MHS has long acknowledged the unique challenges involving sheltering a large number of cats. We take in thousands of cats each year, and keeping them healthy while they are in our care is a struggle. To make matters worse, despite active efforts to encourage people to search for their lost pets as well as encouraging identification, less than 1% of cats are reunited with their owners.
In an effort to increase the number of cats that are returned to their owners if they go missing, MHS microchips all cats that are adopted through our facilities. We will now be stepping up these efforts even more by offering free cat microchipping to our veterinary clients.
This opportunity will be extended to the first 2,000 cats at the time of any MHS veterinary office visit or other paid service. The free microchipping will be provided by appointment only on a first-come, first-served basis.
A microchip, which is about the size of a grain of rice, is inserted between the pet’s shoulders in a process that is comparable to a vaccination. Animal shelters (both nonprofit shelters like MHS and municipal animal control shelters) and veterinarians have universal scanners that can be used to scan pets that are found as strays. If a microchip is detected, the unique, pet-specific code can be readily traced to the owner. A microchip is not a GPS locating device.
Contact one of our veterinary centers today to take advantage of this opportunity!