Dogs and Cats: Everything You Wanted to Know About Microchips for Dogs and Cats

When Bubba came into our lives the first thing we did was take him to the Vet for a checkup to make sure he was healthy.

Aside from checking his weight, listening to his heart and all the other great stuff the Vet does, she recommended that we get him microchipped.

We had never heard about microchips and the thought of implanting a device under our "new baby's" skin sounded painful and somewhat repulsive.

So we asked the Vet about the procedure and here is what we were told.

Not Painful!  Microchips are implanted just under the skin, usually right between the shoulder blades. This is done with a large-bore needle and doesn't require anesthesia. Bubba (and then a  year later, Bunny), didn't even flinch when the chip was implanted. It did have a cost, I think it was $45.

What are Microchips? 

Microchips are tiny transponders, about the size of a grain of rice, that can be easily implanted under the pet's skin. If the cat or dog gets out and lost they can be returned when a Vets office, an animal control officer, or humane society uses a special scanner to detect the animal's identifying information.

Each microchip contains a registration number and the phone number of the registry for the particular brand of chip. A handheld scanner reads the radio frequency of the chip and displays this information. An animal shelter or vet clinic that finds your pet can contact the registry to get your name and phone number.

Once we got home, we got on the computer and registered our pets with an online pet registry linked to our pet's chip.We also received a tag for our pet with the chip number and registry phone number.

I must admit that it is a reassuring feeling to know that if one of them gets out (they are indoor cats), we will stand a much better chance of getting them back.