Breakaway collars...

[sparta05]

Hi folks!

So I have always previously used the breakaway collars for my cats, as they were outdoor cats..BUT sparta is an outdoor cat, and his breakaway collars always come off of him (either someone is taking them off, or he is) I just recently bought him a really nice kong breakaway collar, and finally purchased a tag for him as he's wanting to go out more. I live in a very sketchy neighborhood, so I feel safer knowing my cat has a collar with his name and my ph# on it... but that collar he wore outside ONCE...! is already gone. So I don't know if someone with the neighbor I live in went, ooh that's a nice collar and took it off for their own cat, or he legit took it off.

What's your opinion on getting a regular collar, that can't just be pulled apart?? Is it safe for an outdoor cat to have one on???

Sincerely,

Frustrated mom.

 

[jcat]

A collar that won't stretch or one with a clasp that won't pull apart is way too risky for any cat, whether indoor only or indoor/outdoor. There's simply too high a chance of injury, or worse. If the breakaway collars aren't working for you, perhaps a Beastie Band would. A lot of members, including myself, love them.

 

[sparta05]

That's what I thought, too risky... but I just wasn't sure what other options were out there, as I've done my research, yet strangely that beastie collar never popped up. I'll have to check them out, and see if he likes them.. hopefully he does!

 

[duckdodgers]

No way would I put a non breakaway/stretching collar on my cat.  Far too risky.  My guess is that your cat is removing the collar himself.  Had that happen with my parents' cat back when we had him wear a collar.  I was really adamant about him wearing one in case he got injured, wandered off and someone found him, or someone just wanted to know that he belonged to someone.  He had one breakaway collar for the better part of his first year of life.  One day it fell off, so we got him another, had a new tag made, etc.  About a week later that one came off too.  I got him a couple more, and those were lost within a couple of days.  I highly doubt that someone was removing them from him based on where we lived and where he roamed, nor do I think he was getting himself hung on a tree on an increasingly frequent basis.  Still, I wasn't willing to put a non breakaway collar on him just in case.  I heard about Beastie Bands on here a couple of years back on here and would have bought him one had he not survived for years without a collar at that point. 

 

[charlismom]

Never put a non-breakaway type collar on a cat, way too risky.  My Charli, albeit indoor kitty, will not keep a collar on, no way no how.  Since she was a baby, when we tried to keep a collar on her with a little bell, she took them off.  Not only would she take them off, but they were no where to be found...until...one day while cleaning under couch I noticed a tear in the bottom liner, and guess what was up there?  TWO COLLARS!   But anyhow, she would remove them with her back paws, I watched her once get her back paw toes under that collar and pulled and pulled til it popped off.  I finally gave up, she didn't really need it anyhow, she was never going out, but... that's probably what is happening to yours, kitty doesn't like it so he takes them off.

 

[jcat]

Cats definitely take them off themselves. Mogli was going through about one collar a week before I discovered Beastie Bands. He'd get them off and chew them. One day I caught him in the act - he rubbed along the net that secures our balcony till he snagged his collar and could pop the clasp! I could tell by the way he was rubbing his neck that he'd already had plenty of practice with that method. His other preferred method was to pull on his dangling ID tag (which is why he has a slide-on Boomerang tag now).

 

[2bcat]

Yeah the Collar Tag from Boomerang is great.  Our cats have these, even though they are indoor.  They've been wearing breakaway collars for a year and we haven't had any trouble, but the whole point of a cat wearing a collar is in case of getting out and lost.  The dangling IDs were too noisy so the Collar Tag was a great idea.  The collars also help us tell them apart if they are sitting in a way that makes them hard to ID. ;-)  If I remember right the collars they have now are knit from natural hemp fiber.  Found them in a local shop and they were pricey, like 12 bucks, but they've held up okay and they don't try to remove them.

I suspect with multiple lost collars and quickly that the cat has figured out how to remove it.  But I do wonder if it's the collar or the noise that is bugging him.  If the collar makes noise either from IDs or a bell, they may be more likely to try to take it off to gain back the stealth.  So while the Beastie Band could be a good bet it may also be important to get the Collar Tag as the only ID so there isn't noise.  (Of course, if you're purposely trying to have the collar make noise, I can understand.  Just know that it may be the noise driving them to remove the collars.)  Our ID tags only say cat name, "I AM LOST" and phone number, with the hopes that "I AM LOST" makes it obvious to someone that this is an indoor cat who isn't normally out.  The less text you put on the tag, the bigger the letters are for engraving.  Our collars needed the open-ended Collar Tags but as advertised they haven't ever fallen off.