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Microchipping a cat and other questions

baby and crumble

hey guys!

Ok, so looks like we're finally going to be able to take home our fabulous cat that the rescue we're getting her from has kindly been keeping in a foster home for MONTHS because our stupid builders let us down. :mad::mad:

ANYWHO we have all the details about her food likes, her vaccinations, etc so we're getting sorted. We want to make sure she's microchipped though, even though she'll be an indoor cat- anyone have any idea how much I need to budget for that? And can any vet do it?

She's also due her next set of vaccinations about 6 weeks after we get her so I need to find a vet in our new local area- the folks we use for Twitch are in town, and we're going to Finglas. Anyone with a vet recommendation around Finglas/ Glasnevin do send a PM.

She's apparently a super chilled out cat who settled really easily into her foster home- anyone have any tips to help her settled after this next move?

SO EXCITED!!

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ABajaninCork

The rescue will probably chip the cat before you take her. Double-check that though. And yes - any vet can chip the cat if the rescue doesn't do it. About E20-30 for the chip which is injected into the animal.

Congrats on the new fur baby. Have fun!

username000

Congrats!

I got 2 cats microchipped in the past year and I think it was 29 euro per chipping. Id say most vets can do it.

The first cat we got chipped didnt flinch much at all and it was easy peasy. The second one went bananas when the needle went in (its a very "thick" needle) and it came flying out, blood sprayed and we all got a fright!! So we wrapped her like a burritto and then the vet tried again and although she screamed aloud she didnt move!!

We kept the second cat in one room for the first couple of weeks then slowly introduced her to the rest of the apartment. She is still in the process of meeting the first cat (who moved in with us slowly so it was a different process of settling).

Zapperzy

If she's not already spayed ask them to microchip while she's being done. It is quite a large diameter needle so can be a bit of a shock for smallie, much easier to do them while still under anaesthetic.

Confine her to one area of the house for the first few days and make sure she has her own room/area to retreat to with plenty of hiding spaces.

Best of luck :-)

Pumpkinseeds

It shouldn't cost more than 20 or 30 euro at most. All 4 of our cats are microchipped and we had the kitten we were fostering microchipped too. We made sure to give the microchip details and info to her adopters so that they could update it with their address details. It's really important to make sure that you register your details. A lot of people just assume that the vet does that, but they don't. It's amazing how many found pets have unregistered microchips.

baby and crumble

I checked with the rescue and she's already spayed, and they don't routinely microchip so we'll do that no worries. She's a fully grown cat (about 2-3 years they reckon) so she's not tiny- hopefully the needle won't be too stressful for her! Great to know any vet can do the chipping.

Our plan is that her bed and main area will be the kitchen, where she'll be shut when we're not in (as the house is alarmed!) but when we're home she'll be around everywhere. We were going to keep her in the kitchen for the first week or so though, unless she decides she wants a wander herself. We will still be moving stuff and getting settled ourselves at that stage.

Nody

baby and crumble wrote: »

I checked with the rescue and she's already spayed, and they don't routinely microchip so we'll do that no worries. She's a fully grown cat (about 2-3 years they reckon) so she's not tiny- hopefully the needle won't be too stressful for her! Great to know any vet can do the chipping.

Our plan is that her bed and main area will be the kitchen, where she'll be shut when we're not in (as the house is alarmed!) but when we're home she'll be around everywhere. We were going to keep her in the kitchen for the first week or so though, unless she decides she wants a wander herself. We will still be moving stuff and getting settled ourselves at that stage.

I'd pick a different room for starts to be honest; basically the ideal room is something with plenty of hiding spots (turned over empty boxes do just fine), possibility to see out (window), climb up to look down and smells of your family. The room needs to be something you don't go into on a regular basis and the Kitchen obviously is going to be in use. Once she's settled in you can transition her to the kitchen but not as a starting point; oh and keep in mind she'll need a toilet in the kitchen if you close her in.

aonb

Just to wish you the best of luck with your new cat!
Im totally new to cats - have a rescue kitten since October - its a steep learning curve, but the cat will know what to do, so dont worry

Lots of photos and progress reports please
(Oh and be prepared to become a cat-slave in the near future :cool:)

baby and crumble

Nody wrote: »

I'd pick a different room for starts to be honest; basically the ideal room is something with plenty of hiding spots (turned over empty boxes do just fine), possibility to see out (window), climb up to look down and smells of your family. The room needs to be something you don't go into on a regular basis and the Kitchen obviously is going to be in use. Once she's settled in you can transition her to the kitchen but not as a starting point; oh and keep in mind she'll need a toilet in the kitchen if you close her in.

Our issue is that most of the other rooms won't have anything in them. As in, they're just shells. We'll only be living in the kitchen, sitting room and bedroom for a while. Would it not be boring and even more jarring for her to be put in one of them? We also can't really have her in the other rooms because the house is alarmed with sensors and surely the burglar alarm going off in the middle of the day would freak her out more?

I'm trying to understand the best thing to do, but in all honesty my family must have taken in piles of cats that were strays and they all settled in grand once they were allowed just hang out.

And as for toilets we're going to have a few closed in liter trays in various rooms so she has her pick of where to do her business.

thehouses

You could do it yourself for a fiver if you buy the chip with animalguard.ie.

DBB

thehouses wrote: »

You could do it yourself for a fiver if you buy the chip with animalguard.ie.

Hmmm... You're not meant to undertake sub-cut injections without being first trained by a vet, who must be happy that you're competent to do it alone (maybe a vet professional can confirm, but I think it's actually against the law). Besides which, it's a considerably bigger and more painful needle than a normal sub-cut jab with a normal hypodermic syringe.

boomerang

And their registry is useless! You'd still have to register the chip with Animark or FIDO for €15. And you'd need a scanner to confirm the chip has been implanted correctly and corresponds to the number on the barcode sticker.

Came across a young Lab puppy recently who had been chipped by the breeder in the sacral region... No way did a chip migrate that far in a pup so young. Only for the client insisted that the pup was already chipped, the vet wouldn't have found it. So IMO, DIY chipping is a very bad thing.

thehouses

Can't see how it would be against the law to do that - how do farmers inject their cattle? Interesting point though. I am going to contact the ISPCA tomorrow to see if they check the animalguard.ie database, if they do it's fine from what I can see. Also 2 vets I know have no problem scanning a chip to make sure it is in the right place and can be picked up by the scanner.

The needle is wider alright but because you are only putting something very small under the skin compared to a vaccination it is actually even easier to do than a vaccination. Of course you have to be shown how to use the needles competently beforehand and be confident in your ability to do the job correctly.

DBB

Farmers are specifically exempted in the veterinary legislation for administering meds up to sub-cut level of invasiveness, but no further.
But others are not... There are lay people in the country have been formally trained to microchip (breeders, rescuers), otherwise it's not a procedure that should be carried out by a non-vet.
The needle that implants the chip is of substantially greater bore than a standard hypodermic needle used for small animal practice. The chip itself is also wider than a standard hypodermic... I've handled and worked with thousands of them on species other than dogs so I'm very familar with them and their implantation! The implantation process is more painful than a standard injection as a result, and the chances of hurting them, or implanting the chip incorrectly, is substantially increased when the user is untrained.
As for that database... I've been working in rescue a long, long time, and am in regular contact with Fido and Animark, and very much less so, Pet Trace. Sad to say I've never actually heard of the database you've referred too! Whether that's a reflection on me, or the company, I do not know!

DBB

thehouses wrote: »

Of course you have to be shown how to use the needles competently beforehand and be confident in your ability to do the job correctly.

Then why recommend to someone on an internet site to do a DIY job, unless you know they've been shown how to do it properly by an appropriately competent person?

thehouses

You are reading too much into my post. I never suggested they don't get advice, the quote you have picked actually demonstrates that. It is not a complicated thing to do.

DBB

thehouses wrote: »

You are reading too much into my post. I never suggested they don't get advice, the quote you have picked actually demonstrates that. It is not a complicated thing to do.

Your initial post was just a bit blase, you advised a person to do something to their pet when you don't know if they're properly trained to do so, only later acknowledging that they should be trained once I highlighted that fact. I think it's wrong to give out such advice without qualifying that advice, and you did not do so until you were pushed, and indeed were unaware of the potential legal ramifications.
It's not complicated until it goes wrong, believe me.

Ken.

Cats hold grudges. My cat is off with me for a week if I have to give her worm dose or meds. No way am I gonna stick her with a needle.

DBB

One more thing to bear in mind...
Since I started in rescue, it has been the routine thing for all rescue groups that I know to do when they scan a dog and find a chip, to enter that chip number into the Europe-wide database europetnet.com. This database tells us which registry in Ireland (or further afield) the microchip is registered with so that we can narrow down our search.
Alas, animalguard.ie are not listed on the europetnet registry, and so for most rescues I know, if they entered an animalguard chip number, it'll come back as unregistered. It would be very unlikely for the rescue to pursue it any further than that. In other words, the animal might as well not be chipped at all. I'm guessing that this is what Boomerang was getting at too?
It looks like at present, animalguard are somewhat out on their own, and the last thing Ireland needs is another registry, this one not working alongside the others that are registered on the European database. The ones that are with europetnet are Fido, Animark, Pet Trace, and the IKC. With the exception of Pet Trace, the other registries have been very supportive of rescues, giving us access to the general search function on their databases for years. It makes life much easier. As I said before, I've never heard of animalguard, let alone have access to their search function.

baby and crumble

Yeah, there's no way I'm doing that myself. I'm not trying to do it cheap, I just want to know how much to budget, like I'm researching food for my budget, average vet bills for a cat that age, etc. so I can always take care of her properly. I didn't know if we were talking €20 or €100 for the microchipping!

Thanks for all the comments folks. I'm looking forward to bombarding the board with pics of the gorgeous lady when she's settled in!

thehouses

DBB wrote: »

One more thing to bear in mind...
Since I started in rescue, it has been the routine thing for all rescue groups that I know to do when they scan a dog and find a chip, to enter that chip number into the Europe-wide database europetnet.com. This database tells us which registry in Ireland (or further afield) the microchip is registered with so that we can narrow down our search.
Alas, animalguard.ie are not listed on the europetnet registry, and so for most rescues I know, if they entered an animalguard chip number, it'll come back as unregistered. It would be very unlikely for the rescue to pursue it any further than that. In other words, the animal might as well not be chipped at all.

The ISPCA have just gotten back to me and the animalguard database is checked by them:
"we check them all, Fido, Animal Guard, Pet Maxx, Animark etc.. We check every possible database to try & reunite dogs with owners, esp as we have seen in the past that dogs are found having been stolen years before & end up in pounds & Rescues."

Seems like best practice is to check all databases, but it would be great if there was only one database they had to check.

It is great to see that giving the OP the benefit of the doubt that he/she would research this further has been proven right. This persons most recent post shows that they are a competent individual who is well able to make up their mind on the best course of action to take and I wish them the best with their pet.

DBB

Ah Baby and Crumble is well known here, there was never any question that she wouldn't put the research in

As for checking databases, whilst the ISPCA may have access to the lesser known databases, the multitude of smaller rescues don't... Fido and to a lesser extent Animark are very good at giving us access to check up chips under our own steam, but the others thus far are not. This means having to go to further lengths to find out to which database the chip is registered with, which means having to make a number of phone calls, which is a real pain for people trying to run rescues when they have little manpower, when you have to do it repeatedly with multiple dogs. Indeed, I have heard pound staff saying that if they can't find the database on the europetnet site, they're not going to dig any further as they're not paid to do so. Argue the rights and wrongs of that all you like, but if I didn't get reunited with my dog because a pound could not easily find a database for the dog's chip, I would be far less than impressed with that database.
Now, if Animalguard wanted to make it easy on everyone, it's a very simple matter of them joining the europetnet network as discussed above. At least then, a rescue or pound can with the click of a button find out which database the chip is registered to, which would mean making just the one phone call to find the details registered to that chip.
As it is, their not being registered on the European network is a huge drawback on a number of levels, and I would not urge anyone to use this as their database until a time that they come up to speed.

muddypaws

In all of my years of rescue, I have never found any other rescue, or vet that has been able to reunite a dog or cat with an animal guard chip. If an animal is found and taken to a vet for a chip check, they will check with fido.ie and europetnet, the same as a dog warden if the animal ends up in the pound.

The people that run the animalguard database refuse to give out any details to any rescue, as again, with an unregistered chip, but starting with the numbers that they use, rescues have contacted them direct to try and reunite an animal, and been met with a brick wall. In my very humble opinion, they are worse than not chipping, as owners assume their animals will be reunited with them as they are chipped.

I also thought it was now illegal for a lay person, trained or not, to insert microchips, and that it can only be done by a vet or vet nurse?

thehouses

muddypaws wrote: »

In all of my years of rescue, I have never found any other rescue, or vet that has been able to reunite a dog or cat with an animal guard chip. If an animal is found and taken to a vet for a chip check, they will check with fido.ie and europetnet, the same as a dog warden if the animal ends up in the pound.

The people that run the animalguard database refuse to give out any details to any rescue, as again, with an unregistered chip, but starting with the numbers that they use, rescues have contacted them direct to try and reunite an animal, and been met with a brick wall. In my very humble opinion, they are worse than not chipping, as owners assume their animals will be reunited with them as they are chipped.

I also thought it was now illegal for a lay person, trained or not, to insert microchips, and that it can only be done by a vet or vet nurse?

It is not illegal just yet from their email and it is a simple injection anyway so I can't see why it would be illegal. But based on what you say it is best to register with another organisation even if you buy the chip from animal guard. They also didn't reply to my email querying what organisations use their database so they may be best avoided for registering on a database.

DBB

I've checked with the VCI, and as far as they're concerned, microchipping is indeed a vet-only procedure, as I stated above.
My suspicion is that a number of people, rescues included, choose to ignore this. I know many of those who were properly trained on a series of courses run some years ago have outwardly stated that they're ignoring it. Similarly for vaccinations, which are also vet-only, many people choose to ignore this fact, in the knowledge that the likelihood of being pursued for it is small.

boomerang

Animal Guard database isn't worth a curse. IMO it's just there to add appeal to their deal on cheap chips to cheapskate breeders. They're not on europetnet, which is crucial. I wouldn't dream of relying on their database alone. You'd have to register with FIDO to have any real chance of getting your pet back if lost or stolen. That costs an additional €15. I sincerely doubt breeders chipping and registering pups through AG are bothering to tell purchasers that.

thehouses

Animark only costs €7.50 and would be a better option than Fido. They are both on the Europetnet database. Also, maybe the breeders have good intentions and are not aware of the limitations of animal guard.

boomerang

Last time I checked, Animark charged €15 to register a chip on their database, and they're not as user-friendly as FIDO. Equally, last time I checked, Animal Guard were not a member of europetnet.

Breeders should not be chipping pups themselves; any breeder searching on DoneDeal for microchips to (illegally) implant themselves is a breeder cutting corners and a red flag for me.

thehouses

http://animark.ie/index.php?option=com_implanttracker&view=implanttracker&layout=updateowner&Itemid=17

"There is an admin charge for this service of €7.50."

http://europetnet.com/en/members?language=en gives the list of members and as I acknowledged animalguard are not a member.

boomerang

Sorry thehouses, took you up wrong on that.

The thing is though, for the price of an Animal Guard chip delivered through the post and Animark registration online, you could just go to your vet and get them to do the chipping and registering for you. Most vets I know in Limerick are only charging €20 and this includes registration. It's often even less, when the vets are running a promotion (one vet here often discounts chipping to €10 for an entire month).

You need a scanner to confirm the chip is functioning, conforms to the barcode number and is readable after implantation. That's another €70-€100.

If the chip is to be effectively registered (i.e. not just with Animal Guard) and scanned then the DIY option is no great saving, in addition to being a legal grey area. No lay person should be chipping. It's really *not* as simple as you are making out.

DBB

thehouses wrote: »

Animark only costs €7.50 and would be a better option than Fido.

Sorry thehouses, but that's simply not true.
Fido are really, really easy to work with for pounds and rescues, because they have long since given almost every pound and rescue online access to do searches for microchip numbers, allowing us to very quickly establish who owns a stray dog.... It's done in moments.
With animark, access for pounds and rescues is far more limited, meaning that more pounds and rescues have to ring them.... That's a pain, particularly because they're not so available outside office hours.

Similarly, when we get a dog surrendered to us, it's a simple matter of emailing Fido to get them to re-register the dog for us. With Animark, we have to write them a hard copy of a letter, and post it to them. That is also a pain, and takes up valuable time and resources.

As I have explained before, fido are absolutely, categorically the database of choice in terms of their accessibility, and most importantly in terms of them being so much more attractive for pounds and rescues to help reunite owners with their dogs, because they're so accessible.
For the sake of a few quid, for the reasons above it would be madness for an owner not to make sure their dog is registered with fido.