Lytham St. Anne’s cat owners need to be aware that new legislation means their pet must be implanted with a microchip.  This microchipping must occur before they reach the age of 20 weeks and the cats contact details stored and kept up to date in a pet microchipping database. All owners must have their cat microchipped by 10 June 2024 and owners found not to have microchipped their cat will have 21 days to have one implanted, or may face a fine of up to £500.

The process of microchipping involves the insertion of a chip, generally around the size of a grain of rice, under the skin of a pet. The microchip has a unique serial number that the keeper needs to register on a database. When an animal 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.

The Government says that it will not be compulsory for free living cats that live with little or no human interaction or dependency, such as feral cats.

Rule-changes are intended to reduce the number of stray cats in the UK and make it easier for authorities to reunite the pets with their owners.

Government figures currently suggest 2.3 million of the 9 million cats in Britain are not microchipped.