It is now against the law for owners not to have their cats microchipped, with owners given just 21 days to arrange this once their cats have been traced.
Failing to microchip will result in a £500 fine, in the hope this will help put an end to the soaring numbers of abandoned pets.
Running out of space
Animal charity RSPCA issued an urgent plea, as the number of abandoned cats surpassed the number of abandoned dogs across the last three weeks.
A total of 551 cats were brought into the rescue in June alone, leaving the charity desperate for space.
New legislation
“The process of microchipping involves the quick, simple and painless insertion of a chip, generally around the size of a grain of rice, under the skin. The microchip has a unique serial number that the keeper needs to register on a database." explained a spokesperson for Cats Matter.
"When a cat is found, the microchip can be read with a scanner and the registered keeper identified on a database so the pet can quickly be reunited with them.”.