For those of you who followed what happened to my cat, Spice, two weeks ago, I thought you might be interested in hearing the end of the story. Through conversations with neighbors, I learned that another nearby neighbor was trying to responsibly deal with a colony of feral cats living next door to them. The remainder of the story I learned from speaking with the neighbor, the woman who trapped Spice and staff at the Animal Rescue League. The colony of cats recently had a litter of kittens. The neighbors have a young child who loves cats and would be at risk for rabies if the colony were left un-checked. So through a veterinarian friend of theirs, they solicited the help of a woman who very humanely traps feral cats. On her first attempt, she trapped Spice and two of the kittens, thinking Spice was the mother. The woman who does the trapping assured me (and I believe her) that she does not leave trapped cats unattended; Spice did not spend the night outside in a trap, terrified. She takes the cats to the safety of her home, then to the Animal Rescue League the following day. The Animal Rescue League scanned Spice for a micro-chip, which they did not find, then proceeded to attempt to spay her. Discovering that she had already been spayed, they sewed her up, gave her a rabies shot and returned her to the trapper. I took Spice back to the ARL last week and they checked again for her micro-chip, which, again, the scanner did not read. The ARL gave her a new chip (no charge) and gave me the record of her rabies vaccination. Lessons learned: 1. According to the director of the ARL, micro-chips are not readable 25% of the time, either because they malfunction or they have migrated to another part of the body and aren't picked up without a full body scan. If you rely on a micro-chip to identify your pet, you might want to re-think that strategy! Spice now wears a collar with tags at all times. It is not a collar with a quick-release. I am aware of the choking risk, but believe it to be smaller than other risks to her not being identified, especially now that she is marked as a feral cat because her ear has been 'tipped.' 2. There are responsible people out there who do a service to our neighborhoods by volunteering their time to trap, spay/neuter and release feral cats. I am very grateful that my neighbor sought out and found such a person. 3. The Animal Rescue League scans all cats brought into its facility for micro-chips. This is the whole point of the micro-chip. Unfortunately, not all shelters follow this policy. 4. The Animal Rescue League staff handled my inquiries with the utmost professionalism. This experience has renewed my support for this organization. Thanks again to all of you who offered your kind support as I went through this. Spice has recovered, and so have I!