I saw the long thread about whether to bell or not, but didn't want to necro that one just to make this point. I haven't seen or read of this happening before, so I just wanted to share this here.
My cats are indoor/outdoor and I have belled them for years because of the local wildlife and etc, especially in the spring and summer. Always with the breakaway collars. I usually add another bell or two because the ones they come with are not usually very loud. They DO cut down on the mess in the "kill room" aka my shower. Very proud of myself, right?
Well, today, our big Buddy was sitting on the deck rail and started scratching his neck and his toenail got stuck in one of the rings of the bells, and my husband caught him before he could fall off. I don't know what he'd have done if we weren't watching him or out there at all. Especially at night. I don't think the breakaway feature would've helped him.
I read that brightly colored collars can help almost as much as bells, so I ordered some for them today. The ones they had weren't very bright, so we didn't feel just cutting the bells off of them would do much good.
Anyway, I know this is a hot topic, and I'm not trying to sway anyone one way or another, but I just wanted to share what happened with us, because I'd never heard of that happening before (and google is no help).
My cats are indoor/outdoor and I have belled them for years because of the local wildlife and etc, especially in the spring and summer. Always with the breakaway collars. I usually add another bell or two because the ones they come with are not usually very loud. They DO cut down on the mess in the "kill room" aka my shower. Very proud of myself, right?
Well, today, our big Buddy was sitting on the deck rail and started scratching his neck and his toenail got stuck in one of the rings of the bells, and my husband caught him before he could fall off. I don't know what he'd have done if we weren't watching him or out there at all. Especially at night. I don't think the breakaway feature would've helped him.
I read that brightly colored collars can help almost as much as bells, so I ordered some for them today. The ones they had weren't very bright, so we didn't feel just cutting the bells off of them would do much good.
Anyway, I know this is a hot topic, and I'm not trying to sway anyone one way or another, but I just wanted to share what happened with us, because I'd never heard of that happening before (and google is no help).