Can a microchip move in a cat?

Microchips are a great way of ensuring we can trace our cats and kittens once they leave here. It also means we can prove which cat has been tested at the veterinary surgery. It is important that a client can look at the risks and benefits of microchipping and assess if they would like their cat or kitten to be microchipped.

​In our opinion, if your cat is indoor only and is just a pet, then a microchip may not always be necessary. Normally the higher generations such as F1, F2 and F3 will be chipped here anyway due to their more agile and inquisitive natures, forcing them to sneak out a window or door! Occasionally a microchip may fail and this has happened to us mostly in receiving kittens from breeders and only a couple of occasions on outgoing cats or kittens. Sometimes the chips do wander to weird and wonderful places! One of our dogs arrived with two chip numbers due to this occurring also!

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Safety concerns with microchips
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While the procedure should cause little or no discomfort, it is important that only a veterinary surgeon or other properly trained individual administers the microchip as incorrect placement of a microchip can have severe consequences. Significant complications from the appropriate implantation of microchips in cats appear to be exceptionally rare. Data reviewed by the WSAVA suggest microchips are a safe and effective means of identifying pets. They also state that, of the many millions of animals that have been microchipped, only a tiny proportion have had any type of problem reported (and usually simply related to movement or loss of the chip).
The Microchip Advisory Group (MAG) monitors adverse events associated with microchipping in the UK. Between 1996 and 2011 a total of 431 adverse events had been reported in all species (dogs, cats, exotics, etc), representing an average of approximately 27 each year. The most common adverse events reported were:

• Movement of the microchip away from the implantation site (56%)
• Loss or failure of the microchip (28%)
• Infection at the site of implantation (6%)
• Swelling at the site of implantation (6%)

Concern has been raised by some about the potential for implanted microchips to cause some types of cancer at the microchip site (eg, fibrosarcomas), and this has been suggested as a reason to avoid microchipping. However, if microchips ever cause the formation of tumours in dogs and cats, the risk appears to be incredibly low. Data from the MAG show that from 1996 to 2011 there were just three reports of a tumour developing possibly as a result of the microchip across all species. Currently, in the published literature we are also aware of two case reports of cats and two case reports of dogs developing tumours at, or adjacent to, the site of a microchip. However, in none of these cases could the formation of the tumour be directly linked to the microchip itself.
If microchips are a cause of certain cancers in either dogs or cats, this appears to be exceptionally rare, and the benefits of microchips in providing permanent identification of cats (and dogs) vastly outweigh any potential risks. Nevertheless, where adverse events are suspected, it is important that these are always documented and notified to the appropriate authorities.

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