Pet Microchipping: A Guide for Pet Owners

Losing a pet is one of the most distressing experiences a pet owner can face, and the odds of reunion drop sharply for pets without identification. Collars and tags can fall off or become unreadable. A microchip provides permanent identification, so whoever finds your dog or cat has a way to contact you.

This guide from Fish Creek Animal Hospital in Montgomery, TX, explains how microchips work, how to register and maintain your pet’s chip, and what to do if your pet goes missing.

How Pet Microchips Work

A pet microchip is a tiny electronic device about the size of a grain of rice that stores a unique identification number. It has no battery and no moving parts. The chip stays inactive until a scanner passes over it and powers it with a low-frequency radio wave, which lets the chip send its number back to the reader.

The chip itself does not store your contact information or track your pet’s location. Instead, its number links to a registration database where you keep your contact details current. Animal shelters, veterinary clinics, and animal control facilities across the country use universal scanners that read all common microchip frequencies in the United States, so a found pet can be identified regardless of the chip’s manufacturer.

Registering Your Pet’s Microchip

A microchip only works if the chip number is registered with your current contact information. This is the step pet owners most often miss.

1. Register right away. Use the registration paperwork and chip number you receive when the chip is placed. Most manufacturers offer free lifetime registration, though some charge a small fee.
2. Register with the manufacturer at minimum. This makes sure your chip number appears when shelters and clinics search for it. Some universal databases accept any chip, which adds a second layer of protection.
3. Keep it current. Update your registration whenever you move, change phone numbers, or transfer ownership of your pet.
4. Check adopted pets. If you adopted from a shelter or rescue, find out whether your pet already has a chip and make sure the registration is in your name.

Keep your pet’s chip number, registry, and the registry’s customer service contact with your pet’s records so updates are quick.

Getting Your Pet Microchipped

The Procedure

The chip is placed under the skin, typically between the shoulder blades, with a needle slightly larger than a vaccine needle. Most pets tolerate it well with no sedation, and the whole process takes less than a minute. After placing the chip, the veterinary team scans it to confirm it reads correctly and records the number in your pet’s medical record. No special aftercare is needed.

When to Microchip

• Puppies and kittens can be microchipped as early as a few weeks old, though many veterinarians prefer to wait until pets are slightly older for proper placement.
• During spay or neuter surgery is a popular time, since your pet is already under anesthesia. Anesthesia is not required, though, and a chip can be placed at any routine visit.
• Adult and senior pets can be microchipped at any age with no age-related risks.
• Indoor-only pets should be microchipped too. They face particular danger if they escape because they are unfamiliar with the outdoors.

At Fish Creek Animal Hospital, our team can place a microchip during a wellness exam, another routine appointment, or your pet’s spay or neuter.

Are Microchips Safe?

Microchips are considered extremely safe. They are made from biocompatible materials that don’t react with body tissue. Migration, when a chip moves from where it was placed, is rare and usually doesn’t affect how it works. Infection or inflammation at the injection site is uncommon and typically resolves quickly.

Some owners worry about radiation or tracking. Microchips emit no signal unless activated by a scanner, and the radio energy involved is extremely low and poses no health risk to pets or people. Isolated cases of tumors at implant sites have been reported, but they are extraordinarily rare, and the benefits of permanent identification far outweigh this minimal risk.

Microchips also make a real difference in getting pets home. Microchipped dogs are more than twice as likely to be returned to their owners as unchipped dogs, and microchipped cats are returned at rates more than twenty times higher. This matters most for cats, which rarely wear collars.

Microchips, Collars, and Tags: Use Both

A microchip works best as backup to visible ID, not a replacement for it.

• Collar and ID tags: Give anyone who finds your pet immediate contact information without needing a scanner.
• Microchip: Provides permanent identification when a collar falls off or is removed.
• Current photos: Take clear photos from several angles, including any distinguishing marks, to help identify your pet if found without ID.

What to Do If Your Pet Goes Missing

1. Call local shelters, animal control, and veterinary clinics right away. Give them your pet’s microchip number and description, and ask them to check for any matching animals.
2. Visit shelters in person if you can. Staff may not always scan every animal that arrives.
3. Check your microchip registration. Make sure your contact information is current. Some registries offer lost pet alerts that notify local shelters and clinics when you report your pet missing.
4. Spread the word. Post on social media, neighborhood apps, and lost pet websites.

When a found pet is brought to our hospital, we scan for a microchip as standard practice and contact the registry to help reunite the pet with their family.

Questions About Microchipping Your Pet?

If you’d like to microchip your dog or cat, or you aren’t sure whether your pet already has a chip, our Montgomery team is happy to help. Request an appointment and we can scan or microchip your pet during the visit.

Frequently Asked Questions