RFID Tracking

I've read a little bit about this topic. One thing a vet can do to help give your animal some additional protection out there is to implant a tiny RFID chip under it's skin. Theoretically, if kitty gets out and wanders away, a vet or shelter worker could pass a magnetic wand over it and get an owner's contact information.

I was wondering if anyone had any practical experience with this? Has anyone heard a good reason -not- to do this?

 

I have heard of this before, its almost standard now. When I took my cats to get fixed, we could have RFID tagged them for an extra $15 at the time, I said no, that this was too much stress for them given everything else, and since they are indoor cats I decided it wasn't worth it. Now however, since Bandit seems to be a Houdini for getting out of collars, it may have been a good idea!

 

I have a cat who's a bit of an escape artist, herself. Having four cats, all but one are strictly indoor pets. But Chaos has made a few valiant attempts to get outside. I am concerned for her as she was declawed by a previous owner and I have little reason to think she's capable of defending herself in the "wilds". RFID trackers seem like a good idea up front but I was wondering how common it is for shelters to actually scan for them?

 

I got my cats fixed at an SPCA shelter, and they said they scan every animal they get just to be sure. But yes, I had the same concerns!

 

That's good. I really don't want to put the animals through the ordeal for nothing. I know the odds of them getting picked up are remote, but when you've only got a crappy hand, that's what you play. I'd like to help spread the word about that program. It seems like the more people who are aware of it, the more likely it is to be useful.

 

It's a great idea.

Take note that not every vet or office is going to have a scanner, though....and there are different kinds of chips as well, so if you move later on, you may find that not everywhere is able to scan for the specific kind of chip that your cat might get.

 

See that's the kind of info I was looking for. That's also really sad. What's the point of having this program if the technology is not standardized to the point that you can reliably read any chipped cat that comes into your clinic or shelter? Do you know how many kinds there are? Maybe I can get a few of the most common varieties .

 

It looks like there are mostly four main ones that are used:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microchip_implant_(animal)#Cross-compatibility_and_standards_issues

Some of the stuff in that section is pretty interesting actually. If you're from outside the US, it looks like you might have an easier time with standardized chips instead of there being multiple types used.