3/4 Jersey cats not microchipped or registered incorrectly

Petowners are being urged to register their cats correctly, as it is revealed that around half are not microchipped, and of those that are, a significant number have outdated or no details.

The  JSPCA says the first thing the team does when a cat comes into its care is scan it for a microchip.

However, around half of those who come to them do not have one.

Katie Kay from the JSPCA says the number of cats that come through their doors, or that they come in contact with, is huge.

"If the cats don't have a microchip, then we don't know who the owner is.

"If we have a cat who comes to us deceased, it's even harder to reunite them with their owner, and that's really important to us.

"We know as animal lovers how important it is to know what's happened to your animal and to have that closure."

A further quarter of those cats have incorrect information connected to their chips, whether it be the details of a previous owner or animal shelter.

The charity says when cats are reunited their their owners, they are surprised the microchips are not updated.

Katie Kay says it is the responsibility of the owner.

"A significant number of people have assumed that their microchips have been updated already.

"Some vets and rescue centres will update microchip details, but not all of them will.

"When this isn't done, people believe it is done and then are surprised when we can't get in touch with them when they need to."

The JSPCA has partnered with the Jersey Cat Search Group, which helps to reunite owners with their pets, to do a drop-in clinic.

Islanders can bring their cats along to be scanned or use their pet's microchip number to double-check the details attached.

Katie says the most eye-opening part of their first clinic was that all of the cats which came to the drop-in session had incorrect information on their chips.

"The last thing we want is to know somebody is missing their animal and doesn't know where they are or what might have happened.

"Our priority is reuniting pets with their owners, and microchipping is always going to be the easiest and most fail-safe way of doing that."

The first drop-in session was on 31 January 2026, with the next due to be announced.

On the number of stray cats being reported, the JSPCA says there has been an increase in concerns on social media.

However, it believes this only highlights the need for cats to be registered correctly.

Katie Kay says, if they can easily tell whether a cat lives close-by or is lost, they can decide what to do next.

"We don't want to pick up a cat who is just happily wandering around their home, happily getting on with their lives, and there's nothing wrong with them, but sometimes if we've had a concern raised by the public it may be that a cat does end up coming into our care and we need to scan it and reunite with the owner.

"If we're called out to a stray cat and we're able to microchip it there and then and realise they live nearby, that cat doesn't need to come into us."