Microchip collars

bugmankeith

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
May 15, 2012
Messages
457
Purraise
52
Who thinks microchip collars should be made for those with pets who wear collars and don't want to put a microchip in their pet.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

bugmankeith

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
May 15, 2012
Messages
457
Purraise
52
I think it would be less useful than a name tag
.
How so? Neighbors cant read microchips inside pets if a lost pet is found, so having one unreadable on a collar is the same thing minus having it implanted in your pet. If possible pets should have a readable metal tag on the collar too.
 

Willowy

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 1, 2009
Messages
31,886
Purraise
28,287
Location
South Dakota
Well, what's the point? If the pet has a readable tag on a collar, there's no reason for a microchip. A microchip only comes into play when the collar is lost or the tag is unreadable.
 

jennyr

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 6, 2004
Messages
13,348
Purraise
593
Location
The Land of Cheese
I agree - a collar with an identity tag is good because it gives an immediate confirmation that the animal belongs to someone. But collars can and do get lost, and then you need a chip in the animal. A microchip in a collar would be much more expensive than a disc is, and would mean the finder would still have to take the animal to the police or a vet to be identified. I have just returned a lost dog to his owner after four months. He was wearing a collar when I found him, but no ID tag or chip, so no way to contact the owner, who eventually saw my ad on a website. If an owner does not want to chip, a tattoo in the ear or on the inner flank is a common way here to identify a dog or cat.
 
Last edited:

arlyn

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
May 9, 2005
Messages
9,306
Purraise
50
Location
Needles, CA
The single most compelling argument for microchips is proof of ownership.

If an animal is lost and subsequently taken in and effectively adopted, or worse, outright stolen, there are only two forms of ID that prove ownership in the eyes of the law, a registered tattoo and a microchip.

In the case of a microchip collar or ID tag, these can simply be removed.
 
 

lunariris

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Jan 21, 2013
Messages
47
Purraise
24
Location
Pennsylvania
   

   

If you put a microchip on a collar, it's less useful than an ID tag which gives you owner contact information right then and there.

The idea of microchips is that it is a permanent form of identification. Collars can be taken off, pets can be stolen. Our one cat was stolen when I was a kid and I wish he had been chipped. We've had one neighbor try to steal 3 of our cats, and had repeatedly removed their collars and ID tags, I caught them personally with one of them taking it off (which I now know is illegal and they could have been fined). Unfortunately, I cannot go back in time but do make sure all of our current cats have microchips, are indoor-only and keep their contact information current (you only need to pay an annual fee for "premium" membership in HomeAgain, which I would upgrade to immediately if one got lost, but for now only basic membership which is guaranteed for the pet's life, is neccesary. Premium membership comes with additional things such as photo IDs and keychains for you to have on you, they will help pay for airflight to get your pet home if they get lost over a very far distance, and will send out lost pet (sort of amber alerts but only for HomeAgain members who want alerts), among other things to help get them home. AVID microchips only require a one-time fee. However, AVID can only be contacted via phone,-so you don't know if they have your information correct in their system, and they have no other tools to help, while you can have an online account with HomeAgain that you can update yourself if you move. You cannot change the owner name in either chip even if you know the account. There is a lot of paperwork and proof of permission to switch owner names. Either way, if you have proof that you are the one who originally microchipped your pet you can prove that a lost pet is yours even years after it's been lost or stolen by someone.

Each picture on this page shows a true story from various news articles of pets returned home because of a microchip: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.376706382364358.91526.376670235701306&type=3

They say there are bad side-effects of chips but those seem to be only rumors and rare cases from what I've personally seen. In our family there are are a total of 11 cats microchipped, some by the 2 different companies I mentioned, and my friend also has her dog microchipped. None of them have had any bad experiences with them, or seemed to even notice the microchips going in, it looked like they got a routine vaccine, and didn't seem bothered at all. They were all chipped years ago (most were chipped 7 years ago, the most recent chipped 3 years ago) and my friend's dog was chipped 2 years ago. No side-effects, no moving of the microchips, and all of them are scanned at the vet each year to be sure they still work properly, and they do.

They are a good thing to get and save a lot of effort. Even for indoor-only pets, they can still slip out with holiday excitement, in theft, while on a walk, or be misplaced in an emergency like a flood, tornado, fire, hurricane, etc. It just gives me peace of mind, and I know if someone brings my pet to a vet or shelter, odds are great that they will be scanned and come back home to their family rather than staying with some stranger or being killed at a shelter.

Please consider it.
 

missymotus

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
May 8, 2005
Messages
9,234
Purraise
254
Many of us refuse to risk our cats lives by having them wear a collar, aside from that I really don't see the point in an external microchip.

My cats are all 'chipped, as required by law - so a microchip collar isn't an option as that wouldn't follow the 'chipping laws. 
 
Top