Microchipping V Tattooing

When we first got the cats I put breakaway collars on them. Unfortunately, they hated them and figure out how to get them off. Rocky was pretty darn smart enough to hide his collar so well I couldn't find it for days. After a while of trying I gave up. A year ago I tried again with different collars. This time all the collars were lost outside when they slipped out. I gave up after a while. I can't spend $100 a month on collars.

Since they obviously won't keep collars on, I'm looking into alternatives. Problem is, most folks won't take a cat that appears to be stray to see if she/he is microchipped and may end up just keeping it. And tattoos fade after time and I would imagine kind of hurt to get done.

Which is the better option?

Pros and cons of both?

I'm no expert on anything, but I just can't imagine someone taking in a stray without bringing it to the vet. My wife and I prefer micro-chipping although the chances of our kitties getting out from a third floor condo is pretty slim.

I prefer to train my cats... I use to have collars till one turned up allergic to the dyes used to color the typical nylon ones...Most people in a NON rural area( oh FYI when I CAP something I am not yelling just stressing ) will check the lost ads , local posters and call the shelter to see if someone lost a pet

Tattoo s= Pro quick way to know it is not a feral cat or long term stray..... Cons= Fades, data base is very localized ( no national one and even vet to vet there is not one), with dogs some were cutting off the ears to get rid of them


Microchip= Pro - In most areas a universal chip reader is available to nearly every vets office and shelter( when I moved to my area there were only 3 chip readers and they only covered two of the brands), Once read the info is fairly easy to get .... Cons- Cancer link ( the main reason I did not chip those not when adopted), Chips can migrate and be hard to find

Originally Posted by sharky

Microchip= Pro - In most areas a universal chip reader is available to nearly every vets office and shelter( when I moved to my area there were only 3 chip readers and they only covered two of the brands), Once read the info is fairly easy to get .... Cons- Cancer link ( the main reason I did not chip those not when adopted), Chips can migrate and be hard to find

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Please give me information on the cancer link. All I could find were 2-3 dogs, where there was no proof the chip was what actually caused cancer.

Originally Posted by Nekochan

Please give me information on the cancer link. All I could find were 2-3 dogs, where there was no proof the chip was what actually caused cancer.

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the studies are not online that I read , though a quick google search yielded me info from the AVMA ..... I got them from the vets, one has them in the waiting room ... The risk is low but after researching the chips further I ran across a common sense study with water and rats... 50% of rats just injected with saline water ended up with tumors ... Ie why chance a foreign body being implanted

Originally Posted by sharky

I prefer to train my cats... I use to have collars till one turned up allergic to the dyes used to color the typical nylon ones...Most people in a NON rural area( oh FYI when I CAP something I am not yelling just stressing

) will check the lost ads , local posters and call the shelter to see if someone lost a pet

Tattoo s= Pro quick way to know it is not a feral cat or long term stray..... Cons= Fades, data base is very localized ( no national one and even vet to vet there is not one), with dogs some were cutting off the ears to get rid of them


Microchip= Pro - In most areas a universal chip reader is available to nearly every vets office and shelter( when I moved to my area there were only 3 chip readers and they only covered two of the brands), Once read the info is fairly easy to get .... Cons- Cancer link ( the main reason I did not chip those not when adopted), Chips can migrate and be hard to find

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The chance of cancer was something I was concerned with. I don't really want to tattoo or micrchip.
Any ways to train them to wear collars?

I train my to stay in the fenced yard... no one here where collars... All come to their names and come when called... Only one is idoor/ outside once in a while

My cat is chipped. Although if she got out I doubt I would get her back, she is way too cute And sweet, and on top of that she doesn't have a lot of street sense, which also worries me. But hopefully if she got out some kind hearted soul might scan her chip and return her or see my pleas for her safe return to her home.
If I were you I would keep the cats indoors. Get these collars:http://www.here-kittykitty.com/beastiebands.html and microchip. The threat of your outdoor cats being lost outside without ID is more immediate than the threat of a microchip in your situation I think.

Originally Posted by cococat

My cat is chipped. Although if she got out I doubt I would get her back, she is way too cute

And sweet, and on top of that she doesn't have a lot of street sense, which also worries me. But hopefully if she got out some kind hearted soul might scan her chip and return her or see my pleas for her safe return to her home.
If I were you I would keep the cats indoors. Get these collars:http://www.here-kittykitty.com/beastiebands.html and microchip. The threat of your outdoor cats being lost outside without ID is more immediate than the threat of a microchip in your situation I think.

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They aren't outside cats. When we first got them almost three years ago (when they were seven weeks old) they were being kept outside. They were on the wild side. We kept them inside for about a month to get them used to our home and then we let them outside as we were in a very rural area with 3 acres and they stayed on our property.
Fast forward two years and we now live in a suburban neighborhood with a creek in our yard with aggressive snakes that hang around it and we have copperheads. As well as too many other dangers and they wouldn't stay in our yard as we only have .47 acres. A year ago we began keeping them inside and it's proven very, very hard. I hate doing it, but what else can we do?
However, they slip out a lot (most of the time we can get them back in by following them quietly) because ten people living in the house plus friends coming and going. I am worried that they will get lost.
I'm looking into enclosing the deck to make it a screened in porch and letting them out there.

I'm really not sure if I want to microchip. I have looked into it more. The chance is small, but it's there. It's inserting a foreign body into an animal.

I'll definitely try the beastie bands.

Originally Posted by sharky

the studies are not online that I read , though a quick google search yielded me info from the AVMA ..... I got them from the vets, one has them in the waiting room ... The risk is low but after researching the chips further I ran across a common sense study with water and rats... 50% of rats just injected with saline water ended up with tumors ... Ie why chance a foreign body being implanted

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Rats are not cats. Rats in general have high tumor/cancer rates, and the strains they use in those types of studies generally have very high cancer rates in general and are purposefully bred to be highly prone to cancer.

Originally Posted by Nekochan

Rats are not cats. Rats in general have high tumor/cancer rates, and the strains they use in those types of studies generally have very high cancer rates in general and are purposefully bred to be highly prone to cancer.

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Yes there are strain s of rats that are more prone , just like gene issues in cats, Dogs, horses and humans make some prone... You missed the BIG picture, which is the risk is there why chance it if you do not have to... The same study has been done repeatedly with humans with similar results to rats

Originally Posted by sharky

You missed the BIG picture, which is the risk is there why chance it if you do not have to...

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There is also a risk your pet could get out and not have an ID on at all...
I have seen many instances of where a microchip has reunited owner and animal.
There is a risk either way.

I don't know if this would actually work, but maybe you could try getting small dog collars that don't break away, and putting them on the cats for a few hours while you're able to completely supervise them. Maybe they'd get used to having the collar on and would realize that they can't get it off, at which time you could switch to cat collars.

I'm happy that my furballs have both, microchip and tattoo.

The tatt I think only shows a symbol that they have been neutered though, I believe its only the chip that can reunite them with me.