This is where microchips can save the day. Not every pet, especially cats, wear a collar all the time. Microchips are small implants, about the size of a grain of rice, that are implanted in the loose skin between your pet’s shoulder blades. They are with your pet 24/7 and since they don’t require a power source will stay with your pet for life. When you get your pet microchipped, you are given a form to send in to register your pet and its microchip number. That number can be read by a handheld scanner and the registry contacted to get the owner’s contact information for their lost pet.
Almost all animal shelters and humane societies have scanners that they use to look for and read the chip number, if present, in a lost pet. In January there was a news story of a cat that was lost in Florida and found in Colorado. The kitty apparently snuck out a hole in a dryer vent. Luckily, the person who found him in Colorado took him to a local shelter where he was scanned and found to have a microchip which enabled them to contact his owner in Florida. How he got to Colorado is anyone’s guess.
While most of our pets won’t take cross country trips, it’s good to know there’s a way we can help them find their way home, even if it’s just from across town.