Gazette readers are overwhelmingly in favour of making it compulsory for all household cats to be micro-chipped.

In a poll conducted last week, 68.8%of readers said they were in favour of bringing in rules to make it so that every cat in England is micro-chipped.

Twitter user Lilibet told the Gazette: “I’ve had my cat returned to me when a neighbour took her to an animal shelter. Chipping is added safety.”

This year will see the England bring in legislation for all cats to be micro-chipped. Animal charity Cats Protection have been working with the department for environment, food, and rural affairs (DEFRA) on the upcoming law and have said they are thrilled this will finally be going ahead and see cats falling in line with their canine counterparts.

Cats Protection estimates more than a fifth of cats are not micro-chipped in Wales. The charity believes micro-chipping is an essential part of responsible pet ownership, even if a cat is housebound.

A spokesperson for Cats Protection said: “We hear of far too many incidents where cats have been hit by cars and taken to a vet, yet sadly had to be euthanised as no owner could be located.”