Are Collars A Necessary For Outdoor Cats?

[Ashouldnt]

i have two seven month old kittens that I’m starting to let outside. I have bought approximately 6 collars in the last two months that I’ve been occasionally letting them out. At first it wasn’t so bad because the collars weren’t too expensive but now they are outside more, I’m having to buy extra tags too. It’s getting very expensive.

I don’t even know where they are. They always lose them in the house and I’ve turned the whole place upside down looking for them but they’ve dissapeared. I think the Odd Sock monster keeps stealing them.

Any advice on how to stop them losing them? Or if they even need them? We live in a quiet area and they are chipped.

 

[Kieka]

Collars are 100% necessary for cats with outdoor access. They let everyone who sees the cats know that they have a home and can be the key factor in them finding their way back to you.

Microchips are, honestly, worthless in ensuring the return of your cat. The reason why is that they depend on someone to scan the chip, check the appropriate database and contact you. That is three steps and anything could go wrong at each of them. Something as simple as a malfunctioning scanner, a lazy worker or a migrating chip could mean your cat never gets home. A mistyped number, not being registered in the right database or someone dialing the wrong number could mean your cat never gets home.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't have them. You absolutely should because everything could go right and it could make all the difference. But I believe in redundancy. My cats are each registered by microchip in the top three databases accessed by local shelters and vets. I called around and found out which system each office and location uses in checking. I ensured that all the local scanners can pick up the type of microchips my cats have; because they can't all register all chips.

Collars are just another way to quickly identify that eliminates the chance of mechanical failures. It also detours someone from taking in the nice stray that keeps coming around.

 

[MeganLLB]

I bought a paracord collar on Etsy.com Its still one of those safety release ones, but it seems to be a bit stronger than the ones you buy in the store. She always took off her collar everyday, but this one she hasn't been able to take off.

 

[Neo_23]

I think collars are necessary for outdoor cats. I even want my indoor cat to wear one but he refuses to unfortunately.

My vet is actually against microchips for cats and dogs. She believes that they can have all kinds of adverse effects on health and that the vet community is ignoring the danger. I'm not sure about it, but I do agree with others that you're more likely to have your cat returned to you if it has a collar than a microchip.

 

[Kieka]

I forgot to say, I use Beastie Bands. It is the one collar my cat has not figured out how to remove. For a while, his favorite habit was removing and hiding collars for a few days before bringing them home in his mouth covered in mud and debris.

 

[Ashouldnt]

I forgot to say, I use Beastie Bands. It is the one collar my cat has not figured out how to remove. For a while, his favorite habit was removing and hiding collars for a few days before bringing them home in his mouth covered in mud and debris.

Do you use ID tags as well? Or is there anything else you’d recommend? Like address capsules or something along those lines.

 

[vyger]

A very big factor is where you live. Some cities and towns require that dogs and even cats have registration tags. And usually along with the license tag they usually also have to have a rabies tag. If this is required by your local government then you do need to have a way of keeping the ID tags on the animal. In the city limits of the nearby town where I live they have a paid animal control officer. It is part of his job to pick up and detain animals that are running loose. If they have the proper tags the owners are notified that they have to come and pick up their animal. They have to pay a small fee plus a daily care fee if the animal is kept for more than a day. They longer they delay picking up the animal they greater the fee becomes. If it goes past a certain period of time they will have to go to court and explain why.

If the animal has no tags, even if it has a collar, it is considered to be a stray with no legal owner. They keep the animal for a period of time, i think it's 2 weeks and if after that time no one claims the animal it is put down. They used to take them out to the landfill and shoot them but I believe they have changed to to a more humane way. It is a pretty harsh policy but it was enacted to reduce the number of dog packs that were running loose in the town, especially after several children were attacked. For some strange reason the policy was extended to cats also even though cats don't run in packs and attack people. The idea of people having to keep their cats in their yard was generally ignored until recently when someone got the idea to enforce it. So the animal control officer began setting traps for cats around the town. I know this first hand because a friend of mine had her cat trapped and had to pay a fine to get it released. If she didn't it was going to be put down. So, in the city it is very important that animals including cats have collars with tags. By the way, because of a citizen backlash the rule on cats has not been enforced lately and the trapping was stopped but the law is still on the books.
Once outside the town limits everything changes. There are no tags or registrations or anything. Although it is considered a good idea to at least have the rabies tag on the animal. I live far enough away from town that none of my cats will ever end up in town. I used to put flea collars on my outside cats but gave up on that. I got one of the more expensive collars once, one that lasts like 9 months, and it was gone in a week. I found a breakaway collar hung up on a fence and another in a tree and decided to stop using those also. I though it was just a matter of time until a collar didn't break away and I ended up with a strangled cat, something that was unacceptable to me. So currently none of my cats are wearing collars. It wouldn't make a difference anyway. No one who runs over and animal on the highway stops to even see what it was much less if had a collar. All of mine almost never leave the property. Its 2 1/2 acres surrounded by open farm field so past my tree line is barren ground and not really interesting to the cats. In winter with the snow they often don't even leave the buildings. If they did leave, having a collar would not make a difference to those who would shoot at them. They shoot anything just for fun. I have all their rabies tags in a small bowl if they are ever needed but other than that mine venture into the world naked. I guess I have naturalist cats. If I was in or even near the city, you betcha, they would have collars and tags. But out here there isn't a point, and I did try it.

 

[vyger]

i have two seven month old kittens that I’m starting to let outside. I have bought approximately 6 collars in the last two months that I’ve been occasionally letting them out. At first it wasn’t so bad because the collars weren’t too expensive but now they are outside more, I’m having to buy extra tags too. It’s getting very expensive.

I don’t even know where they are. They always lose them in the house and I’ve turned the whole place upside down looking for them but they’ve dissapeared. I think the Odd Sock monster keeps stealing them.

Any advice on how to stop them losing them? Or if they even need them? We live in a quiet area and they are chipped.

By the way, look for the lost collars under the stove and fridge. You will find lots of cat toys there also.

 

[Kieka]

Do you use ID tags as well? Or is there anything else you’d recommend? Like address capsules or something along those lines.

I use wrap around tags. My guys don't like hanging tags. I get mine from Boomerang Tags online. It usually takes less then a week for my order to arrive and it is under $18 for the tag plus collar.

 

[Ashouldnt]

By the way, look for the lost collars under the stove and fridge. You will find lots of cat toys there also.

Believe me, I’ve had the house upside down. I think one of my cats is hoarding them somewhere as I came down this morning and he had his brothers collar in his mouth just swanning around with it. I think I may try letting them out without collars for a bit. It isn’t a legal thing here and we live in the suburbs with a big field on one side and a whole housing estate between us and the next main road.

I can’t imagine that the one hoarding collars would ever go far (he hasn’t even attempted to leave the garden yet, has too much fun frolicking in the grass that desperately needs cutting) but the other has gone a few gardens over before.

I was thinking about it and the only reason I got them collars was because it just something people do. I’ve never seen a cat without a collar and decided it was a stray as strays are incredibly few and far between around here

 

[arouetta]

For some people, seeing a collar will make the difference between leaving the cat alone and deciding the cat must be a stray who needs an indoor only home so he won't get lost again and they know the perfect home for him -or- alternatively deciding the cat must be a stray who should be taken to the shelter.

For others, seeing a collar will make the difference between ignoring the obvious housecat and deciding the cat is feral and, well, some people don't like ferals on their property period and others don't like seeing their indoor/outdoor cats coming home ripped up from fighting with a feral. Those unfortunately happened a lot where I grew up.

 

[voyager]

Our outdoor cats, the only kind we have, have a collar and an ID tag with their name, our address and phone number.
We do need to replace lost collars and tags fairly often.

 

[Ashouldnt]

Our outdoor cats, the only kind we have, have a collar and an ID tag with their name, our address and phone number.
We do need to replace lost collars and tags fairly often.

I have managed to find one of the collars but not the other. I think it’s time to buy another and another tag. Maybe one that’s a little more sturdy, he took his off on his own whereas I took the other cats off to do his flea treatment and the cat who took his own collar off had away with it.

 

[jcat]

Another vote for Beastie Bands and Boomerang slide-on tags like Kieka uses. Mowgli went through about a collar a week till I started using that combination. He pulled on the dangling tag to pop off the breakaway collars, then chewed them up

 

[Ashouldnt]

Another vote for Beastie Bands and Boomerang slide-on tags like Kieka uses. Mowgli went through about a collar a week till I started using that combination. He pulled on the dangling tag to pop off the breakaway collars, then chewed them up

I’ll have to have a look into them

 

[arouetta]

Are Beastie Bands breakaway? I'd rather deal with a cat that has learned to hook his back leg under the collar to pop it off than worry about a cat slipping off a tree and being strangled by his collar.

 

[jcat]

Are Beastie Bands breakaway? I'd rather deal with a cat that has learned to hook his back leg under the collar to pop it off than worry about a cat slipping off a tree and being strangled by his collar.

No, they're made of neoprene and thus very stretchy; they have a Velcro closure which can be pulled open, but aren't breakaway in the usual sense of having a plastic clip that can be popped open.