cat collars and bells cruel?

[miskinsincap]

My cats don't wear collars; they never did, and probably never will. They are indoors cats. However, before I got married I used to live in a house with a back garden (actually all the houses on the two parallel streets were like that, and there was a huge semi-wild community gardens area). So my former cats were all indoor-outdoor, free to roam a big area. They all had collars on them with our adress written, and we also used to attach little bells around mid-summer, at the time the baby birds were beginning their flight lessons, untill the fall rains' time (and btw if you're planning to use bells for to protect wildlife, you should be carefull that they actually cling with little movement; some bells attached to cat collars are just slightly better than decorative and cats are clever). 

So for cats that have access to outside world, I'm totally for the bells; depending on the geographical region and wildlife of your area, a seasonal arrangement can be possible. I'm quite sure that walking with a bell is uncomfortable (especially when they're trying to hunt) for cats, but it also saves a lot of lifes out there. Since our cats don't depend on their prey for a living and since we can't talk them out of hunting, it's only fair to give the wildlife around them a warning. I have friends working for city wildlife protection centers, and hunting habbits of house cats are a big problem for them. 

 

[jazzygemmy]

Do I think that bells and collars are cruel? No, that's absurd. However, I can see how they might get annoying to the cats. I think I am just a romantic. My cats have always received their collar and tag as a gift from us, welcoming them to our home. To us, it seemed like a perfectly valid way to show them that they were loved and now had a permanent home. They have always had the bells, but just recently, my fiancé and I have taken the bells off, b/c when the cats play at night, the jingling sometimes wakes up our toddler. Like one of the other posters,  I am also paranoid and like to hear the bells jingle when I call their names, so I know everyone is inside. My kitties are strictly indoors and are microchipped as well. My female got out of the house a few months ago and if it wasn't for the bell on her collar, I might not have found her. My mom has an indoor/outdoor kitty who does not wear a collar, but is microchipped. I think if my cats went outside, I would opt to not have collars, as I agree, they can be dangerous.

BTW, I also think it's funny how I know which cat it cruising down the hallway just by the sound of their bell. Each kitty has a certain gait and the bell rings slightly differently with each of them. lol

 

[tick-n-thistle]

I'm fully in the no bell camp.  Watch a cat's ears - they use them constantly, dogs do too.  They are essential basic communication and information.   A bell may reassure a human, but a cat or dog - not so much.

 

 

[jazzygemmy]

It can be reassurance for a cat when it means that cat has a better chance of returning home if lost. lol. I'm just being a smart aleck ;-)

 

[jcat]

It can be reassurance for a cat when it means that cat has a better chance of returning home if lost. lol. I'm just being a smart aleck;-)

On the other hand, if the cat isn't found for a while, the bell could interfere with its hunting and cause it to go hungry.

 

[doravera]

I recently put collars on the girls so that they could get used to them, they happen to have bells on too. As they're still very tiny and black it comes in use at night on the stairs to locate a kitty is nearby... They don't seem bothered if they wear them... If they were bothered I'd cut them off.

 

[feline22]

I dont believe it the neighbours cat just brought a bird into our house,luckily it flew away! WHAT can i do?Im sick of seeing dead birds!

 

[feline22]

I have tried the bell on her and the bell only jingles when she moves suddenly or has a little scratch which is rareley.......

 

[otto]

I recently put collars on the girls so that they could get used to them, they happen to have bells on too. As they're still very tiny and black it comes in use at night on the stairs to locate a kitty is nearby... They don't seem bothered if they wear them... If they were bothered I'd cut them off.

A cat can't tell you if a bell is bothering her. I hate bells on collars, I think it it's unnecessary and causes a cat needless discomfort.

 

[stewball]

All my cats have worn collars with bells even though they are strictly indoor cats. It's really for me so I know where they are. Blighty is the only one who objected and within the hour was fine. The bells outside are really more for the birds. They are not in trouble for catching mice etc.
I read English cat magazines and I've noticed that most people are making their gardens cat happy and enclosed so they get everything a garden can give them but can't leave. That's much more preferable to being shocked.

 

[cynbarrie]

I have a color with a bell for my cat. The first color I had for her (that was given to me by the Humane Society where I got her) had a rather annoying bell. it was high pitch and it bothered me a bit, but she did not seem to mind it at all, she never tried to take it off. I got her a new color with a softer bell (Its just a nicer sounding bell) and it is much less annoying to me anyway. I personally think that animals that can hide easily anywhere is your house (and may break things in those hiding spots) need a bell. Monkey (my cat) loves to climb under/ontop of everything and get into everything, so I need to know where she is all the time so she doesnt chew any or my cords and wires (bad for my kitty and for my apliences). 
She is an Indoor only cat for the time being, for I am in College and my apartment doesn't have easy outdoor access. But when I visit home she likes to seek out the doggy door and explor the back yard for a bit. The bell helps me know where she is and make sure she is safe, and it does not interfere with her hunting at all. She stalks me, my dog, my roommate's cat, without letting her bell make a sound (untill she pounces anyway, But its usually too late for her prey to get away lol). 
I do not think bells are cruel, but I do understand why some people may think so. They really just help me make sure she is being safe and not destroying my apartment... 

 

[mycatsinthetub]

My cats wear harnesses with their ID, chip info, license, and vax tags. My older cat was born semi~feral and still loves a good romp and hunt. When I moved I tried to keep him in the yard, but with my neighbors wanting to visit him and have him eat all their lovely pinkies it was a struggle. He has become a very social gentleman. Always up for a cuddle and scratch once he gets to know you. He is also an escape artist, and biggish (about 18~19 lbs).

My female cat has no interest in strangers, rarely leaves the yard, and is uncomfortable with new spaces so she is rarely outside. Her harness is usually by the front door otherwise she chews it off. She is fine with it outside. Refuses to wear it in the house.

The kitten has one too, but he has zero interest in the outside right now.

 

[moggymomma]

In my town (as far as I'm aware) all cats indoor or outdoor have to have collars and ID tags. However the only cat that wears a bell in the house is the Momma kitty I'm fostering ATM. And its a warning system for the my own cats. When they hear the bell they know she's in their proximity. She's sometimes a little short tempered. However, once thekittens are gone we are hoping her temperament goes back to her usual loving self so she doesn't have to wear it anymore.

 

[trevandbur]

My cats are 100% indoors. I have had collars with bells on cats before, and with as crazy as hearing the bells drove me, I can only imagine how awfully annoying it must be for the cats. I cut the bells off. But I had one cat get his jaw caught in a collar that was a bit too loose (thankfully he didn't get hurt but a human got a nasty gouge on the hand in the process of getting it off him). And when they'd play, the collars would get popped off if they had the safety release. I got tired of putting collars back on them. I had a collar on Trevor for a while when he was an only cat (he's the only one who I was able to keep in the divorce) but he scratched at it constantly until it was an ugly snagged mess so I threw it away. I never replaced it, and when Burlington came home he had a collar with tags from the animal shelter but I took that off him. So now I don't use collars at all. Neither one of them even considers going near the door when it is open. Trevor ran outside once a few years ago and it terrified him and he never did it again. Burlington was found as a stray, although I believe at one time he was someone's pet since you don't often see Maine Coons running loose. He has had his fill of "outside" and won't go within 6 feet of an open door. He's also microchipped.

 

[kookoo4kitties]

My strictly indoor cat has a collar with id tags and a bell so I know where she is at all times. One thing I am noticing really fast about this forum is that there seems to be a lot of judgement. This is cruel, that is cruel ... and now you're saying collars and bells are cruel? I wonder if you would still think this way if you saw the pictures of my neighbors poor defenseless chipped cat that managed to sneak out of her apartment? If you think bells are cruel, I wonder what you would think of what these two horrible kids did to that beautiful animal? My neighbor had to make the gut-wrenching decision to put her cat down or watch her suffer through a long, painful recovery. I know exactly how she would answer this question.

 

[goldeye]

I dont think its cruel to have a collar with a bell on it, there are some pros of having it such as being able to find your cat just in case they are somewhere they shouldnt be at in the house. its just a matter of preference of the owner and the cat. I got a collar with a bell on it for my cat but she didnt like the bell so I cut it off now she plays kitty soccer with it. I would like to put one on though just so I know where she is.

 

[trevandbur]

How does a collar with a bell save a cat from being killed or tortured?

I just look at it as that it would have to be really annoying to have a bell jingling with every step.

 

[kookoo4kitties]

The bell makes it easier to keep track of where the cat is so it doesn't accidentally get out. Even without the extreme....I don't know how many times I accidentally kicked or stepped on our cat when I was rushing around making dinner or other stuff that doesn't allow me to watch the floor for her. That's why I finally put a bell on our cat.

 

[stephiedoodle]

Lilly has a collar (with bell) have considered taking the bell off many times but as she likes to hide in our dark cupboards and have since found the bell useful in locating her during these times. Shes indoor so thus doesn't hunt 'REAL' prey her prey are sisal mice brightly coloured balls and blue and silver shinny fishies on a wand. Bell does not seem to bother or annoy her.

 

[kimmiejo]

Hey I have a large male orange tabby cat that hunts everything it can and brings it in the house wounded like the blue jay the other day.  I also have 2 small JRTs the one grabs everything away from the cat and if she eats a chipmonk almost whole i have to make her throw it up so she won't get sick and die from all the hair she injected.  This is all hours of the night.  My daughter who works with animals and knows cats really well told me to get a breakaway cat collar with Bells so maybe it will make enough noise to scare its prey away.  Don't forget the prey have a right to live too! My cat has the collar on with three bells on it and has no problem wearing it.  The bird that  he caught was in the house with wings broken badly but still very much alive when my husband found it he had to get it away from the cat and the dog.  The bird so scared grabbed my husbands hand and was pecking the heck out of it.  Need less to say it was put out of its misery as it would not of survived any way which was the humane thing to do.  So I bought a breakaway cat collar to help keep him from hopefully getting everything he hunts.  It is not cruel at all what is cruel is having other animals and birds wounded and left to finish dieing a slow death.