NMHP Forum - Finding lost animals & reuniting them with their families

The value of microchipping

Question from Karen:
I was wondering if you could address the issue of microchipping and how effective you find it to be as a useful tool in locating an indoor-only catwho gets out by accident.

NMHP Forum - Finding lost animals & reuniting them with their families

The value of microchipping

Question from Karen:
I was wondering if you could address the issue of microchipping and how effective you find it to be as a useful tool in locating an indoor-only cat who gets out by accident.

Answer from Kat:
I highly recommend microchipping. All of my dogs and my indoor-only kitties are microchipped and they wear collars with ID tags. I am pro-microchipping because implanting a microchip is like placing a serial number in your pet.

Don't wince-hear me out! Coming from a law enforcement perspective, this means that you are increasing the probability that if your dog or cat escapes from your care that you will be reunited with that animal. The moment that your beloved dog or cat escapes from your care, it immediately is considered to be a "stray" in the eyes of our world. When we find a lost child, we don't say "I found an abandoned child" or "I found a homeless toddler today!" But when we find a loose dog or cat, the majority of people automatically assume that it is homeless and we call these animals "strays." Sadly, your chances of having a lost pet returned to you are pretty dismal.

So, in my opinion, we need microchips and collars and ID tags on all companion animals. If you think that having a serial number implanted inside of your pet makes it seem too much like turning your companion animal into "property" then consider this - we do a better job of identifying (through serial numbers), registering, reporting as lost/stolen, recovering, and then returning stolen guns and stolen cars to their owners than we do our beloved lost dogs and cats.

In regards to indoor-only cats that escape outdoors, microchipping is an effective recovery tool so long as the cat is scanned by someone who eventually finds it. However, the problem with indoor-only cats that escape outdoors is that the majority of these cats are so freaked out by the experience of being displaced into an unfamiliar area that they will hide in silence. Eventually after time has passed - anywhere from a few hours to a few months - the cat will break cover.

We have developed four different classifications of feline temperaments that enable us to give a general prediction of how a displaced cat will behave and how far it will travel when lost. These classifications are: Curious/Clown, Care-less, Cautious, Catatonic/Xenophobic (you can find an article that describes these behaviors posted on the Forum "RELATED RESOURCES" section with the title "Finding a Lost Cat" at http://www.bestfriends.com/nomorehomelesspets/weeklyforum/060605lostcat.pdf).

If it seems absurd to you that anyone could "predict the distance" that a lost cat would travel, guess again - we already predict this behavior in humans! Just Google "Lost Person Behavior" and you'll be shocked to discover the science that exists in the study of lost person behavior - information that recovers thousands of people every year!

So, let's say that we have an indoor-only cat escape outdoors that has a gregarious temperament - what we call a "Curious/Clown" cat. The rescuer who eventually puts their hands on a gregarious Curious/Clown cat will likely assume, because of how the cat behaves, that he is lost or maybe they will think he is abandoned. If this escaped cat was found near or at a university, more than likely the person who finds him will automatically assume, based on the location of where the cat was found, that it was abandoned by a student who left him there. And if a shelter microchip will work. But if the rescuer who finds the cat is a neighbor who takes the kitty into their home and they never bother to have it scanned then the microchip will be ineffective.

On the other hand, if the cat has a skittish, fearful temperament - what we call "Catatonic/Xenophobic" cats - then the chances are that the rescuer who eventually puts their hands on this cat will assume it is a wild, untamed feral. Xenophobia means "fear of what is strange or new." This is hardwired skittish, fearful behavior that

is caused by genetics and kittenhood experiences (i.e. lack of

socialization, etc). A xenophobic cat will dart and hide under the

bed when a stranger comes into the territory (the house) of that cat.

Since 1999 I have coached people who have "lost" xenophobic cats who

successfully, humanely trapped their cats weeks - even months - after

they escaped from their homes! I interviewed the owners of these

pampered, spoiled, xenophobic cats and asked them how these cats

reacted when they were trapped or approached while in still in the

trap. These cats hissed, spat, urinated, twirled, and growled - even

at their owners! What we have found is that this aggressive behavior

is normal for a panicked cat that is defending itself and it is not

restricted to untamed, feral cats.

Microchips are not the answer to finding lost pets - and neither are

the Missing Animal Response (MAR) services that I am pioneering. The

answer is for all of us - shelter workers, TNR workers, rescue goups,

no-kill groups, veterinarians, and all animal-related groups - to

take a serious look at the systems that we have in place (including

our behaviors) and ask ourselves - IS THIS WORKING? Do we honestly

believe that expecting distraught, grief-filled people who are

working against all odds, who are untrained in how and where to

search for a lost pet, and who lack the access to tools such as catch

poles, snappy snares, and humane traps - to successfully recover

their own lost pet?

It is time for change.

Posted on SHARE Yahoo group June 7, 2005