My cat is street legal for 2020
I just spent $140 on my cat, bringing her shots up to date and also getting her chipped, which I hadn’t done previously, in accordance with the new law – plus $20 in taxis to and fro.
Then I went online to create an account with the city, for which I had to:
- photograph my health card
- photograph a recent bank statement
- photograph the document proving she had been chipped
They already have on file a document proving she was spayed, several years ago, which is fortunate because it was done by a rescue organization and I don’t know where my copy is.
At least this part of the city website does work properly. After jumping through all these hoops, I found I had to pay a grand total of $5 for all of next year, because of exemptions for chipping and sterilization, otherwise it’s $33, although what kind of person would be sufficiently law-abiding to get a permit for a cat which they had neglected to sterilize, I do not know.
The vet told me his record for finding chips in a cat is three. I think you could write a novel explaining how that had come about.
…Aaaand now the city sends an email saying some information does not correspond, but is not explaining what’s wrong. I’m going to have to spend part of my afternoon going over to Ogilvy Avenue in person after all, aren’t I?
….Here we go. At some point I had identified myself as Kate while my legal name is Catherine and the system didn’t like that. One trip to the borough office and it’s all good.
I’m adding here to complete the story: a month after I did all this good-citizen paperwork, I got a letter from the borough reminding me I had to pay for a permit for my cat. I had to go on Facebook and type at somebody in the borough to clarify that I had paid up for the year, and they apologized for the error. Makes you wonder how reliable their systems are for anything else.
Ephraim 13:03 on 2019-12-23 Permalink
Your health card? NO! The law does not permit anyone outside of the health industry to see your card or ask to see it. And that includes the city. I think you need to speak to the Quebec Ombudsman immediately. No one, not even the city has a right to see your health card. It is NOT legal ID for anything other than healthcare. The same is true of a driver’s licence… they can ask to see it, but unless they are in the car industry, they don’t have a right to write down the number… and that includes a bank.
I once had Videotron ask for my SIN number. I called Quebec Consumer Protection Bureau. They faxed them a copy of the law to remind them that this was not allowed. The call that followed from Videotron was quite entertaining… it was like I had shot them right through the heart, I apparently was the first person who hadn’t capitulated… and they didn’t know how to process the transaction without violating the law. Supervisors of supervisors were needed.
Kate 13:04 on 2019-12-23 Permalink
Ephraim, the health card was one of the alternative photo IDs because I have no driver’s licence.
EmilyG 13:21 on 2019-12-23 Permalink
Having the right ID can be tricky. I don’t drive anymore, but I keep my driver’s license up-to-date just so I can use it as ID. I do have a health card and other forms of ID, but it seems that the driver’s license is one of the ones that’s suggested the most to use as ID. Which sucks.
Bill Binns 15:52 on 2019-12-23 Permalink
Ahhh the Kate/Catherine thing. This Bill/William sympathizes. My wife once bought me an expensive international plane ticket under “Bill”. Was a near disaster and a huge pain to straighten out.
I got my dog licenses in person and was somewhat impressed with how quick and easy it was. I would still prefer a system where you can just buy them at any pet store. I certainly wouldn’t be crazy about throwing jpegs of my ID onto the internet. Maybe the city is doing this securely but it seems like an unnecessary risk for a pet license.
Ant6n 18:43 on 2019-12-23 Permalink
Just always use your real name everywhere, properly spelled.
Kate 18:47 on 2019-12-23 Permalink
I got my name properly spelled at the vet’s, but they managed to misspell the name of my street AND the name of my cat. And I had to intervene to stop the receptionist recording my email address as at hotmail.com too.
jeather 20:09 on 2019-12-23 Permalink
Good thing I’m not a scofflaw with three (exclusively indoor except the balcony which they are unable to escape) unlicensed cats, that sounds like a huge pain.
Kate, microchips in cats are known to migrate, even down their legs though often to nearer by places. Apparently the solution is to have the vet check for a microchip each time.
Ian 13:21 on 2019-12-24 Permalink
I still find it peculiar that there were no cat licenses in the Plateau until the dog ban was attempted. Still feels like a money grab.
Ephraim 15:01 on 2019-12-24 Permalink
@Ian – The dog ban doesn’t work… they just get a dog walking licence to get around it.
Kevin 01:47 on 2019-12-25 Permalink
@Ant6n
😀
Kate 13:03 on 2019-12-25 Permalink
jeather, I will ask the vet next year to make sure the chip has stayed in place (between her shoulderblades).
Ian, cat licenses are a scam, but the fines are shockingly high if somehow your cat is picked up and you haven’t registered them. I would be curious to know whether anyone has ever been fined for this, and whether the city tags have ever helped bring a lost cat home.
mare 15:13 on 2019-12-25 Permalink
I found a dog once and after one call to 311, the owner called me to pick her up. I never see signs on hydro poles with “dog/cat found” only with lost dogs and cats.
Kate 16:13 on 2019-12-25 Permalink
That’s good to know, mare.
Before city tags, vets used to sometimes give out rabies shot tags for cats. When I lived in the Plateau, one day my neighbour rang my doorbell to tell me my cat was outside crying to get in. My cat was in the house, but a gray cat – similar in looks to mine – was on the ground-floor window ledge, meowing. She had a vet tag, and a phone call to the vet resulted in her owner rushing around to reclaim her. Apparently that cat had been missing for weeks.
So I guess it does sometimes work.