Yes, they are really cheap and the law (here in Sweden at least) requires all outdoor cats to be chipped. So the cat is probably already chipped anyway.
Even if for some reason you didn’t want to chip your cat (you should absolutely chip your cats and dogs) it would be trivial to just put a tiny receiver in something that dangles off their collar for the door to communicate with.
You store your contact information on the chip. Then, if your pet gets out and someone finds it they can take it to the vet to have the chip read. Then they can contact you and give you your pet back.
You could, of course, have your contact details on their collar. But collars can come off or break. And if you’re worried about privacy, literally anyone can just read the tag on your pet’s collar. Most people aren’t going to have the equipment on hand to read a chip.
Yes, they are really cheap and the law (here in Sweden at least) requires all outdoor cats to be chipped. So the cat is probably already chipped anyway.
Even if for some reason you didn’t want to chip your cat (you should absolutely chip your cats and dogs) it would be trivial to just put a tiny receiver in something that dangles off their collar for the door to communicate with.
Why should you? As a non-cat owner, I am curious about the privacy implecations of it. Also the benefits.
You store your contact information on the chip. Then, if your pet gets out and someone finds it they can take it to the vet to have the chip read. Then they can contact you and give you your pet back.
You could, of course, have your contact details on their collar. But collars can come off or break. And if you’re worried about privacy, literally anyone can just read the tag on your pet’s collar. Most people aren’t going to have the equipment on hand to read a chip.
Are they RFID?