Why cat owner Louise fully supports Cats Protection's campaign to make microchipping compulsory for cats.

A cat owner who has been reunited with her missing moggy after three months has backed Cats Protection’s campaign for compulsory microchipping of pet cats.

Louise Mudd’s much-loved black puss Shimmer went missing from her home in Crown Square, Kirkbymoorside, in July.

The five-year-old cat was eventually found in October following a three-month search in which Louise and her daughters Melissa, 15, and Heather, 16, also found and reunited two other missing black cats.

Melissa and Louise Mudd reunited with their cat Shimmer

Louise explained: “When she went missing, we searched high and low for Shimmer, leafletted all the local houses and put up posters. There was absolutely no trace, and having spoken to neighbours we feared that she may have hopped in the back of a delivery van which had been in the area when she disappeared.

“Lots of people reported sightings of black cats to us, and we checked them all out. In two cases it turned out the cats were both missing, and because they had microchips we were able to reunite them with their owners.

“But there was still no trace of Shimmer until she turned up in our churchwarden’s garden near our home in October. He gave me a call and I went straight over. She was so thin and wretched I simply didn’t recognise her, and we needed to get a vet to scan her microchip before we realised it was actually her.

"We set out to look for Shimmer and ended up finding three lost black cats, and it was thanks to them being microchipped that we were able to do this. I fully support Cats Protection's campaign to make microchipping compulsory for cats, as it keeps cats safe and makes sure they can get home if they're lost."

The happy reunion comes as Cats Protection renews calls for a change in the law to ensure that all pet cats, like dogs, are microchipped.

Microchipping is a safe, permanent and cost-effective method of identification which ensures cats can be reunited with their owner should they go missing. It means lost cats are not mistaken as strays and taken in by rehoming charities.

Microchipping also ensures owners can be notified if their cat has been injured or killed in a road accident. Cats Protection encourages local councils to scan any cats they collect that have died in road accidents for a microchip so their owners can be informed.

Madison Rogers, Cats Protection’s Senior Advocacy & Government Relations Officer said: “It’s always lovely to hear of stories where cats have been reunited with their owners, but most of these happy endings are only possible if a cat has been microchipped.

“Microchipping is an essential part of responsible pet ownership and is already compulsory for dogs. This should now be extended to ensure all pet cats are microchipped, giving the same level of protection to keep them safe.”

A government call for evidence into the microchipping of cats was recently announced, giving animal lovers the chance to offer their views by contacting the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Cats Protection’s dedicated webpage is giving cat lovers the chance to have their say in the 12-week call for evidence, which runs until 4 January 2020. To send an e-letter to the government, please visit: https://www.cats.org.uk/what-we-do/campaigning/microchips-reunite.