Caring for cats

Sir,

The UK’s biggest cat charity is asking animal lovers to get in touch with their local MP to urge them to support compulsory microchipping of pet cats.

Cats Protection is campaigning for microchipping to become a legal requirement for pet cats, as it already is for dogs, to help improve feline welfare.

We need to get as many MPs as possible to support a change in the law to make it compulsory to microchip pet cats. After years of campaigning by Cats Protection, major political parties put compulsory microchipping of cats in their 2019 election manifestos. But no progress has been made and the issue risks falling off the political agenda.

As a nation of animal lovers, we know that many people will want to see their local MP taking a keen interest in animal welfare issues. By getting in touch with your MP and asking them to join in our online event you’ll be helping us move a step closer to a law change which will benefit countless cats and kittens in the future.

Our campaign for compulsory microchipping of pet cats is one of a number of issues we’re working on to improve feline welfare across the UK. We’re grateful for support from players of People’s Postcode Lottery, which helps make this work possible and ensures a better future for one of the nation’s favourite pets.

Microchipping is the safe and permanent way to identify a cat and reunite a lost cat with their owner. Owners of unchipped cats can suffer unnecessary heartbreak not knowing the fate of their cat if they go missing. Despite this, statistics show that more than three million owned cats (29 per cent) are still not microchipped. Making microchipping compulsory will significantly drive up numbers of microchipped owned cats. Microchipping was made compulsory for dogs in 2016 and as a result 92 per cent are chipped. Yours,

Jacqui Cuff

Cats Protection