Tuesday

[silverthorne]

Finally got myself financially straightened out enough to take Foot in to get chipped (Ula came 'equipped' with one already). So, after Tuesday, Foot, between tags, collar and now chip, will be as ID-entifiable as I can possibly make her short of tattoing her personal information on her rump. :)

I will feel SO much better once I get this done.

So, I have a question for everyone. If you had a pet, and you got them chipped, would you still make them wear a collar and tags or not? I'd like to know reasoning too, if you don't mind.

Also, (like I need to say that with you guys, heh), keep it polite with each other if there's a disagreement. *HUGS*

Comments

I would

[aquila-dominus.livejournal.com]

still have them in a collar and tags... and not just because I'm bent that way ;)

A collar and tags will say to the pound/vet/whomever that the cat belongs to someone. Even if the tags do not have anything more than a name it will make someone more likely to look for a chip. Random strays do not usually have chips and thus they may or may not get looked for. The collar say, I belong to someone, make the extra effort.

Re: I would

[silverthorne.livejournal.com]

*nods* that's what I think, but it's nice to hear other opinions (if anyone differs). My cats don't go outside at all, so they would either have to escape when someone opened the door, or something like the building falling apart and them miraculously surviving that and then running for a 'safer' spot would have to happen for my girls to find themselves outside, but there's always the possibility, which is why they have their collars on ATM (with rabies tags obviously attached).

I like the added security, just like I like the added security of having the chips if the collars get lost somehow. At least, even then, they'll have a chance of finding their way home rather than elsewhere, or, worse, being put down if I can't find them and they can't be re-adopted. (or, worse case scenario--something kills them and they're scanned after the fact, at least I'll know what happened to them).

[cluegirl.livejournal.com]

I would. This is because many people who see a cat outside without a collar and tags will at once decide it is either abandoned, or a stray. The idea of having the animal checked for a chip will not even occur to them at all.

To be honest, with some people the collar and tags don't help either -- when I adopted Yasha he had a collar and vet tag on him in the cage, and the idiots at Animal Control never bothered to phone the vet's office and ask after his records until I, standing at their desk with the collar in my hand, insisted on it. And years later, when he had a collar with his name and my phone number on it, he got 'adopted' for a week by someone who didn't bother to call either. I didn't see him until he did his normal out-the-door-under-your-feet escape, and came home to me again.

So I absolutely would not give up the collar and tags, just as a sign to people who are too lazy to check properly that the cat is cared about, and will be missed.

[silverthorne.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I know with Foot, it was a toss-up internal debate as to whether she still had owners or not when I took her in (no collar or tag), and it would have been very easy to just blow off the entire week of checking everywhere and putting up 'found' posters (and having the vet scan her) to see if she had owners someplace else.

It doesn't help either when the cat isn't obviously pedigree. 'Regular domestics' aren't held in as high value, it seems, even by AC or pounds, etc., since they aren't 'show animals'. Which always baffles me (aren't 'mere pets' just as important/valuable as fancy-schmacy show-off animals?).

[leaveoutalltherest]

I would say to keep the collar and tags. First off, the tag lets people know that the cats are current on rabies shots, so if it's a case where the cat is scared and bites, then that worry is taken care of.

Second, the neighbors/kids/whoever may get your cat back to you faster if your name/number/vet is on the tag and they can call that way, rather than calling the pound.

I don't know about your pound, but here all animals are checked for chips when they come in. It's just procedure anymore, mostly to check and see if the animal is a frequent/past visitor.

[silverthorne.livejournal.com]

I think more pounds and shelters check as a matter of course than they used to as a result of being more aware of chips being available noth on their end and on the part of owners wanting to protect their pets. My mian vet isn't set up for chips, but I know the local ASPCA and most of the shelter/rescue groups here do (witness Ula and her sisters being already chipped when they're put up for adoptions).

[leaveoutalltherest]

I know that some cities are passing it as a law now that your animal has to be microchipped.

[silverthorne.livejournal.com]

Really? Cool.

Well, cool and not cool at the same time. Chipping can get pretty expensive depending on who you go to to get it done and tehyn activated.

Still, I think it's a good and worthy thing to push, much like the madatory rabies shots and the like. Safety for all, and all that. I just cringe for the owners who might have a hard time coming up for that last expense on top of check ups, shots, spay/nueter, etc when getting a new pet.

[leaveoutalltherest]

Well, a lot of the cities that require that have special programs for those who have trouble with expenses, and extra for the elderly.

[showyourguns.livejournal.com]

Ditto, I would also - except (and I'm not sure if this is actually true, I've just heard it) that collars with bells on can make cats deaf? Either way it isn't like a collar MUST come with a bell on.

[silverthorne.livejournal.com]

TBH, I clip the bells off. It annoys me as much as it annoys the cats, their tags make enough noise, cats can learn to without making the bells jingle anyway, and, quite frankly, if Foot and Ula wound up outside, I'd rather they be able to sneak up on, and catch, some sort of dinner while they're on their own rather than starve. It's not like cats are incredible hunters that catch their prey every single time, and I'd rather a bird or two go to critter heaven than my cat.

[rebl1969.livejournal.com]

With the dog ages ago, I superglued the ID and rabies tags back-to-back so they wouldn't jangle and drive me 100% insane.
With the current cats, since they live outdoors, I have tried collars and tags many times. And many times, both Freakshow and Archie have lost the collars in the woods in less than 24 hours. I now just leave them collarless, keep the tags indoors where I can find them if necessary, and hope for the best. However, since we are rural and you so are not, I recommend you leave collars on your cats, if they will already wear them without complaint.

[silverthorne.livejournal.com]

Yeah, cats are a lot better at getting their collars off...which was my bottom line reasoning for getting them chipped as well. :)

[goes-kaboom.livejournal.com]

Destro and Roadblock are chipped and have collars with tags on them still. Because most people that find cats don't think about chips, rather than just "oh, no collar... well, my kitty now."

The HomeAgain chip system comes with a little ID tag that you can put on a collar just in case, too, so that's what we've got in addition to their regular tags.

[silverthorne.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Ula's rescue group and the vet they were taking her to uses the AVID chips/PETtrac services. I'm not sure if the vets I'm taking Foot to will be the same system or the Home Again one, but I guess I'll find out. :)