There’s never a dull moment at a spay/neuter cat clinic. We’ve met the best of people, seen kitties with all sorts of personalities, and have had plenty of surprises along the way. But recently we had the pleasure of being a part of a special situation: We were able to reunite a lost cat with his owner. 
When one of our volunteers came across a large colony of cats, she decided to try trapping them to be fixed. She was successful, and brought in fourteen felines to be fixed! (Try saying that ten times in a row.) As it turned out, from those fourteen cats, we found that one of them had a registered microchip. Because of this, we were able to contact the kitty’s owner, Cony Barragan, and she was absolutely thrilled to reunite with her beloved pet, who had been gone for months.
Cony told us, “We adopted a pregnant cat on May in 2013. This is one of her sons, Chamuco, who was born at home and handled by the whole family, plus our Chihuahua! He has three brothers who will all be happy to see him.” Chamuco is described as naughty, energetic, very sweet and friendly. We were so glad to play a role in getting him back home!
Cony’s story is a perfect example of the importance of microchipping your pets, and keeping a collar and identification tag on them at all times. Every year, an average of 10 million pets get lost, and without ID, an estimate of 90% of them never return home. Furthermore, some studies show that dogs are more likely to be found, but that cats are more likely to stay lost. Apparently pups wear identification tags and have microchips more often than kitties do.
Well, we aim to prove those studies wrong. We aim to do better for cats everywhere. That’s why we offer microchips to all of our surgical clients, as well as host regular Saturday Wellness Clinics where microchips are always fifteen dollars.
Because accidents happen. Your cat can slip out the front door, or a handyman can leave a window open. There are also natural disasters and emergencies, which often arise unexpectedly. Yet although life is unpredictable, we can still do what is in our power to ensure that our pets get safe, healthy, and happy lives. Keeping them well identified is a good start. Just ask Chamuco if he agrees.
