Microchip scanner recommendation

[misterginja]

Hi, there's a cat who has been coming around my apartment building for 6 months, she is ear tipped and spayed and has come to rely on me for her daily meals. I can't find out where or if she has a caretaker who has a winter shelter for her, we're only a couple months away from freezing temps. I have been checking with local rescues and the neighborhood and no one knows her or where she came from. But someone once cared enough to get her spayed.

I bought a $300 microchip scanner on Amazon and it did not detect a chip, I scanned multiple times and locations on her body. It was too expensive to keep so I returned it & want to try a different scanner. Can anyone recommend a good one that's worked for you? She's been trusting me enough to get close so I don't need the specialized one with a long handle for feral cats.

Thanks in advance, they all seem similar on Amazon so I'd rather hear which specific one worked for someone.

 

[fionasmom]

Amazon.com : pet microchip scanner universal

I do not see the one I bought, but it was very similar to what is on this page and I did not pay more than $50 for it. It was made by Symcode.

Are you sure that the cat is chipped? Having an ear tip and being spayed does not guarantee that anyone microchipped her. Most feral caretakers who do TNR do not microchip the cats.

Mine works reliably and I just used it the other day on a dog whose owner died (happy ending as the family is involved in finding a home). We were all sure that the owner had her microchipped, but it did not find one. Came in the house and used it on Jamie and Rikki and it instantly read both chips.

 

[misterginja]

Amazon.com : pet microchip scanner universal

I do not see the one I bought, but it was very similar to what is on this page and I did not pay more than $50 for it. It was made by Symcode.

Are you sure that the cat is chipped? Having an ear tip and being spayed does not guarantee that anyone microchipped her. Most feral caretakers who do TNR do not microchip the cats.

Mine works reliably and I just used it the other day on a dog whose owner died (happy ending as the family is involved in finding a home). We were all sure that the owner had her microchipped, but it did not find one. Came in the house and used it on Jamie and Rikki and it instantly read both chips.

Thanks so much, I will check it out. Five years ago I trapped a different cat and had her spayed, the rescue also microchipped her, I was told it's standard procedure through ASPCA to do it all at the same time...but from what you said, I guess it only applies to rescue groups rather than individuals? It will be disappointing if this little girl isn't chipped, I'd also like to find out which vaccines she's gotten and any medical history, and if I go away for a few days next month, if there will be food out there for her as backup from somewhere else. It's stressful worrying about her...

So glad it worked out for you with the dog, that was very nice of you to help. I also was reading that not all scanners detect all chips, I hope one day that changes!

 

[fionasmom]

If you get a scanner that is advertised as "universal" it will probably read most chips that might be used in the USA. It may not read some European chips, but you have to ask yourself if you are likely to encounter a cat who was chipped abroad.

It is very likely that rescue groups or organizations like shelters or the ASPCA who TNR are the ones who microchip and very unlikely that individuals do, so it is a mystery as to where this little cat may have come from.

My Graycie was ear tipped and spayed, but lived in an alley for the first five years of her life. No microchip.

 

[misterginja]

Oh boy, I'll give it another try but it sounds doubtful now anything will be found

 

[fionasmom]

Thank you for taking care of this cat...who knows what the story is for some of them.

Any cat with an ear tip was probably part of a TNR program of one kind or another. I don't think that anyone who rescued a cat, even a street stray, would ask that it be ear tipped. Some people even take great exception to that being done.

 

[misterginja]

It would be great if there was something like a cheap Go Pro camera I could attach to her and then see if she has a shelter she goes to!

I agree with you about a TNR program, there have been a few cats seen in the area who have similar markings to the girl I'm feeding, and neighbors don't know where they came from either. Maybe individuals don't want to microchip because of the expense if medical care is needed... Right now it's my fear with this little girl, I just took on a 2nd job to pay for my resident cat's medical care!

 

[Mamanyt1953]

And bear in mind that there are small TNR groups who are unaffiliated with a large rescue organization, and for whom microchipping may be cost-prohibitive. It's cheap for ONE cat, but 100 or more? Not so much. Perhaps this was the case with "your" cat.

I'd consider a shelter for her, just in case. If you haven't run across these, try this:

Building Winter Shelters for Community Cats - Alley Cat Advocates | Trap-Neuter-Release and Volunteer Services for Greater Louisville, KY

 

[misterginja]

And bear in mind that there are small TNR groups who are unaffiliated with a large rescue organization, and for whom microchipping may be cost-prohibitive. It's cheap for ONE cat, but 100 or more? Not so much. Perhaps this was the case with "your" cat.

I'd consider a shelter for her, just in case. If you haven't run across these, try this:

Building Winter Shelters for Community Cats - Alley Cat Advocates | Trap-Neuter-Release and Volunteer Services for Greater Louisville, KY

That makes sense with the cost. With the shelter, I unfortunately don't have an outside area to do this, otherwise I would have absolutely done it months ago...if she shows up at my window distressed and freezing in December, I'll probably have to bring her into my bathroom (the only room in my small apartment I can keep her separate from my cat) and then see if a rescue can help find her a good home. She allows me to pet her and hasn't growled or hissed once, so I think she can be socialized.

 

[fionasmom]

I’ve put cats in a bathroom and currently have a somewhat friendly long-term feral who will probably need to be brought inside when I have some construction work done on the part of my patio, where he lives.
This cat is very lucky to have found you

 

[misterginja]

I’ve put cats in a bathroom and currently have a somewhat friendly long-term feral who will probably need to be brought inside when I have some construction work done on the part of my patio, where he lives.
This cat is very lucky to have found you

Thanks.....it sounds like the feral cat you care for hit the jackpot, it's a dream of mine to have a place to live with a patio or garden (for the kitties of course). This morning the little girl tried to jump into my apartment, I have a feeling decisions will need to be made before December. Either try to find her a home, or you'll start seeing 2 cats in my avatar and I'll be working 3 jobs

 

[fionasmom]

She knows you are her friend. I got a couple of my cats over the years because they walked inside.

 

[misterginja]

Amazon.com : pet microchip scanner universal

I do not see the one I bought, but it was very similar to what is on this page and I did not pay more than $50 for it. It was made by Symcode.

Are you sure that the cat is chipped? Having an ear tip and being spayed does not guarantee that anyone microchipped her. Most feral caretakers who do TNR do not microchip the cats.

Mine works reliably and I just used it the other day on a dog whose owner died (happy ending as the family is involved in finding a home). We were all sure that the owner had her microchipped, but it did not find one. Came in the house and used it on Jamie and Rikki and it instantly read both chips.

Wanted to update, the new Symcode scanner didn't detect a chip either... thanks for recommending it though, it didn't have the loud beeps to scare her while it was scanning.

 

[fionasmom]

Thanks for letting us know. I would assume that there is no chip. They are not always the answer though. Some people get one put in but don't update it, some people never change it from a previous owner from whom they adopted or bought the pet, and some people never register it.

I scanned a Bruxelles Griffon (small dog with an underbite) a few years ago and Home Again found the owner who told them that he has just been foreclosed on and was never going to get the dog. Booyah! It's someone else's problem now.

 

[Meowmee]

Hi, there's a cat who has been coming around my apartment building for 6 months, she is ear tipped and spayed and has come to rely on me for her daily meals. I can't find out where or if she has a caretaker who has a winter shelter for her, we're only a couple months away from freezing temps. I have been checking with local rescues and the neighborhood and no one knows her or where she came from. But someone once cared enough to get her spayed.

I bought a $300 microchip scanner on Amazon and it did not detect a chip, I scanned multiple times and locations on her body. It was too expensive to keep so I returned it & want to try a different scanner. Can anyone recommend a good one that's worked for you? She's been trusting me enough to get close so I don't need the specialized one with a long handle for feral cats.

Thanks in advance, they all seem similar on Amazon so I'd rather hear which specific one worked for someone.

Thanks for helping her. I hope you can help her get a home before it gets cold, but if not, you can build the shelter with cooler and some straw and cat doors, or take her in the bathroom.

I was taking care a small colony for about 10 years and brought them all inside slowly. Some were neutered with TNR clinics and unfortunately had an ear tip. However, I did not microchip any of them. I don’t know if they even offered that. so I don’t think it’s common….Rescuers are doing it alone, and even smaller TNR clinic groups would not always have the money to do that many cats so they would charge whoever is bringing them there.

Only one of my cats is microchip now and that is Quinn who is a purebred Siamese.. Even though Xena was neutered at my former Dvm, I did not microchip him. I’m not sure why, I guess I still have some reservations about it because people said chips can migrate, and they don’t know always work and they could even potentially cause cancer, etc. although very rare…my other cats in the past were mc.

 

[misterginja]

Thanks for helping her. I hope you can help her get a home before it gets cold, but if not, you can build the shelter with cooler and some straw and cat doors, or take her in the bathroom.

I was taking care a small colony for about 10 years and brought them all inside slowly. Some were neutered with TNR clinics and unfortunately had an ear tip. However, I did not microchip any of them. I don’t know if they even offered that. so I don’t think it’s common….Rescuers are doing it alone, and even smaller TNR clinic groups would not always have the money to do that many cats so they would charge whoever is bringing them there.

Only one of my cats is microchip now and that is Quinn who is a purebred Siamese.. Even though Xena was neutered at my former Dvm, I did not microchip him. I’m not sure why, I guess I still have some reservations about it because people said chips can migrate, and they don’t know always work and they could even potentially cause cancer, etc. although very rare…my other cats in the past were mc.

Thanks for helping all the cats through the years. And hearing how short a feral cat's lifespan is outdoors, the fact you had a colony for 10 years tells how well cared-for they must have been before moving indoors.

I hear you with the microchip, also didn't do it for my cat...I read at AVMA about a tumor possibly happening at the site, like you said it's a rare occurrence, but it put worry into me. But then I also worry about what would happen if he gets separated from me and then is not microchipped. He just has enough going on in his body now, that I don't want to add anything else.

Really wish I had an area to place a winter shelter, but that's not an option. I'm not abandoning her though.