Electronic chip for you cat or dog : what’s the point ?

Whether they have been sold or given to their owners, dogs and cats must be identified. If 88% of dogs are in good standing, only 46% of cats are*.

In case of loss, it is much harder to find a non-identified pet…

The identification of dogs and cats is mandatory :

• For any assignment (gift or sale) (at the expense of the transferor)

• For all dogs over 4 months of age, born after the 6th of January 1999

• For all cats over 7 months of age, born after January 1st 2012

Identification helps to find your pet in the event of a loss and to prove that you are the owner if you decide to sell him or give him away. It is also essential to subscribe to a health insurance for your pet.

In France, tattooing and electronic transponders are recognized as means of identification of domestic omnivores.

In the European Union, for any identification after the 3rd of July 2011, only the electronic transponder is recognized (excluding France).

The mandatory identification will be made only by electronic transponders for all dogs and cats traveling outside the French territory and identified after the 3rd of July 2011. It is strongly recommended to implant an electronic transponder on a pet that travels a lot as to avoid custom problems.

An electronic chip (also called a transponder) is a device the size of a grain of rice, that the vet implants under the skin of the neck. The pose is painless for the pet.

Once in place, the 15-digit chip code will be read with a reader. Thanks to this code, anybody that finds your pet will be able to find you as well. Provided of course that you have not forgotten to update your details in case of moving or changing phone number !