Unfortunately, there are no guarantees that your cat can be found, but if the cat is located, a microchip is your best bet to get the cat back home with you.

Some police and sheriff's departments have microchip scanners, and almost every veterinary clinic will have one. The first thing we do if a pet is brought to us, whether it is a dog or cat that somebody has found, is scan for that microchip. If we find one, we contact the database where the microchip is registered, so they can start phoning you and getting your cat back home.

Nearly every shelter I know has a microchip scanner and is more than happy to use it. They want your cat back home because there are enough cats in shelters, and they're really not looking for additional cats. They want your cat back with you.

Microchips are currently passive devices. They don't emit a signal like a GPS, so at this point, it will not identify where your cat is, like find-my-phone on your Apple phone. However, it is a way for a veterinary clinic, a police department, and a shelter to be able to find you and your phone number from the database where the microchip is registered.

The microchip is a great way for you to have permanent identification under your pet's skin. So if a cat gets lost or stolen or wanders away and shows up someplace at somebody's house, at a shelter, or a police department, they're going to be able to find your cat a way back home because they'll have a way to reach you by phone.

Collars and tags can be removed. We used to do a lot of tattoos, and even tattoos can be altered. So those aren't always a guarantee, but a microchip being under the skin is something people can't find and remove. That microchip will stay with your dog forever.

There are no promises. If dogs get lost, they can end up in places where we never find them. But if your dog is found, preferably alive, or if something terrible happened to them, at least you'll have some peace of mind knowing that if your dog is available to come back to you, they will find their way back home. Hopefully, anybody that finds the dog will take them to a veterinarian or a shelter that can scan that dog and help them find their way back home again.

Almost every shelter at this point has a scanning device, and most microchips are universal. So universally, it is something that a microchip scanner will pick up. It would be unusual for a shelter not to be able to scan a microchip.

Microchips are passive devices, so for right now, it doesn't emit a signal that goes to a satellite to identify the dog's location. That requires more of a GPS type of device, which is not as well developed at this point. If a police department, a veterinary clinic, a humane society, or a shelter scans the microchip, the microchip number is unique to you, and that shelter, police department, or veterinary clinic will be able to call the microchip company to get your contact information and help you get your dog back.