Microchipping

sang72

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I don't know much about microchipping, and I wondering if you all could give me some advice. Are there any complications (infection, scratching or gnawing at the injection site, unhappy kitties, cancer, R/F microwave radiation, leaking of toxic chemicals, allergies, etc). Are they effective, do they need to be replaced, and if so is the process invasive? Has anyone had any problems with this?

Thanx
Sang

p.s. how much does it normally cost?
 

hissy

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All twelve of my cats are microchipped. Not one problem has come as a result of this process. The chip is implanted by a needle under the skin and the chip is about the size of a grain of rice. I paid $12.00 apiece for the process (but I got a special rate)
 

amberthe bobcat

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I have 5 cats that are microchipped. I think this is one of the best things for pets. There are no side effects and no worry about your cat wearing a collar and having it get caught on something.
 

tuxedokitties

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All of our pets are microchipped. For us, it cost about $30 each, plus a registration fee with the company. That ran us $40 for the multiple-pet registration, or they charge $15 per pet.

The needle used to implant the chip is kind of large, but my cats tolerated it as well as they have any other injections, such as vaccinations.

3 of my cats were done almost 10 years ago - I haven't seen any ill effects, and their chips are still intact. The cats have all been declared 'very healthy' by the vet - one is about 15 or 16, and the other two are 10.

The only caution I've heard is that if you have an extremely active pet who regularly gets into tight spots (such as a hunting dog) that the chip might be damaged or disabled if the animal gets caught under a fence or in heavy underbrush. The vet advised us to have our escape-artist dogs scanned every year to make sure the chip is still there. We have, and the chips are still fine, in spite of digging under the fence and vigorous wrestling.
 

chixyb

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We got it done for Chance (1 of our dogs) he escaped one day and no one took him in, but I heard his bark and he ended up being at the house kitty-corner from us. It is wonderful but not everyone knows about it. I would like to get all the cats done as well.
 

abby7625

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Can you feel the chip under their skin and does it have a rejection risk?
 

tuxedokitties

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I can feel it under my cat's skin if I look for it - it's implanted between the shoulder blades - it's about the size of a grain of rice. It becomes encapsulated in scar tissue (not much, just a little tiny knot) and stays in place between the shoulder blades. My cats were done about 10 years ago, & it's still right there.

I don't believe there is a rejection risk b/c the chip is made of inert materials (none of my pets ever had any problems w/ the chips), but you might want to ask a vet just to be sure.

Here's the Avid brand microchip FAQ page:
Avid microchip FAQ

and the Home Again info page:
Home again information

I think those are the most commonly used chips in the United States.
 

ldm

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Have any of your cats ever had swelling near where the microchip was implanted? I think Mosley is swollen between her shoulder blades and the microchip seems really close to the surface (closer than I remember). They were both microchipped over a month ago and I just noticed this today (the swelling I noticed a few days ago, but I can't tell for sure if it is or not). I'll call the vet in the morning, but just wondered if anyone had experienced this.
 

rosiemac

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I've never noticed any swelling on Rosie? and i can't feel hers?, then again i've never really felt for it.

Rosies was done at the cattery,even though i have the certificate of it being done, when she goes for her booster shot next month i want the vet to scan her to make sure it's there.

Let us know what the vet said.
 

sicycat

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Both of my cats came with microchips when I adopted them, it was part of the adoption fee.

Funny story though, when I was choosing Saki, he had a brother and a sister, and his brother had this funky little piece of plastic sticking out of his back, so I told the lady. When she looked at it she rolled her eyes, picked him up and took him in the back. Came back 5 minutes later and said "that was the microchip, its fixed now" lol whoops!
 

weatherlight

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Our kitties are both chipped. It's permanent and safe. The chip is in glass that doesn't interfere with tissue. It's 12 - 14 mm long.

Kitty was taken from a newspaper ad by my friend's younger sister when she wanted a kitten. She gave him to my friend when she got tired of him and wanted a new kitten (she ended up getting Max). Our feline hospital charges $55 for HomeAgain, which is where we got Kitty chipped (Max also, and we paid for it). When we adopted Robin from the shelter, she was already chipped with Avid (I love that IL is an above average state when it comes to chips). If you can get it done at shelter-sponsored clinic, for example, it can be as low as $10. Registering or changing chip info costs around $6 - 15, iirc.

Kitty seemed to mind the chipping injection less than the vaccines. It's injected just under the skin on the back between the shoulder blades. They're quite effective; in the US, most shelters and such have scanners that can scan both Avid and HomeAgain. Where chipping is mandatory, return rates of lost animals are far, far higher.

http://www.saveourstrays.com/chips.htm <--Microchip Identification: High Tech Animal Lifesavers by Bob Christiansen
 

nofurryworries

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One of my cats was chipped, but the organization that did it holds the certificate themselves and has my cat traced to their practice, not to me. I wanted to update my contact information as attached to the cat's chip, which AVID will let you do (for a fee), but found that my cat is linked only to the vetrinarian, not to me. Now if I move I have to inform the vetrinarian of my forwarding address, which is going to be a problem, because in my husband's line of work we will move often, and my vetrinarian is not going to be pleased to keep updating the contact information for a furry little patient who hasn't been in the same state or using their services for years. You might want to look into that before you decide on a provider to insert the chip.
 

loubelia

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Originally Posted by Sicycat

Both of my cats came with microchips when I adopted them, it was part of the adoption fee.

Funny story though, when I was choosing Saki, he had a brother and a sister, and his brother had this funky little piece of plastic sticking out of his back, so I told the lady. When she looked at it she rolled her eyes, picked him up and took him in the back. Came back 5 minutes later and said "that was the microchip, its fixed now" lol whoops!
Sicy...
Aye caramba!!
How scary-silly-funny that little situation must have been for Saki's bro...!
Simba is micro-chipped, came that way from Tampa Humane Society, the other's aren't yet, I hope to get them chipped soon. Simba hasn't had any side-effects what-so-ever and I'm so glad that he's 'chipped', since he's the most likely to escape of my 4 cats.
 

weatherlight

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NoFurryWorries>>>That's crazy. The chip should have info on you and your vet. To change any or all information should cost one flat fee. After we got Robin, we updated her information to my friend (owner) and our regular vet (her new vet).
 

luvmycats

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I got one of my cats chipped, and have appointments for the other two. It cost me $40, plus however much the registration fee was ($15 I think). The only thing I'd advise is don't use the PetSmart vet clinic (I think they're called Banfield). I have read that they use a chip that is on a different frequency then the Avid and Home Again chips, and that the scanners for the other chips can't even detect that these ones are there, and most shelters don't have the type of scanner for the PetSmart chips. This kind of defeats the whole purpose of chipping in the first place.
 

mark kumpf

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There are several other threads relating to microchipping in the various forums. I encourage everyone to read them at length. If you are having your pet chipped, make sure you ask the shelters which type of chips they can scan for and the vet which type they are putting in your pet. Register the chip with YOUR information in addition to the vet. Most services allow this at the beginning. Always keep tags on your pet and rely on the chip as an extra not a replacement id for your animal.
 

cobra

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I wish I microchipped my Rocky. I could of found him by now if I did
. I didn't know about it though I wish I did. I'm not sure about the risks, but if there is nothing serious about health problems to your cat, I highly advice everyone should get there cat microchipped. Unless you want the same fate Rocky is going through right now
.
 
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