Micro-chip your cat

I'm sure some of us on this forum have micro-chipped their cats. I haven't so far. I'm wondering what the pros and cons are?

 

We haven't chipped any of our pets but I'm looking around for a breeder to get a Chow Chow (one day!) and I plan on chipping it. I personally think we should chip our cats but I don't think my parents would go for it, and they'd be paying the bill.
I know the pros are if your pet gets lost or someone takes it you can use the chip to track it down and get your pet back. From my understanding it's a painless procedure, and they put it in the nape of the neck/back. If there are any cons I hope someone can post them, I'd hate to reconsider but if they're dangerous then I wouldn't want to put them near our furry babies.

 

I don't know of any cons for the animal itself. There are a few cons in general, though, like being expensive or not all being read by the same scanners, so if the local shelter/vet doesn't have a universal reader and your pet is turned in, it still might not help you much. Overall, though, they're a good idea.

 

I haven't chipped mine, I probably should have looking back, but at the time I was just trying to save money, and I figured they are always going to be indoor cats, so the risk really is minimal. They have collars and tags though!

 

That's good to know about the veterinarian because I haven't heard about any of that. If I get mine chipped and then were to move I would hate to know the chip was useless. I wonder if the shelter in my area even has one that would track, it's on the poorer side of shelters. I would probably try to get the most common chip installed and then research the vets in the area before moving, though.

 

My cats are not microchipped, but one of my dogs is. It helped greatly when he got out a few months ago. I didn't find it with him (he came back when we stood on the street and called) but it gave me piece of mind knowing I was logging on to see where he was. It costs yearly, though, and that can add up! If your cat gets out a lot, I'd suggest getting one. Otherwise I wouldn't bother too much.

 

Cinnamon - That's probably a good idea. Just give your local vets a call and see what they have. More and more places will get the universal ones, I'm sure.

Blurinoctober - You can track them yourself? I've never heard of that!

 

My cats are not chipped, but my sister's dog is. She has a pitbull so it comes in handy when the dog runs away. They can quickly figure out where she is and I have thought about doing that to my cat because there are some nights where I get scared that is not going to come back.