Microchip your Cat! Another example of why it’s so important…
Posted on: December 4th, 2014 by Dr. Dale Rubenstein
This past summer we posted a blog about the importance of getting a microchip for your cat. Your cat may never go outside on purpose, but unfortunately accidents do happen and sometimes indoor cats find themselves outside, scared and sometimes far from home. Read below for a wonderful story of how Peanut’s microchip helped him reunite with his family after a mysterious adventure.
I received the following email from one of our clients recently:
Hi Dale: This was my Good Samaritan activity for the past week!
A week ago Friday, my neighbor told me about a stray cat that had been living under her sunroom for a couple of weeks. I encouraged her to start feeding the cat with the hope that we could catch it. After lots of food and encouragement, she enticed the cat into a carrier on Wednesday morning.
Off she and I went to Montgomery County’s animal control facility. The first thing the Officer did was scan the cat while still in the carrier. Bingo! She called the microchip company and learned that the chip was registered to a veterinarian’s office in Laytonsville but the cat’s owners had never provided the company with their information. The vet’s office knew we had “Peanut,” a 3-year-old neutered male and that his owners live in Damascus. The owners didn’t answer their phone so we left him behind. A few hours later, the Officer called my friend to say that Peanut’s family, including three children, had gone immediately to the shelter to pick him up. The family was so happy to find their cat, who had been missing for a month, that they asked the officer to call the finder to thank her.
Peanut is not telling how he managed to get from Damascus to Potomac, a distance of 20 miles, but he got to spend Thanksgiving, warm and dry, with his family after a month on the lam.
At least the story has a happy ending.
Sadly, we don’t have a photo of Peanut. Once my neighbor got him into the carrier, I glanced at him and we were off to the shelter. It was pouring rain and soon began snowing so we weren’t wasting any time. When the owners didn’t answer their phone, the officer took the carrier into the back, placed Peanut in a cage, and returned the empty carrier to us.
I would love if you would post this on your Facebook page. The chances of Peanut getting back home after a month — and 20 miles — were zilch without that chip. And yet I have more than a few friends who have not micro-chipped their pets because “they never go out” and “it’s not needed.” I can only shake my head.
This story again points out how the simple procedure of placing a microchip can make the difference between finding your lost beloved pet and never knowing what happened when your cat disappears. The procedure is simple, and while we prefer to do it while the cat is under anesthesia for any surgical procedure, it can be done as an outpatient during an office visit. Just give us a call to set up an appointment or for more information.