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Suddenly, you feel something solid between your cat’s shoulder blades as you pet them. How can you tell if your cat has a microchip because most veterinarians place it there? Can You Feel a Microchip in a Cat?
Your cat’s microchip can be felt, to your delight! Your cat should have no problem finding it between the shoulder blades if they’ve been eating well and are otherwise in good health. In cats that are underweight, subcutaneous fat is less of a hindrance.
Many thousands of cats have had microchips scanned, put, and even x-rayed throughout the course of my decade-long career in animal welfare. What follows is an explanation of how to locate and feel your cat’s microchip.
What Does a Microchip Feel Like In A Cat?
A microchip is about the same size as a grain of rice, yet it has a significantly different texture. Even better, check out pictures to get a better concept of how it looks and feels like long grain rice.
How Do You Locate Your Cat’s Microchip?
The method of locating your cat’s microchip is simple. What you need to know:
It’s time to pamper your kitty! You should be able to locate your cat’s microchip when touching your cat without any official procedure.
To begin, begin by stroking your cat’s shoulders and looking for anything hard. The most common location for microchips is in the area between the clavicles, which has a lot of loose skin. Feel for the rice shape when caressing your cat between the shoulder blades with just one finger.
Begin by gently pinching up some of the loose skin in between your shoulders with your thumb and index finger. When it comes to loose skin, you don’t need to squeeze hard, but you do need to move it about.
Finally! To find your cat, use the gentle pinch approach if it has a microchip! Nevertheless, if you can’t detect it between your cat’s shoulder blades, check on either side of his shoulder as microchips can occasionally migrate.
In most cases, this will work, but in some cases, it may be more difficult to locate the microchip.
Suggested Read: What Is the Laziest Dog Breed?
What Happens If You Can’t Locate The Chip?
Check to see whether your cat has a microchip before anything else! It’s possible that the microchip has relocated, or that your cat is simply too big!
Is It Possible for My Cat to Be Too Heavy for Me to Detect the Microchip?
In the subcutaneous layer of your cat’s skin, microchips are implanted. This part of the epidermis can act as a sort of storage facility for fat and other nutrients. It becomes more difficult to detect a microchip in a cat’s subcutaneous layer as they acquire weight, just as it becomes more difficult to detect a cat’s ribs when they are fat.
If you’ve ever seen an underweight cat, you know how easy it is to feel the microchip just by caressing it. There is less skin to work with in fat cats, so the method of delicately pinching the loose skin to discover a microchip may not work as effectively.
Can A Cat’s Microchip Move?
It’s possible for a cat’s microchip to migrate to a different location over time. Make sure you remember that you can remove the microchip because it’s implanted in your subcutaneous layer. The majority of microchips remain in place, but some can migrate to the left or right shoulder of your cat. Gravity has a major influence in the migration of chips, therefore it makes reasonable that they are the most common locations. The feet of your cat are the most likely places for chips to end up, rather than the head or the back.
Can A Cat’s Microchip Fall Out?
Can You Feel a Microchip in a Cat? Assuming you can’t detect or locate your cat’s microchip, you may fear that it has slipped out. Despite the fact that it is feasible, this normally occurs only after the chip is implanted.
There are times when a needle with a microchip fails to entirely penetrate skin, allowing the microchip to slip out or never fully penetrate the skin. If the microchip slips out, it’s preferable for veterinary professionals to use a microchip scanner to make sure they didn’t miss it as they rubbed their fingers over the region.
A microchip is unlikely to fall out of your cat’s body once it has been implanted for several years or even just a few days.
What To Do If You’re Not Sure It’s a Chip?
Can You Feel a Microchip in a Cat? What if it’s not a microchip but something else entirely?
The best thing to do if you’re unsure is to contact your veterinarian. They’ll be able to tell right away if you’re feeling a mass or a microchip because they’ve seen hundreds and hundreds of them.
A microchip has an oblong rice form, but most skin growths and masses have a round shape. This isn’t medical advise by any means.
Things get even easier if you have a microchip scanner! It’s as simple as using your scanner to see if you’ve discovered the chip.
You should always consult your veterinarian if you’re ever concerned or unsure.
Final Words on Can You Feel a Microchip in a Cat?
It’s a lot of fun to find your cat’s microchip! My sense of security is heightened because I can actually feel it (just in case). As long as your veterinarian is scanning your cat’s microchip as part of their regular checkups, it’s a smart idea. Chips can malfunction and stop transmitting a signal, but this is rare.
Can You Feel a Microchip in a Cat? Make sure the chip is registered with you as well! Cats with microchips that haven’t been registered have come into the shelter numerous times during the course of my decade-long career in animal welfare. Because of this, the cat’s microchip is worthless and we have no method of identifying the owner of that cat.
FAQs on Can You Feel a Microchip in a Cat
Can we just put a microchip in a cat?
No, it’s not enough to simply touch the microchip! Make sure it’s operating and registered to you and your family before you use it.
