The last of the herd is finally fixed and chipped. No future kittens, no lost souls. If you haven’t microchipped your pets, please consider it for their sake and your sanity. In some places, it’s even becoming mandatory.
The managing body varies by country but the Canadian version (run by EIADP) has an easy-to-navigate web portal for updates and maintenance of your pet’s critical contact information. For the privacy concerned like myself, I set up an email address just for the cats and over the last several months it’s gotten no spam or other solicitations which seems to indicate they live up to Canadian data protection rules on that front. Again, your mileage may vary by country but still thirty bucks well spent on peace of mind I say.
That one-time payment for the chip and implantation at the vet’s office is all you pay to be reunited with Fluffy and Spot should they run astray and find themselves at a shelter or vet’s office in future. By law most places all ‘found’ pets must be scanned for ID chips before any further action is taken and reputable vets scan all the animals they see – it only takes seconds – to ensure pets match their owners of record. There are optional subscriptions for expanded data available but I didn’t feel the need on that front since I can easily stay on top of keeping the essentials up to date. Hopefully it’s a bit of insurance we never need to use.
The lead time on vet appointments has been horrific with lockdown. Pico’s surgery to guarantee we have no surprise additions to the family finally rolled around and she came through fine albeit with a hangover and the cone of shame for ten days of recovery. I finally got her over five pounds (barely) but now at ten months that’s looks to be her maximum. Her lumbering brother hoarded all the growth genes for himself apparently so she’s just always going to have kitten stature I suspect. I wonder if there’s work in Pet Hollywood for an eternal kitten that thinks she’s twenty pounds heavier than everyone in the room?
