Microchipping Your Cat
A microchip gives your cat permanent identification and the best chance of finding their way home if they are ever lost. Just as importantly, the contact details linked to the microchip need to stay up to date.
What is a microchip?
A microchip is a small electronic identification device implanted under your cat’s skin. Each chip has a unique number that can be read with a microchip scanner and matched to your contact details on a microchip registry.
The procedure is quick and the chip remains with your cat for life.
How does a microchip help?
If a lost cat is taken to a veterinary clinic, shelter or cat management facility, they can be scanned for a microchip. When the registration details are current, the microchip number can be used to identify the owner and help reunite the cat with their family.
A collar and identification tag can provide an extra visible form of identification, but a microchip cannot fall off or be removed in the same way a collar can.
Keep your details up to date
A microchip can only help reunite you with your cat if the information attached to it is correct. Update the registry whenever you change your address, phone number or other contact details.
If you are not sure which registry holds your cat’s details, you can search the microchip number at Pet Address. If you do not know the number, your veterinarian can scan your cat and provide it.
Tasmanian requirements
In Tasmania, cats must be microchipped by four months of age unless a veterinary exemption applies. Cats adopted from Ten Lives are microchipped before they go home.
Check older microchip records
Tasmanian cat owners are currently being encouraged to check their microchip records following the closure of the HomeSafeID registry. If your cat was registered with HomeSafeID, their details may no longer be accessible and the microchip may need to be registered with another recognised registry.
Related information
For more information about microchipping requirements in Tasmania, visit the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania’s Desexing and Microchipping page.