Compulsory microchipping of cats

In the months running up to the microchipping law, the PETtrac Database saw a steady increase in the number of cats being microchipped and registered. Historically, in any given month there has always been a higher proportion of dogs being microchipped compared to cats, but in February 2024, the number of newly registered cats overtook the number dogs for the first time, culminating in June as legislation came into effect.

From February 2024, the number of cats being implanted and registered continued to increase until December 2024. There are still months where there are more cats microchipped than dogs, but similar levels of implantation numbers are now generally seen between dogs and cats.

In a report by Cats Protection (2024), 14% of cat owners said they ‘hadn't thought about microchipping’ their cat. This shows that, despite the higher levels of publicity, the campaigns and information around microchipping have not reached some owners. AVID provides leaflets, posters and digital assets to implanters to enable them to promote cat microchipping to the owners in their practices.