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There are several leaders in microchip technology. Several of these are AVID PetTrack system (http://www.AVIDID.com or http://www.avidmicrochip.com/), IdentIchip (http://www.identichip.com), and HomeAgain Companion Animal Retrieval System (http://www.spah.com/usa/products/fulldescr.cfm?prodid=273&sID=1). Each company has its own system and its own database.
In several states, California included, AVID has backup computer databases to ensure your animal's records are kept even if the veterinarian office you are registered with is destroyed. AVID is widely used, but one of its downsides is that it can easily move around inside the cat's body. The pets' backs have to be scanned as opposed to HomeAgain's microchip with an anti-migration cap where only the area between the shoulders needs to be scanned. Some scanners do not pick up other brand's microchip codes, but they do detect that there is a microchip inside of the pet. The person scanning can go to a place with a universal scanner, which can read all of the codes. If you find a stray animal without tags, it is smart to go to a vet or a shelter that has a scanner to see if the animal has a microchip implanted.
In the case of natural disasters, many animals are lost and most do not get returned home. Often this it is because some indoor cats do not have tags or the tags fall off during the flood, hurricane, earthquake, etc. Those that have microchips implanted are quickly returned to their owners and there are no complications.
Lake Forest Pet Hospital, in El Dorado Hills, recommends microchips for pets and offers special kitten and puppy packages, which include all of the basic kitten or puppy vaccinations and tests as well as microchip placement. This costs $150-$185, depending on if it is a puppy or kitten and the package which is chosen. Some other area vets are starting to offer similar packages. Lake Forest Pet Hospital uses the HomeAgain microchip because it has the anti-migration shell. They also scan lost pets that people bring in, or pets that they themselves find.
Microchips for pets can only become better and more efficient over time. The more pets that get microchips will directly contribute to the effectiveness of microchips for pet identification. It is becoming a more common way to identify pets, and can be especially helpful when it comes to natural disasters. Overall, microchips implanted in every pet would save a lot of worry, time, and disappointment for everyone.
Sources:
http://www.nchumane.org/services/microchip.html
http://www.spah.com/usa/products/fulldescr.cfm?prodid=273&sID=1
http://www.pet-identification.com/
http://www.pet-id.net
http://www.identichip.com
http://www.apapets.com/micro.htm
http://www.avidid.com
http://users.owt.com/rpeto/humane/ado.html
http://www.pet-helpers.com/PetHelpers_Main/important_stuff/microchip.html
http://avidmicrochip.com
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