Battersea highlights importance of microchipping pets as charity reveals only 2% of stray cats are reunited with their owner

Katie Court — Sun, 03 Dec 2023 12:00:00 +0000

A new report on pet microchipping from animal welfare charity Battersea, shows a troubling decline in effective microchipping of both cats and dogs.

In 2022, only two per cent of stray cats brought to Battersea were able to be reunited with their owners through a microchip, and three out of five cats (59 per cent) brought to the centres were not microchipped at all, highlighting major problems in effective feline microchipping. Whether or not an animal has a microchip with up-to-date details has a direct impact on the charity’s ability to reunite pets with their owners.

Unfortunately, this was the reality for one-year-old cat, Kina. Kina was found in good health but roaming in a park alone by a passerby and brought to the charity’s London centre. From her very friendly nature and beautiful, shiny coat, staff strongly suspected she had been someone’s pet, but as she was found with no microchip, staff were unable to trace where she had come from. Sadly, no previous owners were found, but the rehoming staff were soon able to find Kina a new loving home.

From 10 June 2024, a new law will require all cat owners in England to have their cats microchipped. Cat owners found not to have microchipped their cat by this date will have 21 days to have one implanted or may face a fine of up to £500.

Rachel Saunders, Cattery Manager at Battersea, said: "When a microchipped cat is brought to us as a stray, we can usually orchestrate a joyful reunion, sparing heartache for owners, but for most stray cats we take in, there is no chip at all, leaving us unable to trace where they may have come from.”

Battersea further warns cat and dog owners that failure to keep their contact details updated on microchipping databases leaves staff unable to notify the owners when a pet is brought into their care.

Rachel added: “With greater responsibility from cat and dog owners to update microchip information, we can reunite many more pets and spare countless families from needless suffering.”

While cat microchipping rates are troublingly low, dogs are also being failed by inaccurate data and absent microchips.

Local authorities have reported a nine percentage points increase from 2021 to 2023 in stray dogs without a microchip to Battersea, with 72 per cent of microchipped dogs having inaccurate owner data — up significantly from 63 per cent in 2021. This is despite a legal requirement for all pet dogs to have a microchip with correct owner information since 2016.

Thankfully functional microchips with updated data have given the charity the means to orchestrate uplifting reunions for a number of pets and their families.

Handsome two-year-old Alfie was brought into Battersea’s London centre as a stray cat. After a stranger found him roaming about wearing a collar with an AirTag and assumed he was lost. Luckily Alfie was microchipped, and when Battersea called his owner, it was quickly learned that while he had been out since the early morning, he was not missing at all. Alfie's relieved owner rushed to collect him within the hour, and thanks to his up-to-date microchip, he and his family were happily reunited right away.

As Battersea marks 140 years of first taking in cats, providing them with the love, fuss and expert care they deserve, the charity shines a light on stories like Alfie’s, Pebble’s and Kina’s - celebrating the cats in care while underscoring the urgent need for responsible microchipping. Battersea scans every animal for a microchip when they first arrive and will make sure every dog and cat is microchipped before going on to their new homes.

For further advice on pet microchipping, visit the Battersea website here: https://www.battersea.org.uk/. You can also find out more in Battersea’s latest Microchipping report here.

Charities working together to provide over a million meals to the nation's pets

Katie Court — Sat, 02 Dec 2023 12:00:00 +0000

Thousands of dogs and cats across the UK have been enjoying nutritious meals at no cost to their owners, through a programme set up by leading animal charities and the UK’s biggest food waste charity.

The Pet Food Partnership, comprising Battersea, Cats Protection, Dogs Trust, RSPCA and FareShare, and supported by Petplan, recently passed the significant milestone of one million meals provided to dogs and cats in England, Scotland and Wales.

To date the programme has provided the equivalent of 1,043,095 meals, approximately 154 tonnes of pet food donated by pet food manufacturers across the UK, during a time when many owners are having to cut costs wherever they can, including what they spend on their beloved pets.

Over the last year the cost of living crisis has continued to have an impact on pets and the animal welfare sector, with many dogs and cats being brought to rescue centres by heartbroken owners no longer able to afford to care for them. FareShare has also seen skyrocketing demand for food, with more people needing support to feed themselves and their families as they struggle to make ends meet.

As the nation prepares to head into another cold winter, facing higher energy bills, the charities fear that many owners will be struggling to cover their living costs. With the programme’s pet food continuing to be distributed to those that need it the most, the partnership hopes that this will give pet owners one less expense to worry about.

A spokesperson for the Pet Food Partnership, said: “We know how important pets are to the people that love them, and that many owners would rather go hungry themselves than let their pet go without a meal. We believe no one should ever have to make that choice. That’s why we started this programme – to offer struggling owners a helping hand and fill pet food bowls across the UK.

“While reaching the million meals milestone is a great example of how effective working together can be, it is also a sad indicator of how many owners continue to struggle as a result of rising costs. From the dog owners up in Aberdeen, to the people with cats down in Plymouth, we’re here to help keep pets well-fed this winter.”

The partnership was created at the end of 2022 with the goal of helping owners struggling to feed their pets during the cost of living crisis. With the animal charities working together to secure pet food donations from leading suppliers including Mars Petcare, Lily’s Kitchen, Pets at Home and Purina, plus additional support from trade industry body UK Pet Food to help co-ordinate and bring in further donations, the food is then distributed to the people and their pets who need it via FareShare’s network of over 8,500 community groups and charities across the UK, supported by a generous donation towards transportation costs from Petplan, the UK’s number one pet insurer.

Your Pets Daily - Battersea

Battersea highlights importance of microchipping pets as charity reveals only 2% of stray cats are reunited with their owner

A new report on pet microchipping from animal welfare charity Battersea, shows a troubling decline in effective microchipping of both cats and dogs.

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Charities working together to provide over a million meals to the nation's pets

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