to chip or not to chip

In the aftermath of Red's disappearance and return, we've been talking about a new issue -- whether to have the cats chipped.

It's something we've talked about before. Every time one of the cats gets out -- and it does happen, since, well, they're cats -- we talk about getting them chips. This time, the lady who had taken Red in mentioned that he "wasn't even chipped." But Ethan has been against the idea of chipping. Based on his research, it's uncomfortable for the animal and therefore detracts from its quality of life. And, he said, it's illegal to remove the chip once it's put in.

But our vet suggested it this time. "Maybe," he said, "you should consider getting him chipped. I pointed to Ethan's objection that it causes discomfort, and the vet said that's not true. So that's something to consider.

One thing to keep in mind. The chip isn't like kitty lojack; there's no GPS on it, so it's not as if you can just call up a service and have them say "Oh, he's in your neighbor's yard, under their pool." In fact, it's a radio-opaque chip with a code. So if someone finds your pet and brings him to a vet who checks for a chip, he can then call the company that monitors the chips, who can then contact you.

But there are a couple of things to remember. The vet cannot call the chip company and report the pet found, as that is a violation of medical privacy. So the finder can refuse to use this obvious path to locating the owner. Also, you getting your pet chipped does not make you the owner. Legally, that is.

So for the chip to work, the following sequece of events must occur:

• Your lost pet is found by someone who takes him in.
• The finder brings him to a vet.
• Either the finder asks the vet to search for a chip, or the vet suggests it.
• The vet finds the chip and gives the finder the information to call the chip company
• The finder makes the call, and the chip company informs you so you can be reunited with the pet.

There are a lot of things that can short-circuit the process, notably the finder may think you (by virtue of your pet having escaped) don't deserve to have the pet, or may simply want to keep the pet. If your pet is particularly sweet and beautiful (as is Red), then I can see a finder wanting to keep him and then rationalizing it by convincing himself that you are irresponsible and don't deserve to have him.

I feel very lucky that Red's finder had the decency to return him, despite her son being somewhat attached.

FWIW, our vet told us of an anecdote. Someone brought in a beautiful Persian cat who showed up at his door. They found a chip, but the finder said he wasn't going to call it in, since the owners didn't deserve the cat. But he made a mistake. He called the chip company to have the ownership changed to him. The chip company, not bound by medical privacy issues, called the owner of record to ask for his confirmation of ownership change. The police were called, and the cat was returned. I asked the vet about the fact that chipping the cat doesn't establish ownership. He said that the finder could have fought, but decided not to.