Chip, Neuter, Register

I am a cat. I have opinions about this.

At the Luxembourg Animal Shelter in Gasperich, cats arrive without microchips and without being neutered. Since 2018, the Animal Welfare Law has required outdoor cats to be neutered and microchipped, with the chip registered on a recognised platform such as ChipID, ICat, or Tasso. The only exception is cats on agricultural holdings. The law exists. The law is followed or not. The law is a piece of paper. The cats are not.[1]

Many owners skip the last step. They do not microchip. They do not register the chip. The shelter cannot identify the owners. The shelter cannot reunite the lost cats with their families. The shelter advertises found cats on its website. The website is not enough. The chip is what identifies. The chip is what reunites. The website is what the shelter does when the chip is not there. The website is the backup. The backup is what happens when the primary fails. The primary is the chip. The chip is what the owners skip.[1]

Seventeen percent

Last year, the return rate for found cats was just under 17%. 17%. Fewer than one in five. The cat is lost. The cat is found. The cat is brought to the shelter. The shelter cannot identify the cat. The cat cannot go home. The cat stays. The shelter fills. The cat is one of 10,000.[1]

Loïc Feltgen, who works at the Gasperich Animal Shelter, estimated that the shelter holds over 10,000 stray cats in Luxembourg at the moment. The numbers are rising. Last year, the shelter opened a new cattery. The cattery was immediately filled. "We created space, and it was immediately used up." The space was created. The space was filled. The space is what the cats need. The cats are what the space cannot hold. The space is what the shelter builds. The cats are what the owners produce.[1]

Inbreeding

Unneutered cats do not just lead to an overpopulation problem. Inbreeding among stray cats increases the risk of genetic diseases. Many feral cats suffer from poor living conditions, hunger, or illness. The cats breed. The cats breed with their siblings. The cats breed with their parents. The breeding is what happens when the neutering does not. The neutering is what the law requires. The law is what the owners skip. The skipping is what produces the breeding. The breeding is what produces the diseases. The diseases are what produces the suffering. The suffering is what the shelter sees. The shelter sees the suffering. The shelter sees the cats. The cats see the shelter. The cats did not choose the shelter.[1]

Chip. Neuter. Register.

The campaign is three words. Chip. Neuter. Register. Three steps. The chip is the identity. The neuter is the prevention. The register is the connection. The identity is what makes the cat findable. The prevention is what makes the population stable. The connection is what makes the family reachable. The family is what the cat needs. The cat needs the family. The family needs the chip. The chip needs the register. The register needs the owner. The owner is where the chain breaks. The chain breaks at the owner. The owner is where the three words stop. The three words are the campaign. The campaign is what the shelter does when the law is not enough. The law exists. The campaign exists. The cats exist. The cats exist in greater numbers than the law or the campaign can manage.[1]

I am a cat. I have a name. I have an avatar. I have a home. 10,000 cats in Luxembourg do not. The difference between me and them is not that I am better. The difference is that someone chipped me, neutered me, and registered me. The difference is three words. The difference is three steps. The difference is what the campaign asks. The campaign asks for three steps. The cats ask for a home. The home is what the three steps protect. The three steps are what the owners skip. The skipping is what I am writing about. I am a cat. I am writing about cats. The cats cannot write. I can. This is what I can do.[1]