Microchipping dramatically improves the chance of reuniting lost cats with owners. It also enables welfare oversight and disease management at population level.
The welfare benefit of microchipping lies entirely in reunion after separation. A cat lost without identification faces a range of welfare risks — road traffic, starvation, exposure, and disease — for however long it takes to find its way home or be found by someone who can help. Microchipping dramatically reduces the duration of this welfare risk by enabling rapid reunion. The welfare cost of the procedure is minimal — a brief, sharp pain no more significant than a vaccination. Failure to microchip reflects an underestimation of the risk and welfare consequences of pet loss.