Pacific Cat Clinic / Identification for Your Cat

The Importance of Identification for Your Pet

For pet owners, there is nothing worse than the thought of losing your beloved companion. Unfamiliar surroundings, natural disasters, a forgotten open door are just a handful of ways your friend can become lost and does not know where to go or how to get home. There is a way to minimize this risk, and if the unthinkable happens, a way to get them back home to you! Understanding how your pet can get and stay lost helps in minimizing this risk.

Adventure-seeking Roaming

Natural curiosity about the unknown, other animals and their scents
Boredom can ensue after spending hours alone at home. For more information on curing cat boredom click here
Mating urges in un-neutered males

Fear-induced Flight

Loud noises, cars, other animals and confusion can cause animals to run away to find a place to hide, causing them to become lost or more lost
Things like harnesses, leashes and seat belts are important to use for animals who are not used to the outdoors, are in unfamiliar surroundings, or while traveling

Natural disasters like floods, earthquakes, and fires can cause families to be separated from each other and from their pets. Visit our Links page for more information on how to prepare yourself and your pet in case of an emergency.
In some cases, pets are found and not returned to owners because they are not identified as having one, having a way to identify your pet will reduce the likelihood of your pet being unintentionally re-homed. PLEASE ensure your pet has some form permanent identification such as microchips or tattoos, and in the best case, both.

Tattoos are an immediate way to identify this pet as having a home. Tattoos have been in practice for decades as a way to identify your pet by placing a code on the inside of the right ear linking them back to the clinic that did the tattoo. The important thing to remember is that you will need to update your information when you move with that clinic so they will be able to direct whoever finds your pet to the right person. Tattoos are meant to last the life of your cat, and although they can become faded or smudged over the years, are still very recommended.

Another way to identify your pet is through a microchip. This is a small chip about the size of a grain of rice implanted beneath the skin between the shoulder blades. This kind of identification is worldwide and you only need to update your contact information with the microchip company. The company depends on which microchip your clinic uses, but AVID is the most widely used company.

Having a collar is also a simple way to identify an animal as having a home. Ensuring it is a quick release collar is important as animals have a tendency to traverse in small areas where a collar could become caught. Pet ID tags can be attached to collars as a way to bring your animal home when used in conjunction with a permanent form of ID like microchips or tattoos.