Compulsory microchipping for cats could be introduced in England next year as a two-month-long consultation on the proposal begins.

The consultation, which begins on Wednesday, will hear from vets, owners and members of the public, with an earlier call for evidence by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) showing 99% of people supported making microchipping of cats mandatory.

Animal welfare charity Cats Protection estimated 2.6 million cats in the UK – around 26% – are not microchipped.

It reported that eight out of 10 stray cats handed in to its adoption centres in England during 2018 were unchipped, leading to longer and sometimes unsuccessful efforts to reunite them with their owners.

Stray cats lost this way include Larry, the brown and white tabby who was found in London without a microchip and taken to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home before being adopted as Chief Mouser to 10 Downing Street and the Cabinet Office.

Cats Protection’s chief executive James Yeates said: “Having a microchip gives a lost cat the best chance of being quickly reunited with their owner.

“We regularly hear heartwarming stories of the huge joy and relief when a missing cat is returned home thanks to the details of their microchip.”

Battersea Dogs and Cats Home’s deputy chief executive Peter Laurie said: “We see strays being brought to us every day, many of which have clearly been much-loved pets that have perhaps just wandered too far from home.

“Unfortunately we are often unable to trace their previous owners as they have either not been microchipped or the details on the chip are not up to date.

“We support compulsory microchipping of pet cats and we microchip every cat before they go to their new home.”

The process involves inserting a chip, generally around the size of a grain of rice, under the skin of a pet, which has a unique serial number that can be read by a scanner.

Since compulsory dog microchipping was introduced in 2016, around nine million dogs are now microchipped.

UK chief veterinary officer Christine Middlemiss said: “As we have seen already with dogs, compulsory microchipping is crucial in helping reunite owners with their treasured pets if they are lost or stolen.

“While the festive period is not the best time to introduce a new cat or kitten to your home and family, if you do buy a pet over Christmas, then on top of making sure they are microchipped, I would advise people to ensure they have checked the readily advice available on how you can buy your pet safely and responsibly.”

Animal welfare minister Lord Goldsmith said: “These plans to make cat microchipping compulsory build on our actions to improve our already world-leading animal welfare standards, including taking steps to end live animal exports and ban the practice of keeping primates as pets.”