Stolen/Missing female gray tabby cat from Grimes County Texas! Advice?

[MyTabbyKittyCat]

I have only dealt with Home Again microchipping. In my experience, they become very tight lipped as soon as all of the correct information is not given, but it is worth a try. I have been able to get them to add me as a contact for a friend who was in the hospital long term and whose dog was living with her irresponsible daughter....and they did call me when the dog got lost in FL, so some good came from it. If there is a phone number for the microchip company, you need to call. My vet has never updated a microchip for me. When I microchip, they ask for all the information and register it immediately under my name. I have never changed a microchip identification so I am not sure how difficult it is.

What Home Again usually does is to call the registered owner if an animal is found. They will not give the owner information to the caller, at least not in my experience. If an animal is brought to a vet to be scanned for a chip and one is found, the vet will take the animal and assume responsibility for it and contact the owner. It is not given back to the finder.

All of this could certainly vary from company to company and around the country.

Thank you for the quick response! So I'm guessing her microchip was never registered to us, I'm going to try to call and see what they say here soon. I guess she was already microchipped prior to us adopting her? I'm not too sure, but it shows the chip as enrolled and last updated a month before we adopted her. The shelter here always does the microchips when they're being neutered/spayed and given their shots so I assume they put the info of the adopter. In this case since she was already chipped(?) and spayed I'm not sure. I just remember she was ready to go and I took her home after I picked her out and we went through the process. I recall the shelter people saying something about her being surrendered so I'm not sure if someone adopted her and so she was spayed and microchipped then they returned her and then when we adopted her they did not update the info? I'm not sure how it works but I have her adoption papers and chip number so I'd hope that would be enough to prove she's mine to be able to update it?

 

[MyTabbyKittyCat]

Oh, and referring to my first comment I misread, it doesn't say specifically when we adopted her the 8/7/2018 was just the date they were giving her medication. I know for sure I got her in August I just don't remember when and still she was microchipped before we got her. Sorry to be confusing lol, either way she was chipped before we adopted her and it wasn't updated so I'm not sure who's info is on it I'm gonna have to call.

 

[fionasmom]

With adoption papers and a chip number they should be able to help you I would think.

 

[MyTabbyKittyCat]

Just thought I'd update about the microchip- I was looking around on their website and it seems when these microchips are purchased by a shelter or vet they are automatically pre-registered to the shelter or vet so in case the owner does not register the microchip the vet's or shelter's info will show up if the pet is lost. So this would explain why my cat's microchip showed it was registered before I even adopted her. According to their site too, they say despite being pre-registered to the shelter/vet the owner must register it with their contact information so that the owner can be contacted. So it seems I can register her microchip assuming it was just pre-registered and nobody else has registered her chip, because I do not believe the shelter registered her to us considering it was not updated when we adopted her. I heard it's the owner's responsiblitiy to register it anyway but I've heard of shelters also adding the adopter's information when microchipping them so I wasn't sure. I may call anyway to make sure that it's just showing up because it was pre-registered and then register it myself. Hopefully this will help with finding her if it's up to date.

 

[catsknowme]

Prayers and vibes that you find your cat soon! One suggestion is to ask friends and neighbors near & far to post flyers in the back windshield of their cars. That will greatly expand the viewing audience, including school kids who are often more in tune with the local pets in the area. For your protection, consider creating an email address and get a "burner phone" that are used only for the kitty search.

 

[Norachan]

Almost all shelters micro-chip, spay or neuter and vaccinate animals before putting them up for adoption. Have you checked the shelter you originally adopted her from to see if she turned up there again? Maybe they could contact the chip company on your behalf. If who ever took her has ever taken her to a vet there might be a record of that.

 

[MyTabbyKittyCat]

Prayers and vibes that you find your cat soon! One suggestion is to ask friends and neighbors near & far to post flyers in the back windshield of their cars. That will greatly expand the viewing audience, including school kids who are often more in tune with the local pets in the area. For your protection, consider creating an email address and get a "burner phone" that are used only for the kitty search.

Thank you for the suggestions, I'm currently using a secondary email and using a Google number to be careful especially with people trying to scam pet owners out of money for their lost pets and with the number scams. I also hadn't thought of that, having a flyer in their cars, that's a great idea!

Almost all shelters micro-chip, spay or neuter and vaccinate animals before putting them up for adoption. Have you checked the shelter you originally adopted her from to see if she turned up there again? Maybe they could contact the chip company on your behalf. If who ever took her has ever taken her to a vet there might be a record of that.

The shelter I originally adopted her from is pretty far I couldn't imagine her going there unless someone took her there but I think they would have contacted us because they have my mom's info on their records. I have been periodically checking the cats they get in too of course though to be sure. So far I haven't seen her there and haven't gotten a call for her. I'm going to put a flyer up at their shelter just like to be sure. I'm hoping they took her to a vet so there'd be record and someone may recognize her but unfortunately the way people are out here it's probably not likely. I'm trying everything I can think of so hopefully she will turn up or be recognized.

 

[MyTabbyKittyCat]

Well I tried to register her chip and it says her chip is already registered to a pet so I cannot add my info to it. I emailed them about it and if I don't get a response I'm gonna have to try to call.. I'm not sure what to do. I read the chip is pre-registered to the shelter but you can register it as the owner so I assumed as the owner I can register it? If it's the shelter then I guess I'd have to contact them but I assume by what they said I can still add my info even if the shelter was pre-registered? I can't imagine someone registered it.

 

[Juniper_Junebug]

So sorry for what you are going through. I can't offer much, except to say that I adopted my cat from a rescue and they never told me she was microchipped, and at my first very visit, I asked them to chip her. And they said, oh, she's already chipped and registered to the rescue. The vet gave me the chip number and I contacted the rescue about transferring the registration or adding me. It took a couple emails because they didn't initially get that they needed to do something with the chip company to give me control, but eventually they understood and I got an email letting me take over registration. If it's a halfway decent rescue or shelter, I have to imagine they'll do what they need to do once you get someone's attention.

 

[MyTabbyKittyCat]

So sorry for what you are going through. I can't offer much, except to say that I adopted my cat from a rescue and they never told me she was microchipped, and at my first very visit, I asked them to chip her. And they said, oh, she's already chipped and registered to the rescue. The vet gave me the chip number and I contacted the rescue about transferring the registration or adding me. It took a couple emails because they didn't initially get that they needed to do something with the chip company to give me control, but eventually they understood and I got an email letting me take over registration. If it's a halfway decent rescue or shelter, I have to imagine they'll do what they need to do once you get someone's attention.

Wow, that's interesting. I know some rescues won't allow people to change the microchip so if the pet is found it's returned to them, but that's good they changed it over to you. I got my cat from a shelter here and they microchip all their animals when they're adopted out, but I guess the microchip they use is "pre-registered" to the shelter in case the owner does not ever register it so if it's lost they can atleast contact the shelter. According to the microchip faq they make it sound as if the owner can just go on the website and register it even if it's "pre-registered" so that's why I'm a bit confused why they're saying I can't register the chip and that it's already registered. I guess I may have to inform the shelter and they switch it over to me but it seems like they would have done that when I adopted her. When I looked it up it shows it was registered and last updated before I even adopted her, so I assume it is the "pre-register" to the shelter. I don't know, it's confusing and seems like they're making it harder than it has to be. I'm trying to contact the microchip company first and see if they'll switch it over hopefully, but I don't know if they can or would. The shelter we originally adopted her from is a bit of a drive because we've since moved and I'm honestly not sure if they'd just transfer it over to me because she was adopted under my mom's name.

 

[MyTabbyKittyCat]

Just thought I'd give an update since I was talking about the microchip- I contacted the company and I sent her microchip number and adoption papers, but they said they needed to see where it says the adopter's name on the paper but the adoption papers we got from the shelter just have her basic information, like appearance, microchip number, the kennel number she was in, a picture of her and the rest was her medical history with them. We filled out information then gave it to them, and they printed the info about her and gave it to us, the adoption papers we received never had our info on it. So, I don't know if that means they won't correct her information to ours because they want a contract with the owner's name. I guess the person that adopted her and then returned her soon after still has their info on the microchip. They just said it was a previous owner that showed up, not the shelter. Is the shelter supposed to give you a paper with your name on it like saying you adopted the pet? I have our past dog's adoption papers from the same shelter and our information isn't on it either, just his basic info. They took our info and it's on their system but it's not on the papers we have. I just told the Microchip company that's all the adoption papers say there isn't anywhere with our name on it but I could ask the vet if they had more, and I didn't hear back. So, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do, I'll probably see if the vet has anything or maybe see what the shelter says but I don't know if they'd do anything since they're not apart of the Microchip company.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Absolutely, call the shelter, explain what the microchip company told you, and ask them if they can mail you (or you can pick up) some sort of paperwork from them listing both the adoption and your information.

 

[Norachan]

Keep calling the chip company and the shelter. I imagine they are both pretty busy and will try to fob you off with a "nothing we can do" type reply, but keep at them. Sometimes you have to be a bit of a pain before you get anything done, but if you are persistent you'll get there in the end.

It would be a good idea to print up some new posters with "Still missing" and "REWARD" on them. Send a few copies to the shelter so they are aware that you're looking for your cat and are serious about getting her back

 

[MyTabbyKittyCat]

Thank you both! I definitely will. The microchip company responded and said because there wasn't a name on the adoption forms, they sent a request to release to the owner on their records. Hopefully that will work, otherwise I'll contact the shelter and see what they say about it.

 

[Juniper_Junebug]

Thank you both! I definitely will. The microchip company responded and said because there wasn't a name on the adoption forms, they sent a request to release to the owner on their records. Hopefully that will work, otherwise I'll contact the shelter and see what they say about it.

I wouldn't wait to see if the former owners respond. They gave up the cat, so they aren't exactly committed to your cat's welfare like you are and the shelter should be (they may even be embarrassed to admit the cat was ever theirs, since they gave it up)*, and especially with the holiday season, they may just ignore the outreach from the microchip company. I recommend reaching out to the shelter immediately. They should know the history and want to get a responsible owner who cares about the cat listed as the rightful owner.

*Don't mean to suggest that returning a cat to a rescue necessarily means someone is not looking out for the cat's best interest, but by the numbers, it's a good bet that they aren't committed to that cat like you are at this point in time.