Have your cats microchipped

Editor,

This Microchipping Month, Cats Protection would like to encourage people to get their cats microchipped.

We also want to help people understand what to do if they find a stray cat, as findings from a recent survey showed that 52% would approach a cat they suspect to be stray but would fail to find out if the cat has an owner.

Key things to help decide whether a cat needs help, include checking for a collar if the cat is approachable.

If there are no visible signs of ownership, we strongly urge people to take the cat to a local vet to be scanned for a microchip.

People can also  ask neighbours if they recognise the cat and check local papers and social media in case the cat is listed as missing.   

Microchipping cats increases the chances of a reunion because it is a permanent and safe form of identification.

Once microchipped, it is important to keep the chip details up-to-date. 

Microchipping could mean the difference between a happy reunion or a sad separation.

Cats Protection reunited 3,000 cats and kittens in 2017 through our national network of over 250 volunteer-run branches and 34 adoption centres.

This is a number we hope to increase by encouraging people to microchip their cats.

A video created by Cats Protection, showing that cats can’t do the things people can do to find their way home, as well as further advice on how to help a stray cat, can be found at: www.cats.org.uk/microchipping

Mark Beazley

Cats Protection’s Director of Operations

The views expressed are those of the author of the letter and not those of Oldham Chronicle.