My German shepherd pup is tattooed. Breeder had all litter done before they le them go. I have also had her chipped as well. Never heard of it been done to cats though

I haven't heard of tattooing cats for ID, but I know its not uncommon in dogs (although not as popular as microchipping).

The breeder we got Solo from had all her pups tattooed before they went to new homes, its just an alternative to chipping. Like with chips there is a registry where details of the owner are held, so lost dogs can be reunited with them.

Both methods have their pro's and cons.

Obviously a tattoo can fade or distort over time making it illegible, but occassionally microchips have been known to migrate or very rarely cause problems.
Tattoos have the bonus of being visible - if the dog is picked up straying etc it is clear to anyone that it is (or at least was) owned, and assuming the tattoo is legible the owner can be traced. Even these days not everyone automatically scans lost dogs for a chip.

I don't think either method is more or less painful than the other - microchipping is like an injection - just with a bloody enormous needle the size of a fork prong. Tattooing is done NOT using a gun like human art tattoos, but using a stamp which does the whole lot in one hit, the ink is then rubbed in. It shouldn't be than the momentry pain like that of an injection.

IMO its personal choice. I would usually go for chipping just because its the norm these days (my cats are chipped), but I don't see that either method is "better".

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"For all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams it is still a beautiful world"

Franklin who passed away 3 years ago this month had too get a tattoo to move to Sweden in '96 so I think its the predecessor of microchips to identify pets

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Mummy to;

Sooty 9.6.1996 - 28.04.2011 Rest in peace my love!
Storm (Sueragdandy Phantom) 28.02.2010
Benji (Kassaro Benjamin Franklyn) 08.03.2011

They do tatoo cats in Aus, but the tatoos are to indicate that the cat is microchipped (right ear) and desexed (left ear) rather than as an identification means.

notsure

I've read this article about a microchipped cat last week and I wanted to share with you all.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/15/ny...l?ref=nyregion

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