Colorado bill would require feline IDs

DENVER — Colorado lawmakers are considering a bill that would require cat owners in the state's largest cities to microchip or tag.

The House bill would require cats older than 4 months to wear some kind of durable tag on a properly fitting collar or a surgically implanted microchip registered with a national database. Cats found without identification would not be released until the owner meets the requirement. Rural communities would be exempt.

The bill is aimed at decreasing euthanizations and the 70,000 cats housed at Colorado animal shelters each year.