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snipped not chipped


Doodle

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Hi all,

My french is not too good so would some kind person have a read of this and tell me whether by law I need to get my two cats chipped. I had them both snipped etc but not chipped as at the time 200 euros in one go was quite enough especially as they turned up on my doorstop. They both came as strays one about 4 years ago as a kitten and the other about 3 years ago as a cat that was abandoned in the village when their owners left!

Thanks, Chris

http://purina.fr/alaune.aspx?id=1&utm_source=NL+CSB&utm_medium=NL&utm_campaign=NL+CSB+CT+octobre
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The article seems to be saying that identification of cats is now mandatory, but then goes on to say that this is for cats born on/after 1st Jan 2012. No where does it say that this is back-dated for existing cats.

It also says that tattoos are accepted as well as chips. Our cat - an ex-wanderer, thrown out onto the street when her elderly owner died, - has a tattoo which is illegible, though our vet did manage to read enough to decipher that our madame minou was born in 1998. So they are still legally valid, even if our cat's tattoo is not readable.

Sue

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We have three garden cats that we had sterilised but I certainly wouldn't pay for them to be chipped. They are ferals, strays, whatever, although they live in our woodshed. I just didn't want to keep having bundles of kittens so caught all 3 and got them sterilised. Do I have to legally have them tattooed or chipped?
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[quote user="nectarine"]We have three garden cats that we had sterilised but I certainly wouldn't pay for them to be chipped. They are ferals, strays, whatever. Do I have to legally have them tattooed or chipped?[/quote]

Legally it appears that if your cats were born on or after Jan 1st 2012 then they have either to be chipped or tattooed. As far as I can see the law does not insist older cats are identified, it just recommends that they are ... as lost/stray cats are more easily identified if they are chipped or tattooed.

Mind you, as I said above, our lost-and-found moggie has a tattoo but part of it is illegible. Our vet did feel the obliteration had had human assistance, perhaps done by the inheritors of the 'estate' when the original lady owner of our cat had died.

Sue

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One problem when cats are not chipped or tattooed is that from time to time the authorities will decide to round up cats and any not obviously belonging to someone are then put down as being feral.  A tattoo (even illegible) or a chip indicates ownership.

 

A local commune did this only 2 months ago.

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Well, I was a feral old tom until taken in by my current mistress who had me snipped (she said 'gelded,) and chipped, so now I spend my time purring on her lap and playing with the little bump where my chip is hidden. And she seems so much happier too, wet nose, shiny coat and only too happy to be stroked!
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Not a daft law at all Mrs T.  Every journey starts with a single step and remember there is nothing to stop someone chipping an older cat.  Also think of the  chaos if say on 1.1.14 all cats had to be chipped.  Even with a 20% take up, every vet appointment between now and the end of the year would be booked.

I do however agree that many French will not get their cats done - but as I reported above,  they will then lose (or risk losing) their pets when the Maire decides to cull the feral cats.  Sadly many French will not be overly bothered by the loss of their pet cat.

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One would hope that on collection of the cats and whilst checking if they are chipped that the vet would notice that someone had been bothered to pay to have a cat spade/snipped and therefore it is not a feral cat.

Also anyone just looking at the two cats that I inherited it would indicate that they are more than well fed and well looked after - glossy black & white coats etc, clean ears (one of the cats arrived with a terrible mite problem in it's ears constantly shaking it's head and it took some time to get it cleared).

It might sound irresponsible but I don't want to distress either cat by taking them to be chipped. However, if I should have to go for another reason then I certainly shall have chipping done at the same time.

Chris
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[quote user="knee gel"]One would hope that on collection of the cats and whilst checking if they are chipped that the vet would notice that someone had been bothered to pay to have a cat spade/snipped and therefore it is not a feral cat.

Also anyone just looking at the two cats that I inherited it would indicate that they are more than well fed and well looked after - glossy black & white coats etc, clean ears (one of the cats arrived with a terrible mite problem in it's ears constantly shaking it's head and it took some time to get it cleared).

It might sound irresponsible but I don't want to distress either cat by taking them to be chipped. However, if I should have to go for another reason then I certainly shall have chipping done at the same time.

Chris[/quote]While it is easy to check if a male cat has been neutered it is not always so easy to see if a female cat has been spayed especially if she has a thick coat. So I would not want to take the risk of having my cat culled as feral just because I haven't had it chipped.
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[quote user="knee gel"]One would hope that on collection of the cats and whilst checking if they are chipped that the vet would notice that someone had been bothered to pay to have a cat spade/snipped and therefore it is not a feral cat.[/quote]

 

I am not sure that a vet is involved.  Working a chip scanner hardly needs a vet degree.

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I didn't say it was a bad idea!  Just daft in the sense of impossible to enforce for the moment because anyone could claim their cat was born before the date that identification was required.

Re identifying feral cats that have been neutered, charities sometimes clip the ear to show it has been done and also microchip with the charity name.

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