It’s unlikely so many cats have been microchipped in one summer, ever. From June 1 through August 31, 59,074 cats were microchipped and enrolled in the HomeAgain Proactive Pet Recovery Network.
For the second consecutive summer, the Winn Feline Foundation teamed up with HomeAgain to enhance awareness of the importance of microchipping cats. “I feel like a microchip preacher,” says Winn board member, newspaper columnist and radio show host Steve Dale, who has publicly been out front to support microchipping. The preaching clearly mattered, despite the economy ” this summer, there was a 13.6 percent increase in the number of cats microchipped compared to last summer.
“I think we’re succeeding at finally getting our message out; cats need to be microchipped too,” says HomeAgain director and general manager Gary McPhee.
“Data shows even indoor cats get out,” adds Dr. Susan Little, Immediate Past President of Winn. “When they’re lost or in emergencies dogs generally wear some form of ID, but cats typically don’t, which arguably makes microchips even more important for cats. Microchipping cats is clearly the right thing to do. Some people don’t even think about it.” During last summer’s promotion, Dale even microchipped his own cat, Roxy. And he recorded a video to document the event (available at YouTube).
“The more cats microchipped, the more lives saved,” McPhee adds.
For each cat microchipped for the past two summers, HomeAgain donated one dollar to the Winn Feline Foundation.
“I can assure everyone this money will be used wisely to fund cat health research,” says Little. “Our success at microchipping cats is truly amazing news for many reasons. In this type of economy, the commitment to cat health is more important than ever.” Of course, some of those nearly 60,000 cats microchipped will be grateful they were microchipped; at some point in their lives, some will get out, and the microchip could save their lives.”
All cats will benefit from what researchers will learn as a result of the money donated to Winn. “This kind of promotion benefits everyone involved,” Little adds.
About Winn Feline Foundation
The Winn Feline Foundation is a non-profit organization established over 40 years ago to promote the health and welfare of cats through education and research. Veterinarians and cat owners benefit every day from research funded by Winn. For more on cat health, visit winnfelinehealth.org
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About HomeAgain
Since 1995, HomeAgain has been a leader in companion animal identification and lost pet recovery. Debuting in 2006, the new HomeAgain Proactive Pet Recovery Network is a proactive lost pet service that actually mobilizes veterinary clinics, shelters and volunteers at the first alert of a missing pet. With HomeAgain, a lost pet is successfully recovered approximately every six minutes. To date, more than six million pets in the United States have been enrolled in the HomeAgain program, resulting in more than 500,000 successful recoveries. For more information, visit homeagain.com. HomeAgain is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Schering-Plough Animal Health Corporation.