The law in England made it mandatory to have cats chipped from June 2024, but it is important to check that this has been done if you acquire a pre-owned cat.
To comply with the law:
- The cat should be chipped from the age of 20 weeks
- Their cat chip registration details should be stored on a central database
- If you acquire a kitten, you can have this done at the appropriate time
Of course, getting a kitten is not the only way people acquire a cat. You may get a rescue cat, which might not have been chipped (and therefore identified to an owner), but should have subsequently been chipped by the shelter looking after it.
However, in other cases, you might find that the cat has had a previous owner who did not have it chipped. Although a breach of the law could lead to a fine of up to £500, some people do fail to comply.
Do Many People Fail To Obey The Law On Cat Chipping?
For example, the BBC recently reported on the concerns expressed by a cat rescue charity in Blackpool that most of the lost cats it had re-homed were not chipped. At the same time, cat shelter workers have said the problem is not confined to the seaside town.
Charity volunteer Joan Lamb told the broadcaster that the high level of non-compliance with the chipping law is “a complete crisis not only in Blackpool but across the country”, adding that councils were failing to take enforcement action.
This means that if you acquire a cat directly, rather than via a shelter, you should check that it has been chipped and, if it has not, get this problem rectified as soon as possible.
Irrespective of whether your local authority has been enforcing the law properly, chipping means that if your cat goes missing, it will be easier to trace it back to you.
Scotland does not require cat chipping by law, so owners in England acquiring a cat from Scotland should check if it has been chipped too.
