Home again micro chip- anyone have problems?

[Babee's mom]

Babee is having her yearly check-up tomorrow and I am considering having both of my fur babies micro-chipped. Has anyone had any problems with them? Babee gets her shots in her side now, because the neck was getting tough. The vet charges $60 to micro-chip, is this expensive? Babee is about 10yrs old and i don't want to cause her any health problems. Being a sugar kitty is bad enough.

Any feedback is appreciated.
Thanks

 

[Dyana]

I had both my cats micro chipped last year before I went on vacation. No problems.

 

[squeem3]

One of my civies has a Home Again microchip. She had it when I adopted her.

A microchip is about the size of a grain of rice. I think it's injected just under the skin. The AVMA has more info on microchips: http://www.avma.org/issues/microchipping/microchipping_faq.asp

 

[Karen & Smokey(GA)]

Some Humane Societies and/or County Animal Control jurisdictions will micro-chip at
a much lower cost.

Check out other resources. $60 is high, I think.

 

[Lisa and Merlyn (GA)]

60 dollars is high if that is their fee for inserting the chip. If it includes the registration for Home Again then its not as high. Check out local shelters. Our City/county shelter has free microchip clinics periodically and all you pay is the chip companys registration fee.

 

[Melanie and Smokey]

We had to chip one of our youngun's because we adopted her before the HS got it done. Our HS charge $11 at the time of adoption (that is what we paid for Mitty), $30 for anyone in their chipping clinics. Our vet charged $54.50 for Avie's chip. It was done during her spaying so that is the fee just for the implant. That did not include registering, I did that myself. The biggest regret I have of getting it done through the vet rather than the HS is that now we have one with Home Again and one with Avid, I would have rather had them with one company. it also appears that Home Again has a $20 a year fee, where I didn't have to pay anything with the Avid (HS registers the chip on adoptees) and there was no mention of any annual fees, only changing info fees.

Neither cats seem affected by it. We could feel Avie's for a while, but after she's grown and fattened up a bit I don't feel it anymore.

We never chipped the older kitties. That wasn't that common when we got them and now someone would have to steal them to get them to leave the yard.

 

[traceyg]

I have all my cats micro chipped. I even have the strays that I find homes for micro chipped. It saved the life of one a few weeks ago. in 2007 I helped at a stray cat a friend had found. We got him all his shots, fixed etc. she didn't think we needed to chip him. Especially since he was going to be in an inside home. Well he bolted out the door a few weeks ago and the people that have him now looked all over and could not find him. They never changed the info etc so they called me. I was able to make a few phones calls and find his owners. They were so grateful to get him back. You never know what a cat is going to do. Microchipping them can and does save them from being put to sleep at the local shelters if they happen to get out. Hobo is now back home and very glad to stay indoors. . .

He was lucky he was rescued twice. If it wouldn't be for the chip though her would have been a goner . . .

 

[Maggies Mom Debby]

No problems with the microchip. My vet used "Pet Link", $30 dollars each, included registration fee.

 

[Wulfwin]

I would definitely check out local humane societies and animal shelters to see if any of them microchip. Chances are the cost will be significantly lower. The shelter that I work at charges $25 for chipping a public animal (every animal that we put up for adoption is chipped and the cost included in the adoption fee). It might also be handy to find out what kind of microchip scanners the local shelters use. There are a number of different microchip companies, and 3 different microchip frequencies (125 kHz, 128 kHz, and 134.2 kHz) used in the US. The 125 kHz chips are more common, but the 134.2 kHZ is being seen more and more (134.2 kHz is the International standard). Not all microchip scanners can read all microchips, so getting you cat chipped with one that the local shelters can read would be a good idea. Different microchip companies have different registration fees (one-time fee, annual fee, life-long fee, etc.), so you could also contact different companies to see what they are. Also, some microchip companies allow you to register chips from different companies with them, so you can keep all your information in one place.

With regards to the microchipping itself, it is done subcutaneously with a large-grade needle in the scruff of the neck between the shoulder blades. Most cats don't even seem to notice it being done. Since they are done SubQ, microchips have been known to migrate a bit (for example, ending up down near the shoulder or further down the back).

Two things that I would strongly urge after you have your cat microchipped:
1) Be sure to have her scanned a few days after the implantation. It's rare, but occasionally microchips do slip back out of the needle hole before it heals.
2) Even if your vet or wherever you have her microchipped at does register your cat, be sure to call the microchip company yourself and double-check that the registration has worked and the information is correct. And make sure to update your information with the microchip company whenever it changes. We often have animals come to our shelter with chips that were never registered, leaving us with no way to find the owner.