In March of 2023, the Government announced a change to the law around cat ownership. From the 10 June 2024 all owned cats in England, must be implanted with a microchip before the age of 20 weeks. It is the pet owner’s responsibility to ensure that the microchip number, along with the name, address and telephone number of the pet’s registered keeper, is held and kept up to date on a Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) compliant pet microchipping database, like Petlog. Owners found not to have microchipped their cat will have 21 days, within which to have a microchip implanted or face a possible fine of up to £500.
Petlog are urging all cat owners to not leave microchipping their cat, (or checking the details held with their cat’s microchip number are up to date), to the last minute. Proper maintenance of this information is vital for helping to keep your pet safe.
Background
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) estimates that as many as 2.8 million cats in the UK are unchipped, meaning that it would be difficult to reunite them with their owner if they were lost or stolen.
When does the legislation come into force?
The new rules will come into force from 10 June 2024.
What do I need to do?
In order to make sure you are ready for compulsory cat microchipping, you need to follow these steps:
- Make sure your cat is microchipped. You will either have documentation (or an account with a relevant microchip database). If you can’t find your pet’s microchip information, or are unsure if they were ever microchipped, you can ask your vet to check, by scanning your cat. If you don’t know which database your cat’s microchip information is held on, you can look this up on our home page. If your cat is microchipped with us, create an online account. You can follow the steps here
- Once your online account is created, log in and check your details are up to date, including your email address and phone number
- You can also upgrade to Petlog Premium for a one-time cost, so you can update your details as many times as you would like throughout your pet’s life
Petlog's position
Microchipping your pet and registering them on a Defra compliant database, alongside your name, address and phone number, is such a simple step but can be a life-saver for your pet, and gives you peace of mind.
Microchipping is already mandatory for dogs and ensuring that the same rules apply to cats underlines the Government’s commitment to keeping pets safe with rising concerns about pet theft.
Given the well reported shortages in the vet sector since the pandemic, we urge cat owners to not leave microchipping until the last minute but take action now, to ensure that their cat is kept safe and you are prepared for when the law changes.
A microchip is only as effective as the contact details on the database that the chip is registered with, so this is also a timely reminder to all pet owners to ensure that their contact details are up-to-date, in order to help ensure swift reunification.
Updating details
Address updates cost £10 for Petlog Basic customers but is free for customers on our Petlog Premium service. Upgrade today and read about some of the other benefits included in this service. If you are a Petlog customer and wish to check that your details are up-to-date, login to your account.
If your pet is not microchipped
If your pet is not currently microchipped, you can have one implanted by your vet, a private implanter who will also register your pet’s microchip on a microchipping database, such as Petlog. However, the database you pet is held on will depend on the microchip your implanter uses. If you’d like to be registered on Petlog, you may wish to double check with the vet/implanter before having your pet chipped. Alternatively, after the pet has been implanted you can request to have your details to Petlog. We urge pet owners to always check that the details entered by your implanter are correct. These will be used to help reunite you with your pet in
the event they going missing. To find out more about us and our benefits please see the about us page.