Millions of cat owners in England could be fined up to £500 if they fail to microchip their cat and register it on a database.
The legislation applies to cats aged 20 weeks and over, but of the estimated nine million domestic cats in the country, up to 2.2 million are still unchipped, according to the charity Cats Protection.
A veterinary procedure to microchip a cat costs between £20 and £30, the charity said.
Around a quarter of owners who had not chipped their cats said it was because their pet does not go outside, while around 14% said it could be identified by its collar, the charity’s research said.
Owners found not to have their pet microchipped will be given 21 days to have it implanted or face a financial penalty. The mandatory scheme is designed to make it easier to reunite lost or stray domestic cats with their owners.
Madison Rogers, head of advocacy, campaigns and government relations for Cats Protection, said:
“Some owners think they are never going to go through the trauma of losing their pet cat, but in the last year 115,000 pet cats in England went missing and never returned home. Cats are nimble and extremely agile and can easily slip out without us noticing. Many lost cats live a frightening life on the streets. No food, no water, no shelter, no veterinary care and constantly at risk of severe injury or death from many hazards such as cars and wild animals. Collars can easily drop off, become damaged so that the address details become unreadable and, if they are not quick release, can become snagged on obstacles like tree branches, causing injuries to the cat. A microchip is safe, stays with your cat for its lifetime and is linked to contact details that are stored safely in a database.”
Nutmeg’s back home thanks to a microchip
Nutmeg, a cat belonging to Sandra Sinclair, a teacher from Tooting in south-west London, was found wandering the streets of Ascot in Berkshire, 30 miles from home, after going missing.
The cat was reunited with its family after its microchip was scanned by Cats Protection.
Mrs. Sinclair said only Nutmeg would know how he ended up in Ascot, but added the family were “relieved” he had been microchipped. Alice Potter, cat welfare expert at the RSPCA, said:
“We have seen cats coming into our care who are sadly not microchipped and may never be reunited with their owners. On average, 11% of all cats coming into the RSPCA’s care are still not microchipped. We’ve also rescued cats who have been microchipped but the details haven’t been kept up to date, which is arguably even more frustrating as it means cats spend a long time in our care whilst we fruitlessly try to contact the owner with out-of-date information. However, we’ve also seen countless stories of cats that have been reunited with their owners thanks to a tiny microchip – showing what this change of legislation will achieve for animal welfare.”
Owned cats must be microchipped before reaching 20 weeks of age, with their contact details stored and kept up to date on a pet microchipping database. This includes cats that usually only stay indoors.
Microchipping is not compulsory for free living cats that live with little or no human interaction or dependency, such as farm, feral or community cats. The legal deadline was confirmed in legislation laid in March 2023 giving owners overs a year to comply with the new requirements.
