New government legislations means that all cat owner have until 10th June 2024 to ensure that their cat/s is/are microchipped. It will now be a legal requirement for all cats to be microchipped by 20 weeks of age, and equally imperative that the owner details relating to the microchip are kept up to date. An owner of a cat found not to be microchipped will be given 21 days to have a chip implanted or they may face a fine of up to £500. It is hoped that this new legislation will help owners be reunited with lost or stray cats. Compulsory microchipping will not be required for free living (feral or farm) cats which have minimal or no human contact.
If you are uncertain as to whether your cat is microchipped then they can be quickly and easily checked at your veterinary surgery. You will need to contact the specific microchip company, who originally supplied your pets microchip, to check that your contact details are up to date. One microchip company, Identibase, are this week running an identiday. On Monday 20th March owners whose cats have an identichip microchip will be able update their details for free, to do this all you need to do is visit www.identibase.co.uk
Further information regarding the compulsory microchipping of cats can be found on the gov.uk website.