Cat collars

[jessmarimba]

(We probably should have a separate "pet" forum on here!)

So I recently put collars on my cats. They don't go out and don't really want to go out, but if my house is ever broken into I'm sure they'll go explore and I want anyone who sees them to know that they aren't the neighborhood ferals (especially since one has a clipped ear from her old life).

They have the Boots & Barkley (I think - Target brand) safety collars. Clipped-ear kitty doesn't seem to mind hers. Problem is, my less-than-smart kitty has already figured out how to take hers off. The first time was an accident, I'm sure, but every morning I put it on and it's laying somewhere around the house when I get home. Is it ok to not use safety collars? Is there a trickier safety collar? What do you other cat people do? I guess I should chip them anyway but I'd like them to appear owned from the get-go.

Thanks!

[badger]

my indoor cats wear collars, too, probably more for my peace of mind than anything if they should somehow "escape".

Not sure what I would suggest in terms of putting on collars that don't come off, BUT, would you want to find your cat strangled on something? Maybe you just have to live with the fact she's too smart for the collar? Are they microchipped? tattooed?

[Cataboo]

One of my Mother's neighbors cat's collar somehow got caught on one of my mother's garden trellises and was strangled.

[Becky]

Is it tight enough? Perhaps it's just loose enough that she can get a toe in there.

[mariacycle]

I'm not sure whether it is as bad for an indoor cat but I know that for outdoor cats it is extremely dangerous to not be using a breakaway collar...

[TsPoet]

This woman makes cat and dog collars
http://k9closet.com/
she does beautiful work. I just got a satin tag colar from her for my IG - which are notorious for sensitive necks.
http://k9closet.com/satintagcollars.htm
I'd tried several collars, and Tari was bothered by all of them, prior to this one. It isn't break away, but she could pull out of it if needed, and it has nothing hanging from it to get caught on. A little pricey, but should last forever.

[Koronin]

I wouldn't even consider putting a collar on a cat unless it's a break away collar. My cats do not wear collars. I probably should chip them, but only chipped the stray that showed up and never left. He now lives with my mom and I still need to find the info and actually register his chip.

[jessmarimba]

I think she's getting her foot in between the adjustable part somehow - she just scratches at it until it comes off. Best guess. I haven't seen her do it, but it's shredded like she's scratching at it. Maybe I'll try to adjust it tighter or looser and see if she keeps messing with it.

[jessmarimba]

New question - some of the Petco collars are listed as "safety" collars but rather than the breakaway buckle, they have an elastic side so the cat could (in theory) get out of the collar...

That really doesn't sound any safer than a normal non-safety collar to me. Thoughts?

They have some with a different kind of breakaway buckle, maybe those require a smidgen more force to just take off. I guess I'll just keep experimenting, I'll let you guys know what works.

(this cat is the one who is most likely to get scared and hide someplace I can't find her if she gets out...so I'd prefer she has a visible collar. I doubt anyone in my neighborhood would take a cat in to check for chips/tattoos since there are sooooo many strays here already)

[Biciclista]

it's really easier to have them microchipped. one zap and you're done, no strangulation or irritation...

[bmccasland]

I had a kitty that HATED collars, she would work at them until they were off. :mad: Eventually I gave up. :rolleyes:

Most of my cats had collars, although I quit having my senior citizen kitties wear them the last couple of years (and both Herald and Bonnie have crossed the Rainbow Bridge). Had one cat that would loose his, and I'd come home to find the collar around my front door knob. A neighbor would find it and return it. That particular kitty would loose them in fights, or prowling around the neighbors shrubs. It was funny the places they'd find the collar.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Our new kitty Sheba is such a wild adventurer, and is strictly indoor. I'm positive she would catch a collar someplace during her kooky gymnastics and strangle herself. I think collars are great for dogs, but cats are more like toddlers in terms of getting into weird situations- collars on toddlers would be a safety hazard so that's how I see it. Sheba came to us from the shelter already microchipped...but all our future kitties will get a chip too. :)

[jessmarimba]

I fully support chipping, just trying to make two formerly feral cats (clipped ears and all) visibly appear as though they are owned. People here ignore the neighborhood cat colony and no one would bother to take these gals in to look for chips/tattoos if they got out without collars.

[nscrbug]

Both of my cats have figured out how to get out of any collar we tried putting on them...so we too, gave up. However, our male loves to explore the yard (supervised of course) so when we bring him outside, we put a harness and leash on him. Yes, we do get some strange looks from people passing by, probably wondering why in the world we have our cat on a leash. But...if we didn't harness and leash him, he would be chasing a squirrel up the nearest tree in a split-second...or worse, darting into the street in front of a car.

[spokewench]

When my little black kitty, Jag, adopted me last Summer, I chipped him since I knew he would be inside outside and I didn't want him to get lost again. He was obviously lost or abandoned before (cause he is a lover kitty, not feral at all).

[GLC1968]

Another danger for non-breakaway collars is the cat getting it's jaw caught in it. This happend to one of our cats when I was a kid and it was awful. Luckily, the cat eventually came to us with the issue so that we could cut it off him, but he was stuck that way (jaw stretched open - unable to eat or drink) for at least 12 hours and possibly longer. I felt so bad for him!

We tried putting a collar on our last cat and he wouldn't have any of it. It was always off him in 5 minutes and always when we weren't looking. We don't even bother with our new cat even though he's indoor/outdoor. We have only two neighbors in close proximity (within a couple of miles) and they both know our cat, so it's not really a big deal. If we lived near the city, he'd be an indoor cat. He is microchipped, of course.

[mariacycle]

microchipped?

[nscrbug]

Yes, I forgot to mention in my post that both of my kitties are also microchipped...the shelters where we adopted from does that to all shelter animals before they are adopted.

[Grits]

We had a problem with one of our cats killing birds. (Watched out the window one time as he waited stealthily under the low branches of a tree waiting for the opportunity to jump up and grab a victim) We tried many different collars so we could put a bell on him to alert the birds, but without a lot of luck. He would always come home without collar and bell. We kept trying, though, until he finally got older and lost interest in or the ability to catch the birds. Good luck.