Could you ID your own cat ?

[taylerhill]

I could tell Pancake from others if I sneezed. She always meows at me after I sneeze almost like saying "Bless You". And Waffles I could tell because of her stubby tail!

 

[mycatsinthetub]

Yes I could. If I was in doubt I'd call them. They come to their names because they know it's snacktime!

 

[lunariris]

EB24, I agree, and you have very good points as well. I too think keeping collars on them is important, I just meant that it wasn't enough identification alone without a microchip etcetera. I would also rather be safe than sorry begging with someone to believe it's my long-lost pet.  I'm really glad you got to find the cat's owner, and that you knew it wasn't the first lady (though it's sad she didn't find hers yet, better she keep looking than be with someone else's pet. You're right, that would have been very sad when the real owner came by later). And thank you for the article link.

 

[eb24]

 
EB24, I agree, and you have very good points as well. I too think keeping collars on them is important, I just meant that it wasn't enough identification alone without a microchip etcetera.

You are totally right on that point. I figured we were saying the exact same thing, I just wanted to be sure to flesh it out a little bit more just in case there is anyone debating the merits of collaring vs. microchipping/tattooing. Both are essential! 

 

I am a huge advocate of ID'ing and I'm so glad to see you are too. Other than altering, I think it's by far the most important thing we can do as pet guardians. No one thinks twice about ID'ing their dog, so why should cats be any different?

 

[pennywise]

I read that you should take pictures of yourself with your cats.  It's one thing to ID them, but how do you really prove they are yours?  After Hurricane Sandy last year, I broke out the camera and took oodles of pics of me and each of the kitties.

 

[matts mom]

I keep Matt collared, and he's chipped...good thing too, because he's such a generic orange/white DSH that I'm always seeing his copies lol. I'd probably know him if he looked into my eyes, but I can't garuntee, unfortunately. 

Midnight's collared and tagged, but not chipped yet-he's only a few months old, and I've not had him in for neuter and chip yet. but his black coat with lone white hairs spattered across his lower flans is pretty easy to distinguish when I get up close...and he has big ears

I think collaring is just as important as chipping, because a chipped but not collared cat may easily be taken in by a well-meaning cat-lover. But if they're tagged then the information on the tag/collar can be used to get them home. Mine are registered in a database, with Get me Home and a 1-800 number on their tag. I indicates that they are owned, and up-to-date on all of their shots. 

 

[eb24]

 
I read that you should take pictures of yourself with your cats.  It's one thing to ID them, but how do you really prove they are yours?  After Hurricane Sandy last year, I broke out the camera and took oodles of pics of me and each of the kitties.

I hadn't ever considered this but it is such a good idea! I do think having any pictures of them (especially of any identifying markings) is extremely beneficial, but you are so right that having you in the pictures as well just takes it to that next level. I'm going to be doing this for sure! 

 

[happybird]

All I'd have to do is shake a bag of Temptations and watch to see which cats start acting like crack heads, lol!

Seriously, though, I know identifying marks on each of them. All but the youngest had rough lives before I took them in and have various scars and healed breaks in bones that are obvious with a physical inspection. Obvious to me and my husband, at least, and we can both describe these old injuries accurately. And the baby has 5 or 6 funny little white hairs above her right eye.

We have tons of photos, including ones of me with them, thankfully. I never thought of that as identification- very smart. Oh, my heart broke watching the reports about abandoned pets after Katrina and was glad to hear that during Sandy and the Colorado wildfire rescue efforts included pets.

 

[pussacata]

Definitely my bella has a tiger leg she is all white and black except her back left leg is tiger striped. Tish' s paws in between her toes is black the rest of her paws r colored brown and gray. Chloe the most loving cat uve ever seen looks like she has black eye liner on shes my cover girl

 

[prairiepanda]

PJ knows her name(well, she knows "PJ", although her name is technically Princess Jasmine) and is easily distinguishable by her personality. I could easily pick her out from a group of similar looking cats by the specific placement of darker patches, the striping pattern on her tail, her facial expressions, the "lamb's wool" curly belly fur, etc. but I might have trouble describing her so specifically to someone else who may want to help find her! It helps that she is a mixed breed(siamese/himayalan) because her facial structure and body shape distinguish her from similar crossbreeds and pure bred cats.

Also, if her collar is missing her mane will have a strange shape to it showing where the collar used to be