Kits & Chips

When Yosuke, the African grey parrot from Nagareyama, Japan, recently made a break for it, he found out that the term “free as a bird” wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. Two weeks later when someone spotted the stray parrot, police caught him and took him to the pokey. The cops grilled him, but Yosuke refused to talk. They transferred him to a vet clinic where he finally let the cat out of the bag.

“I'm Mr. Yosuke Nakamura,” the parrot told the vet. He ‘fessed up and went on to recite his address and phone number. In no time he was sitting on his own perch and pooping on his own floor.

It’s a shame we can’t teach our cats and dogs to do that. Lord knows, I’ve tried. My Tonkinese-mix, Nixie, speaks on command, but her address sounds like, “Meow.” I have a feeling unless a pet psychic finds her they won’t be able to get past her North Texas accent. However, Nixie can still do the same thing Yosuke did. A little microchip under her skin will tell a vet or animal control officer everything they need to call me and give me a good chewing out because my cat was running loose.

Shelters run a scanner across the pet’s back. When it detects a microchip, it displays the kitty’s (or pooch’s) unique number. Your contact information is stored in a national database, and is just a phone call away. Remember, most shelters scan cats and dogs before they take that final fatal walk.

Give your kitty the same “Get out of Jail Free Card” Yosuke had. Your vet can place that little chip right where it counts—between the shoulder blades. (Where’d you think I was talking about?) You might even be able to get it cheaper from an area rescue group that conducts microchipping clinics (see www.animalalliesoftexas.org/Events/Calendar.aspx?ID=4&MenuID=4 for microchipping events in the Dallas Metroplex.) Don’t forget to notify the database company if you move or change your phone number. (I’ll be helping Animal Allies in a microchipping clinic on July 26, 2008 at Canine Courtyard in Flower Mound, TX from 11:00 to 13:00.)

Now I know your kitty (or pooch) has never made a break for it, so you may believe a microchip is a waste of money. Au contraire, my blind inside kitty, BK, wandered outside when the cable installer left the door open. We got him back, but I spent two sleepless, unproductive weeks looking for him. Even ID tags won’t guarantee your puss or pooch’s return. Cat collars are designed to come off if he gets tangled in something. Lost collars mean hasta la vista ID.

So get on the stick; get kitty a chip. See you at the microchipping clinic.

Tune in again soon for more Confessions of a Cat Writer. Same Cat Time…Same Cat Channel.