Cat-astrophe

Some one here has posted good things about quarantine.  I don't remember who, but you might could find it searching the PETS board.

I thought I was going to have to quarantine my dog last summer, and I was actually surprised at how relatively pleasant the facilities seemed (this was just by looking at the websites--I never visited).  Have you looked at the websites yet?   I think some places specialize in cats, and there are facilities all over the place, so it might be that you can find one relatively close and go visit your kitty regularly.

I'm so sorry that this happened to you!  I have just started the process, and I'm such a nervous wreck already--the thought that a microchip might go missing after all that fuss (and money!) is just awful!

My dog's chip disappeared sometime between when it was implanted and when I checked it before starting on the PETS program.  Apparently, it's rare but they do sometimes malfunction. 
They're so small-about the size of a piece of orzo-I have a hard time believing they could see the thing on an x-ray.

I checked out the quarantine places and they seemed nice--but expensive. I'm so sorry it didn't work out! And after all that effort, too!!

Smocha I am so shocked and horrified to hear of this.

I've read of chips moving about and these days I feel around on my own cat and I suspect the chip seems to be gone from the spot where it used to be.

But for that to happen at this crucial juncture causing these consequences......this is devastating and my heart goes out to you. I am so sorry.

And all your paperwork was great -- it's the chip that has burgered everything up.......

Hope someone with quarantine experience posts soon -- I remember reading some threads where someone said the facilities their pet went to were very good.

So sad for you and kitty; hugging you.

HI Guys,

I was able to see my baby yesterday. The place is not as horrible as I had imagined. But it is quite a small little room ,to think of it for 6 months. It is also unheated. My cat has been spoiled rotten since he was a tiny baby.

The whole thing is just so heartbreaking.All the trouble it was to make sure that paperwork was done right and then something totally unforseen ,like this happens.

I am afraid his spirit will be broken.

Oh no! This is awful. I am so sorry for you and your feline friend.

I hope you live close by so you can visit frequently. Still - it's the worst case scenario after all the stress with preparing for the PETS scheme. I can only imagine the state you must be in.

Please remember that cats are very resilient! Yes, they may withdraw while in confinement but usually bounce back as soon as they are out. I've seen it many times while volunteering at the SPCA hospital in San Francisco.

Good Luck!! Keep us posted.

My dog's chip disappeared sometime between when it was implanted and when I checked it before starting on the PETS program.  Apparently, it's rare but they do sometimes malfunction. 
They're so small-about the size of a piece of orzo-I have a hard time believing they could see the thing on an x-ray.

I checked out the quarantine places and they seemed nice--but expensive. I'm so sorry it didn't work out! And after all that effort, too!!

You're right, they can malfunction and they can migrate...

One of our joke answers in school, if we can't tell whats wrong with a case that has been presented to us is "migrating grass awn". Grass awns can actually get snarfed up by dogs and you would be shocked at how much trouble a migrating piece of grass can actually cause!

Also, microchips are actually quite visible on radiographs - they are metal opacity so they usually look like little bright white pieces of rice.

Heh. I had to look up "awn."

Most of the Google hits were for grass awn illness in dogs. 

i had never heard of "awn" either.

What if the chip is "encrypted"? His was a new-ish kind and when I read about it ,it said it is encrypted. Think it would still show up on an ex-ray?

BTW, I wrote (emailed) the makers of his chip about 4 days ago and have not heard one word back from them. I am not thinking too highly of them right now:(

Hm. I need to look up 'awn'...

If they're really visible on x-ray( and I doubt encryption would change that, it's still a bit of metal) what happened to it? Could it get out of the body?
I was thinking that it may be behind a dense bit of bone.

Do you have any other quarantine facilities near by you could transfer the kitty to if you like them better? I read another thread(don't remember where) where someone moved their dog to be closer to them, didn't like it, and moved the dog back.

Hm. I need to look up 'awn'...

If they're really visible on x-ray( and I doubt encryption would change that, it's still a bit of metal) what happened to it? Could it get out of the body?
I was thinking that it may be behind a dense bit of bone.

I honestly don't know what might have happened to it...like someone mentioned earlier about bits of glass/shrapnel being expelled through someones skin after years I suppose that might be possible. Its possible that it wasn't implanted correctly (she said her kitty struggled mightily) and it wasn't seated right in the subcutaneous tissues. Who knows! Its a terrible situation though.

As for radiographs, yes I expect that it should be visible. This may not be the standard at some places, but at school when you take radiographs you always take orthogonal* views - so that you can try to triangulate things in space. When you only have one image to look at, well you only know the 2-D story. So its possible on one view the microchip could be "hiding" behind something like bone. But when you take two views if that is the case then it *should* show up.

Then again, I suppose its possible it could be missed even if its there. Vets are only human, after all.


* http://www.webreference.com/3d/glossary/orthog.html

Update : My cat Cavuto and I left England and returned to the US .We will wait out his quarantine here.
What an expensive nightmare this has been.


http://catsonthecounter.blogspot.com/

Update : My cat Cavuto and I left England and returned to the US .We will wait out his quarantine here.
What an expensive nightmare this has been.


http://catsonthecounter.blogspot.com/

I'm sorry it didn't work out, here's hoping the next chip stays in place!