory domestic cat microchipping in England. The advantages are numerous and the difficulties are known such as enforcing such a law. Well, this is a chance for the British taxpayer and cat owner to provide the government with their views in an online survey. …
Britain’s cat owners should complete this online survey about compulsory microchipping Read More »
Unsurprisingly and unfortunately British veterinarians, through their spokesperson, have responded negatively to the current news that the UK government plans to introduce compulsory micro-chipping across the nation. The reason why they reject the plan is because they don’t want to be involved in enforcing it. They want to do their work which is to improve …
Britain’s veterinarians reject the idea of compulsory micro-chipping Read More »
It’s reported today that the UK government plans to introduce compulsory micro-chipping for cats from next year with a fine of £500 for non-compliance. This has been planned for a long time and debated a lot. It is said that, in the UK, 26% of companion animals are not microchipped and that 80% of stray …
Cat microchipping to be compulsory in the UK with a fine if you don’t Read More »
Biscuit went missing about three years ago, shortly after his then owner, Keith Bigland’s mother, died. Biscuit was seen “fleeing” his home on a CCTV camera at 4 a.m. on December 1, 2017. Mr Bigland searched high and low for him for months. The cat is his last connection to his mother. He was found …
Domesticated feral cat went missing shortly after his owner died Read More »
Giles Coren was let down by a veterinarian who did not notify him that he had found Coren’s lost cat after scanning the microchip and discovering that Coren was the owner.
There is a story from Cornwall, UK, online this morning which reminds me of the difficulties of dealing with a neighbour’s cat who likes to come into your home and eat your cat’s food and then calmly leave as if they are attending a hotel buffet. The story on the website Cornwall Live portrays the …
Does a cat break into your home and eat your cat’s food? What do you do? Read More »
It is possible to check a cat for a microchip at home. You don’t have to rely on a veterinarian. I am referring to the situation when you find a stray cat and you want to check for a microchip to find out whether the cat has an owner and is lost. If the cat …
Checking a cat for a microchip at home (and reuniting a lost cat with owner) Read More »
NEWS/OPINION – Stockport, UK: the Manchester Evening News reports another disturbing example of how local authorities in the UK can carelessly dispose of a domestic cat that has been lost and killed either on the road or, in this instance, by dogs. Gemma Robertshaw loved her 18-year-old Persian cat. Gemma had lived with her cat, …
