As the name somewhat implies, diagnostic imaging provides images that are used to help us attain a diagnosis. It's as simple as that. So what do they entail? The most common are X-rays, radiographs if you will, ultrasound, and then some of the more advanced modalities would be things like MRI or CT scans. So how do you determine which one is the most applicable or the most useful in a situation? It varies tremendously on how the animal presents. If you're looking at bones, then most of the time a simple X-ray is going to be fine. And I say a simple X-ray just because they're very common. They're readily available at almost any veterinary clinic. If you need to look at the internal structure of the liver or the spleen or something like that, X-rays are probably not the best one for that. You're going to want something like an ultrasound that can actually see what the integrity of the internal components of that organ looks like. So that would be a case where maybe ultrasound might be more applicable. So rather than go through every device or every situation one by one, it really depends on what the presenting complaints or signs are that will dictate what type of imaging is best used.

I'd love to answer that, yes, but unfortunately, the answer is no. Why? Because it's not a tracking device. If the cat shows up at somebody else's house and they say, "Oh, look at this cute little kitty," and they just take him, it doesn’t mean they're bad people. But if they never take the cat to a vet or a shelter, they have no way to know that the cat belonged to someone else before. Unfortunately, microchipping doesn't guarantee you'll get the cat back, but I would certainly say that it will increase the odds that you will get them back.

Most veterinarians nowadays have that. The technology's changed a lot in the 20 or so years. When microchipping was first invented, whatever brand of chip was implanted, you'd have to have their scanner to detect it. So you could have a scanner for brand A, and that cat was microchipped with brand B, and it wasn’t going to pick it up. Thankfully, it's not like that anymore. Now, they have universal scanners that can detect any make and model of chip, making it quick and easy to identify.

I think I can safely say yes, but I don't work in shelters, so I don't know how they operate. That is absolutely what they should be doing. Every animal that is picked up should be scanned when it gets back to the shelter and, if so, it's not all that difficult to find your information, as I just mentioned, and to reunite that cat with their owner.

Unfortunately, no. To know a location, we would have to have some sort of a GPS device or signal. This is different—microchips use what's called R-F-I-D, Radio Frequency Identification. What this means is that when the chip is scanned, it sends a very quick signal to the reader, and it is just a unique number— usually a 16 or so digit number. And if you’ve taken the time to register that microchip and you linked your contact information to it, then you will have your cat returned to you. Any time that number is scanned, it will allow us as veterinarians or employees at animal control to pull up your information, so that we can call you and say, "Hey, we have Fluffy at our clinic," and that's how you're reunited. Unfortunately, it’s not a GPS though.