Ziggy the cat reunited with his humans thanks to his microchip.

Pets can easily lose their collars and, without any additional identification, may never find their way home if they are injured, lost, or picked up by good Samaritans assuming the cat is either homeless or unable to find the original owners.

Luckily for the Woodrow family, their cat Ziggy had a microchip – an integrated circuit the size of a grain of rice that is injected under a cat or dog’s skin between the shoulder blades.

The family had recently moved and thought that their cat was well settled in their new home. After a few weeks, however, Ziggy failed to come home one day for his dinner.

For two months, the Woodrow family combed the streets with fliers and rattling cat treat bags, hoping to find their lost Ziggy. Just when they were giving up, they receive a call from the Bilton Veterinary Centre – Ziggy had been found, alive and well.

When a cat, dog, or other pet shows up at a shelter or veterinarian, they scan the pet for the possibility of a microchip, which contains the animal’s unique ID code, their name and description, owner contact information, primary veterinarian and alternate emergency contact information. Microchips use RFID technology and never wear out or need replacing… microchip scanners emit a low radio frequency that provides the chip power to transmit its code.

Without his microchip to identify him, it’s likely Ziggy never would have found his way home. Less than two percent of lost cats that enter animal shelters without a microchip are reunited with their families. For microchipped cats, that number rises dramatically to over 38%.

The Woodrows were ecstatic over the discovery and return of their beloved pet. When you microchip your pet, you give them the absolute best chance of coming back home to you.

To find out more about microchipping, visit HomeAgain’s FAQ page here.