Collars..NEVER again!

[Luke]

Well...until tonight Clementine usually wore a 'safety' collar, Elsa cant wear a collar at all as she has an obsession of eating material.
Anyway this evening there was a knock at the front door..some young children..asked if we had a tortie..i said yes, why? and was told there was one stuck in a bush around the corner:shock:
Went to investigate..and lone behold it was Clementine with her so called 'safety' colalr caught on a branch in this bush going nuts trying to escape..now this is the sort with the clasp that is meant too come apart when pulled put strain on, etc. But it didn't work whatsoever!
Clementine is ok now, which is the main thing. But i really am so thankful those young children spotted her, otherwise i wouldn't like to think what could have happened.
So thats it now..no more collars here!
Both cats have been microchipped anyway so i suppose it doesnt really matter.....

[yola]

Scary stuff indeed Luke! Good job you have decent kids round your way - here I dread to think what would've happened :shock:

Glad Clementine is ok :)

[Mags]

Good thing those young lads noticed Clementine Luke:shock:
Cassie has always worn a safety collar and fortunately has never had any problem with it. I always test it before I buy it to see how easy it comes undone. I know some do take a bit of pulling to undo them....

Glad it all turned out well.....

[Moli]

Thank goodness those kids found her Luke, it doesn't bear thinking about....Pleased Clem is okay....

[Naomi]

Glad she's okay Luke, Moli wears a safety collar and we haven't had a problem, they've come off as they should do.

I wouldn't rely on the fact they're micro-chipped that they'll be returned. Sox was microchipped and we haven't seen hide nor hair of him. Even the vets admitted that not everyone will scan a cat for a microchip anyway :(

[Kazz]

Hi

Alls well that ends well Luke, the kids sound nice could have been worse, although she could have maybe got free.

My two used to wear collars but I gave up in the end Cleo never went further than the front or back garden :roll:
Oscar used to loose his collar on an almost daily basis:roll: but the next day or day after he'd bring it back carrying it in his mouth I assume because it smelt of him.:roll:
But sometimes the little kids would bring it back I think on those occasions Oscar had got fed up of bringing it back or more than likely got sidetracked by a bird or something.

Glad she's okay though Luke.

Karen

[Moli]

Oscar used to loose his collar on an almost daily basis:roll: but the next day or day after he'd bring it back carrying it in his mouth I assume because it smelt of him.

Oscar sounds more like a dog Kazz....!

[Snoof]

Wow, I think I would go out and buy some little toy kitties and give them to those kids for being so lovely and diligent as to report it to you! That's so good, and it's behaviour that needs encouraging really.

I always test safety collars before I put them on and make sure they really do come apart... Even if they're of a brand I've used before, it only takes one factory fault really...

[Moli]

I have never put collars on my cats, but they don't really go out!

[candyshandy]

Luckily I don't have this to worry about because mine are indoor. I also wouldn't use collars on mine as they are persians and a collar would just encourage matting.

Other cat owners I know who do put collars on use 'kittycollars' as they are supposed to be one of the safest - is this what you had Luke?

[Kazz]

Oscar used to loose his collar on an almost daily basis:roll: but the next day or day after he'd bring it back carrying it in his mouth I assume because it smelt of him.

Oscar sounds more like a dog Kazz....!

I assume it was because he went the same route,:roll: I have always figured he had "an" area/route he followed which took him a couple of days to cover :roll: I often wandered how far he would have gone if he hadn't been neutured but a intact Tom:-D he often in his younger days had everything from scuffles to full scale fights with intact Toms.

Karen

[Mags]

Sounds like Oscar used to stand up for himself then Kazz!

[Kazz]

Sounds like Oscar used to stand up for himself then Kazz!
Yes he did Mags, I've started another thread so not to steal Lukes:)

[bobbie3917]

glad she is home and safe now

[Luke]

Thanks for your wishes everyone...the collar itself was 'vet reccomended' (pah!:roll: )..and TBH i dont think the cats would go off with anyone as they dont let 'outsiders' go near! :lol:
maybe it is taking a slight risk if they ever were to go walk abouts..but i certainly would prefer to know of them alive and well, rather then strangled somewhere.
Oh and yes the three 8 years olds in question will have something nice dropped off to them tomorrow.....

[Elaine]

That must have been frightening for you both. Glad she is ok.

[dinahsmum]

Sorry to hear of the old lady's bad experience and so relieved she is OK.
I have never liked or used collars for cats - they are way too active.

[Emm]

there could be a number of reasons why the collar did not break free - maybe she did not struggle because she saw the kids were there, maybe there was a (like has been mentioned) a factory fault....

I make safety cat collars and I would'nt make something that posed a threat to any cat - I test every collar before being sent out.
I have done a lot of research on cat collars and I do see some that are questionable regards to safety, for example, collars that are elasticated, collars that are elasticated and have a safety release buckle, or collars that have a supposed slide buckle. I have also seen collars advertised as safety release buckles when they are not.

If you buy a collar that is mass produced then you should test it yourself, but also check to make sure that the material isn't made out of elastic if it has the safety release buckle, otherwise there won't be enough weight for the cat to release the collar.

I have in the past had some terrible experiances with collars with my cats - to the point that I stopped them from wearing them. It wasn't until I did some research and designed my own that they have started to wear them again.

So don't give up on all cat collars - there are some good makes of collars out there ;)

[CathyW]

used to have collars on mine, ronnie had 3 bells on his the size of budgie bells and he still managed to kill birds (deaf birds??) barnaby never kept a collar on he would chew his way out of it. reggie just didnt give a damm.:D

[Snoof]

I never put bells on my cats (those who wore collars, I have had two who didn't). I always think, "I'd feel like a right Wally wandering round jangling" :lol:

Although I do plan to put bells on the kittens until they're big enough that I won't have to worry about them getting into small spaces and not being able to find them quite so much :lol:

[Donna]

Glad Clementine is ok now Luke, bet that was scary.

My two wear safety collars, but they dont really wander far and usually stay in my garden so am not too worried.

[Julie84]

Gosh Luke, how scary for you! Glad Clementine is okay and what lovely kids you have near you. :)