What exactly are those pet microchips?

Question

Okay, you go to the vet, they inject a little chip in your cat's bum, and from then on they can read up on the animal.

Now, I'd like to know how this all works.

What is the chip?

Is it RFID?

what does the chip itself store, vs what is contained in external data systems accesses by the chip.

how big is it.

is it writable?

how is it read?

and most importantly,

can I get one?

Any takers?

Answer 1

its a really small micro computer

it contains:

*your name

*pets name

*liscense # of pet

*your adress

*vets adress

*vets phone #

writable? if meaning can you yourself put things on it?. No

only the vet can.

All shelters,vets, and humane societys have a black detector box that they slide over the pets body.

yes you can get one

but only through your vet

just go in and ask about it

their not super exspensive

but aboout 50-100

but worth it

to find your pet

hope i help

Answer 2

It is an RFID device in a hermetically sealed unit.  They are about the size of a large grain of rice.  The chip only stores its unique ID number - THAT IS ALL.  The other information is put into a database, and can be looked up by the chip's ID number.  They are not writable.  It is read by a special device that excites the device (using induction) and the device transmits its ID to the reader device.

You can get them at any veterinary clinic.  They are under 60$ US - injected (usually).  There is also an additional fee paid to the chip maker to put the information on the owner/pet in the database.  You can have the chip injected without the other fee, but when it is read, all that will come out is a number.