Microchipping Your Puppy or Kitten: What to Expect Before, During and After
Getting your new puppy or kitten chipped is quick and painless, and knowing who does it, what it costs and how to check the registration takes the worry out of it.
A new puppy or kitten needs microchipping, and the process is simpler than it sounds. If you’ve collected your pet from a breeder or rescue, you shouldn’t need to arrange the chipping itself, your job is to check the record is in your name. If you’ve bred the litter yourself or taken on an older unchipped pet, a vet appointment is where to start.
Who is responsible for microchipping a puppy
If you’re collecting a puppy from a breeder, the chipping should already be done. In England, the “keeper” of a puppy that hasn’t yet left its mother is the owner of the mother, which in practice means the breeder. The keeper, meaning the person the animal lives with, is responsible for getting the puppy chipped and registered.
On top of that, in England a cat or dog must be microchipped before transfer to a new owner, or a vet must have signed an exemption certificate. So a puppy should never arrive with you unchipped, and the breeder should hand over the chip paperwork or clear transfer instructions. Our page on why puppies must be microchipped before adoption explains this in more detail, and breeders can read our breeder’s guide to microchipping a litter.
Sometimes the job falls to you as the new owner. That’s the case if you’ve bred the litter yourself, taken on an older unchipped pet, or your kitten came from somewhere that didn’t chip them. In England, a cat older than 20 weeks must be microchipped.
Who can microchip your puppy or kitten
In England, the law is strict about who can implant a chip. Only a vet, a vet nurse or student under a vet’s direction, or someone who has passed an approved training course may do it. That means your vet practice is the usual route, but trained implanters at some charities and rescue centres can do it too. Our guide to where to get a puppy or kitten microchipped covers vets, charities and free schemes.
Before the appointment: what to bring and what to ask
There’s very little to prepare. Bring your own contact details: your full name, address and phone number, since these are what go on the database record. If your pet is already chipped and you’re booking to have it checked or re-registered instead, bring any paperwork the breeder or rescue gave you, including the chip number.
Blue Cross, the animal welfare charity, puts the vet or vet nurse’s fee at around £10 to £30, sometimes with a consultation fee on top. That usually covers placing the chip and the first database registration.
One question is worth asking when you book: will the practice register the chip, or does that fall to you? The British Veterinary Association is clear that registering is the owner’s responsibility, not the practice’s, although many vets will do it for you or remind you to.
What happens during microchipping
The chip is a tiny identification device, about the size of a grain of rice, holding a unique number a scanner can read. It goes under the skin on the midline of the back, between the shoulder blades, using a needle, and the whole thing takes a few seconds. No anaesthetic is needed for a routine chipping.
Before anything goes in, the vet will check your pet over with a scanner, since scanning for an existing chip before implanting another one is standard practice. Scanning the new chip beforehand confirms it’s working, and a scan afterwards confirms it’s in place. This is good practice rather than a legal requirement.
If you’d like to see it working, you can ask the vet to scan the chip so you see the number. If you’re curious about the hardware, our page on how big a pet microchip is goes into the different chips in use.
Aftercare in the days after
Some pets occasionally get a small swelling as a reaction to the needle, which usually settles on its own within a few days. Contact your vet straight away if you think your pet has had a reaction to the chip. Otherwise, keep an eye on the spot for a day or two and let your pet get on with being a puppy or kitten.
Check the registration is in your name
Don’t assume the job is finished when you leave the practice. Check the registration has happened once you’re home.
If the practice registered the chip for you, you should receive confirmation from the database with the chip number and the details held. Read it and make sure your name, address and phone number are right. If nothing arrives, ring the practice and ask which database they used, then follow up with that database directly.
If the answer was no, that’s your next task. You can register your pet’s microchip with Pet Database. The same applies if your puppy or kitten was chipped by a breeder or rescue: the chip exists, but the record needs to be in your name, not theirs.
Common questions
Can my kitten be chipped while it's being neutered?
Yes. A kitten can be chipped at the same time as being neutered, when they’re already under anaesthetic and won’t feel a thing. Ask your vet when you book the neutering appointment.
If you want to keep the number of visits down, a kitten can be microchipped, vaccinated and neutered all in one vet appointment. Arranging that before your kitten first goes outside is a sensible aim.
What if my puppy is too small to be chipped yet?
If your vet suggests waiting, ask about timing. Our page on the best age to microchip a puppy or kitten explains how vets judge it.
Does microchipping hurt?
The procedure involves a needle and may be uncomfortable for a few seconds. For the full picture, see our page on whether microchipping hurts puppies or kittens.
Once the chip is in, the next step is registering it with your details on a database. You can do that now with Pet Database, and keeping the record in your name from day one is what makes the chip do its job.
