Feline Microchip

Abstract

1. Introduction: The Microchip as Documentality DeviceWhat is a microchip? It is a recognition device designed to be implanted under the skin of (for example) a dog or cat in order to register the latter in a special canine or feline registry. Our question here is: what is such a chip? We raise this question as part of a reflection on the social dynamics involved when recognition of the identity of an animal is required for some human purpose.1Let us suppose that someone, for whatever reason, owns a cat. We are here in the realm of possession and therefore-by extension-of ownership or property. The first problem which then arises-a problem which normally remains in the background-is: can you own a living being as you own a material object? Certainly, some features are common to the two cases: we can adopt or buy a kitten or puppy; or we may receive it as a gift. But there are also differences. If we have custody of a dog or a cat, then we are responsible for its health and also for any damage that it may cause to third parties. We cannot say that we own a cat in the same way that we own a car or an iPad. Certainly the latter provide us with multiple benefits (they allow us, in their different ways, to explore the world in which we live). But they do not have intentions of their own independent of our will to switch them on or off. This aspect relates, of course, to the issue of animal rights, but also, and this is of primary concern to us here, to our self-understanding as social beings.Let us say that we 'own,' in the sense of 'being responsible for' a cat, meaning that we answer for it in front of the human community. This personalizes the situation immediately, defining it on the basis of expectations that are conceptually and emotionally human.This is my cat. I want the best for my cat. My cat must never run away from me, as I am the one taking care of it (I protect it, vaccinate it, tfeed it, stroke its fur). I thereby humanize (de-cattify) the cat, sometimes even to the point of sterilizing it in order that it might lead a life functionally appropriate to a middle-class urban apartment. Those who have cats are sooner or later faced with the question of medical and surgical devices that can be applied to produce a more comfortable order in the relationship between man and cat. It is under this heading that we confront the insertion under the skin of our cat of an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) device.The emphasis, for the moment at least, is neither on 'device' (in the specific sense given by Foucault [1991; 1988]), nor on 'subcutaneous'; but rather on the possessive adjective 'our'. We are again in the realm of ownership, though as we shall see not all the reasons for implanting an identifying microchip in a cat relate to ownership as narrowly conceived.2. The Socio-Ethological Reason for RFID ImplantationThe first such reason concerns the cats that live with people in their homes. The rationale behind the implantation of the device turns on the habit of cats to go out alone, often disappearing for considerable periods of time. The installation of the device allows the relocation of the animal should it ever get lost, since the device corresponds to an entry number in a registry accessible to an accredited veterinarian. The microchip, in short, does not automatically lead the cat to its rightful owner, but rather to the veterinarian who is treating the cat or who has installed the device. The latter then (if the cat is found) will contact the rightful owner. He in turn will know the microchip number which is noted in the medical record of the animal, along with other 'documentality' information (Ferraris 2006; 2009; 2012) pertaining to vaccinations, health treatments, and other matters specific to the cat. The reasoning underlying this arrangement is sensible; but it relates to situations which are far from likely. Let us assume that a cat cannot find its way home after a midnight sortie. …