indoor cats - to collar or not to collar... that is the question :)

[jenny]

those of u who have indoor cats, do you collar them?

im not sure if i am going to collar harvey or not. indie doesnt wear a collar, but then she doesnt run out of the house, so theres no worries, and when we are on a walk, she wears a harness with tags.

however, even tho harvey is going to be an indoor cat, he could still potentially escape and get lost. if he doesnt have a collar, someone could take him as their own, or not know how to contact me, even tho he will be microchipped.

whats ur views? and what age would u introduce a collar if u did?

[smudgley]

Talking from a "person who does the Lost & Found cat register for the local area" point of view, I would say yes, collar with ID & M/C for all cats. I know of a few indoor only cats that have got out & gone missing, but no tag because they never thought he'd get out.

Not saying your baby will get out, but imagine if he did :shock: You would be so much more likely to get him back if he had a collar on.

Remember my friend that rehomed the silver BSH? She ran down the stairs & out the door when the kids were coming in, she never returned. :(

[dandysmom]

Smudgley has a point there; that said, my cats have always been indoors only and only out to walk with a harness and tags. None of them has ever gotten out or attempted to do so, hence no collars. If I were to do so, would start as a kitten to get him/her used to it. Question for the breeders on here: do you collar your show cats? Doesn't it mat and abrade the fur somewhat? When I rehomed Patches she had a collar, and when I took it off the fur was all worn down and took ages to grow back properly......

[Soupie]

At the risk of making myself highly unpopular I would chip but not collar but I don't agree with collars for cats I'm afraid :oops: Especially indoors with so many hazards - although you can of course minimise those.

How high is the risk of them getting out? Pousse would have to get through 3 doors to get outside my flat and I have taken the view that she is low risk of escaping - she is though being chipped :smt023

But then taking it from Smudgley's point of view if your cat does get out you are more likely to get a collared cat back ;)

[Tanya]

Oli is an indoor cat and has no possible way of escaping. We put the windows on a latch so he cant climb out & our flat leads onto the main corridor which is safe and also indoors. Saying that, I have been putting a collar on him since he was a little kitty to make sure he got used to the collar. Not every day, just a few hours over a couple of days. :cat3

[Fran]

None of my cats wear collars, some are indoor only cats and others have access to outdoors. All my cats are microchipped. My meezers would be a constant worry to me if they wore collars, they are too mischievous and would surely get themselves into difficulty. Plus which, as Eileen has said I wouldn't collar a cat that was being shown as it does affect the hair growth. My out door cats used to wear collars when I had a magnetic cat flap and they only did so so that they could wear the magnets. Once I got rid of the magnetic cat flap, I got rid of the collars and Lucky my elderly cat whom is no longer with me had a permanent ring of whitened hairs around her neck due to the years of wearing collars :? It's a personal opinion but I don't like collars for cats really

[jenny]

i cant see how cat collars are dangerous tho.. dont they have a safety elastic on them designed to snap if the cat gets caught on something? or doesnt it work all the time?

i think i'll put a collar on him now, i hadnt planned to, but its easy for him to escape through our front door, and i wouldnt wanna risk losing him.

we dont have a habit of opening our bigger windows, cos of indie. but we do open our long small windows to let air in on hot days. is there a window guard i can put over these that is big enough so i can have windows open without the cat escaping?

[Soupie]

[QUOTE=jenny;341647]i cant see how cat collars are dangerous tho.. dont they have a safety elastic on them designed to snap if the cat gets caught on something? or doesnt it work all the time?

QUOTE]


I have seen several nasty injuries from cat collars including cats half hanging from things and getting front paws caught up in the collar. Also badly fitting ones can cause horrible sores. So called safety collars are not completely failsafe.

I'm sure statistics will say injuries from cat collars are a small percentage and in the grand scheme of things it probably is but I believe there is a risk. It's one I personally have decided not to take especially as I don't feel there is a way of Pousse escaping.

Re the window grills - I believe you can buy some but failing that it's quite easy to make some using the same wire grill as on rabbit hutch fronts and a wood frame which yo can fit to hook on wall/window frame :smt023

[jenny]

ive just been having a look around and cant seem to find anything.

these are bigger versions of the small windows u have in bathrooms where the whole window opens outwards...

[alexgirl73]

I have 3 indoor only cats and they are all collared! Not so much for them escaping, I just need to have them with a bell on as to not be a trip hazard for me, especially when I'm using my walking stick!!

[Soupie]

ive just been having a look around and cant seem to find anything.

these are bigger versions of the small windows u have in bathrooms where the whole window opens outwards...

I'll ask Lucy where she saw the ones she told me about :)

[stewart.clan]

I have 3 indoor only cats and they are all collared! Not so much for them escaping, I just need to have them with a bell on as to not be a trip hazard for me, especially when I'm using my walking stick!!

We've bought collars with bells on, for the same reason :)

[CathyW]

mine are not chippd (have to do that b4 we move) bu wont bother putting collars on them, when u cchip them can u have a phone number put on instead of an address???

[Fran]

mine are not chippd (have to do that b4 we move) bu wont bother putting collars on them, when u cchip them can u have a phone number put on instead of an address???

The microchip company hold the information relating to your cat's info including your address and phone numbers. When the cat is scanned for microchip, the microchip holds a unique number (the microchip itself doesn't display your personal telephone number or address) from which the microchip database can bring up your cat's details :)

[tilly]

I don't have collars on my two. Buster goes out occasionally when the weather is good as I can garantee he will come back because he is very food orianted (sp). I let Tilly out once so that she would know how to get back. She is am indoor cat until I can get a house with a cat proof garden as she sits in the road and I don't wan to risk her getting run over. Buster has got good road sense so goes out more. I don't have collars as I personally don't like them. Both are chipped though. They are alway shut in at night as well.

Sally

[Kathryn]

Hi will just chip in with my 5 pence worth, all of the cats that go out wear collars, they are chipped as well, the thing i don't have are tags on the collars, i buy the type that can be written on with an idelible pen either white,yellow or pink collars so can be easily read, as tags come off. I have tel numbers & a do not feed me written on collar! the cats that don't go out are not collared.
x K

[Kobster]

My three indoor cats all wear collars and are microchipped. Nine years working for a vet I never saw one collar related injury on a cat but saw many many many lost cats never find their way back home. Not worth the risk of losing them in my opinion. Besides, if you can't hear the bell tinkering, how do you know when they are into something they shouldn't be?

[dinahsmum]

I think this is one of the most finely balanced of the perennial cat questions. Do the potential benefits outweigh the potential dangers? Difficult to say.
Personally, I don't like cat collars and none of mine have ever worn them. The boys are chipped. However, Bentley appears as if he is going to be an intrepid hunter. So, do I use a collar to hang a bell and save birds? Don't know yet.

The only thing I'd say to you specifically Jenny is to make sure you get one with a very easy 'snap' so it will break off easily. I am seeing a situation with a tenacious breed of cat and a tenacious breed of dog having a wonderful rough and tumble when Indie puts her jaws round the cat's neck and gets a long tooth caught in the collar. What happens next? Both panic, cat scrags, bites, screams, ..... goodness knows what ensues. Or, cat twists and twists to get free and risks strangling itself. Sorry, that sounds just awful but I think it is a significant risk with those two breeds.

[Mags]

Cassie always wears a collar and is also chipped...... she has always worn the safety catch type which I always test before I buy for it's ability to come undone easily.
As she can be a bit of a hunter I attach an extra bell to her collar ........ not only does it help save the birds, I can hear where she is when she's out of sight.... :cool:

My previous cat, Sam, also wore an ordinary collar for twelve years with no problem....

I think it is up to personal choice :D

[Moli]

Mine are more or less indoor cats and never wear collars, Chancer goes out and about, but he doesn't wear one either....

[vicki]

My gang are all microchipped and are all house cats but only Hattie wears a collar and this is because she is a great escape artisit and is always looking for ways to get out! And I have a neighbour who feeds all the cats in the area and takes them in her house if they dont have id on! Hattie was once gone a whole night and she was next door the whole time because the lady presumed she was stray!
It must be different in the UK for some reason because we see a lot of collar related injuries, mainly when cats have got a leg stick through it and been unable to get it back out. I have seen horrific injuries, some which heal in time, some which require surgery but this normally never works, amputated limbs and in one horrific case I remember the cat eventually had to be pts after months of surgeries and 3 failed skin grafts, he was a gorgeous stray and never complained once through his ordeal, that was a very sad day he had been with us so long and we were all attachted to him but there was simply no more we could do to save him =(
Our practice does all the RSPCA work too and I would say we see on average 2 collar injuries a month, thats quite a high statistic, I think ID is important if your cat goes out, but microchipping and/or tatooing is a safer option. I must add of all the cats we have delt with with collar injuries, none of them have ever had ID on the collars! So their injuries might as well have been prevented and we couldnt return them to owners at the end *grrrr*

[jenny]

The only thing I'd say to you specifically Jenny is to make sure you get one with a very easy 'snap' so it will break off easily. I am seeing a situation with a tenacious breed of cat and a tenacious breed of dog having a wonderful rough and tumble when Indie puts her jaws round the cat's neck and gets a long tooth caught in the collar. What happens next? Both panic, cat scrags, bites, screams, ..... goodness knows what ensues. Or, cat twists and twists to get free and risks strangling itself. Sorry, that sounds just awful but I think it is a significant risk with those two breeds.


never thought of that. thats a good point.
i'll look for an easily snappable one perhaps.

altho the likelyhood of him getting out is probably minimal.
i'll ask his breeder what she does as she may have some advice about this also.

[Kazz]

As another Stafford owner I agree totally with DM on this one, you may recall I posted a similar thread on dogweb the year before where Tee's collar got caught in Sal;s tooth chaos luckily we were there but Tess ended up almost choking - seriously although she was about 1 then she was not able to do anything once the collar was caught in Sal's tooth - Tess had a nose bleed, bloos from her ears and bloodshot eyes Sals a torn gum where the collar rubbed against her mouth, both panic striken we cut the collar from her neck it was so tight due to the incident we could not undo it and it was one of those snap ones.

My point is that was a game that went wrong with someonein the room a mistimed move and all hell broke loose.
Tess was a year old Staff and was almost choked even though we got her free in minutes - if she had been a kitten or cat she would have been dead.
Another point you may find with a collar Indie thinks its great to retrieve the kitten by his collar.


Mine used to wear collars but Oscar lost so many I gave up. Cleo does not wear one now mind you she goes nowhere.

Karen

[jenny]

thanks for that kazz.

indie doesnt wear a collar for a similar reason, nearly choking from getting her collar caught on a gate.

i think i may possibly opt for no collar. oh this is so difficult.

well, i guess we will be taking him out on a harness hopefully so he will be familiar with the immediate area and hopefully not wonder too far if he does get out :?

[dandysmom]

I'm a great believer in harness training, Jenny...fun for you and the cat also. Good luck, whatever you decide!