CAT owners in Hampshire are being urged to get their felines microchipped after a sharp rise in the number of rescued pets.

Animal charity and rescue centre The Stubbington Ark in Fareham has seen a substantial increase in the number of abandoned or stray cats.

"Since January 333 cats have been brought into the centre this year from across the whole of Hampshire and more than half were without identifying microchips," said the Ark's fundrasing manager Vanessa Eden.

"With a micro chip we could reunite cats with their owners."

Due to the high number of cats arriving at the Stubbington Ark, the charity is now offering a lower cost of £10 for cats to receive micro chipping throughout September. The micro chipping process involves implanting a small microchip under the skin of an animal.

This chip is encoded with a number, which is assigned to a pet owner or animal centre on nationwide database Petlog.

When an animal such as a cat is brought into a vets or rescue centre, it can be scanned and the number on the chip can be matched to the owner.

"The microchip is the size of a grain of rice," said Vanessa.

"It is painlessly inserted under an animal's skin, a bit like an injection and usually at the back of the neck. Once inserted it cannot move about or be seen but can be read by the scanner through the skin."

Any animal can be micro-chipped from a tortoise to a horse, but the most common are cats, dogs and rabbits.

For more information about micro chipping visit www.stubbingtonark.org.uk.