Do your indoor cats wear collars? Why or why not?

squirtle

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Originally Posted by laureen227

Chip did that once, when i first got him. but it was a Beastie band, & he basically chewed it in two
he hasn't had a problem since, tho.
I did try a Beastie Band with Dori after that incident.. there was something about the material that made her lick at it continuously. All she wanted to do was sit there and do whatever she could to lick her collar. I had to take it off.
The ones that got caught around her jaw were both break away collars.
 

icklemiss21

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Ours all have microchips and will not wear a collar so I don't try and make them. I do have collars with ID tags that I make them wear if we are taking them out (vet visits, groomers, when we moved etc)
 

sharky

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mine wear collars ... I say they are indoors since they cant get out of the back yard ... I use the bells to track who is where
 

inkl

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Lucy wears a collar with my phone number on it, she doesn't seem to mind it too much. I took the bell off after a while, the constant "dingledingledingledingledingledingle" was driving me batty.
Zoe has a harness I only use when I'm taking her outside or to the vet/in a car, she's really good on a leash and I take her out for a stroll once in a while on it. She also knows how to pull a collar off - she hooks a paw under it and pulls untill it releases, the little smartypants.

inkl
 

lady20

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Well, I guess the answer to that questions would be, does she ever seem to want to get out? Any chance she could get out accidently by someone else? IMO, I would try it and see if she likes it if any of the above are true, give her a couple of days. If so, problem solved.


Helene
 

minxie

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all mine have about 5 collars each (since discovering ragtime pet collars)! I put them on the cats mainly for:

- ID purposes..
- the bell is handy to know where they are..(espcially for knowing where the little 9 month kittens are getting into mischief)...
- vanity! its my way of dressing my darling cats up

I make sure that the collars are breakaway collars.

Some would say I have gone over the top, but for their 'sunday best' collar...i had the pattern of the collar fabric printed on the front of the id tag (ebay tags)..so the collars and tags match!
 

kmkelly127

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Both of my boys wear collars and tags. Neither had ever done so before, but it only took maybe a week to get them used to it. Their tags have their name and my phone number on it. I also have their rabies tags and a bell on each. Neither cat goes outside EVER, and they seem quite disinterested in running out the door as is (when I leave it open to bring in groceries or sweep the porch, they'll sit just inside the door and watch me -- never even taking a step into the outside world). I do it just on the very off-chance that they might get out, plus I prefer to hear the "jingle-jingle" when they're in another room -- too much quiet with these two is a BAD combination.

Oh, I also put little scarves on their collars to "dress them up" a bit for holidays and such. My mother-in-law makes them for cats and dogs in various sizes and sells them at craft shows. They just slip on the collar so they don't tie and choke the animal, or get their fur tied into it. Neither one of my cats are bothered by them, and they look quite dapper! :-)
 

white cat lover

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Originally Posted by Trouts mom

Well dang, I still don't know if I should put one on her or not
Think of it this way, Nat....if Trout should ever get out, would her wearing a collar help her to be reunited with you? I realize that the chances of her getting out are slim, but they are still there.
 

rapunzel47

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Well, I've stayed out of this thread because my kids do go outside, and that will be the case as long it seems reasonable, but let me just add this. If my circumstances ever changed such that I didn't feel I could let them out, that wouldn't stop me having cats, and it wouldn't stop me putting collars on them. To my thinking, an indoor kitty who finds herself outside, will not have acquired outdoor smarts to help her get home, and will need all the help she can get from the humans around. The more obvious it is that she has a home and there is a way of contacting her human(s), the more likely that whoever sees her will attempt to do so.
 

laureen227

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Originally Posted by rapunzel47

Well, I've stayed out of this thread because my kids do go outside, and that will be the case as long it seems reasonable, but let me just add this. If my circumstances ever changed such that I didn't feel I could let them out, that wouldn't stop me having cats, and it wouldn't stop me putting collars on them. To my thinking, an indoor kitty who finds herself outside, will not have acquired outdoor smarts to help her get home, and will need all the help she can get from the humans around. The more obvious it is that she has a home and there is a way of contacting her human(s), the more likely that whoever sees her will attempt to do so.
that's exactly why mine wear collars. Pixel & Chip are not all that friendly, but Java's never met a stranger! if she ever got out without ID, someone would probably just adopt her as their own!
 

purefusion

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We had never put a collar on a cat until we got Cookie for the family. She came with one as part of her adoption and we've never had her without one. It has a bell and two tags: one rabies and one with our info. She used to go camping with us over the summers and we trained her to go on walks on the harness (which she loves and can't get enough of--even when it's raining or winter). So now that she doesn't go camping anymore (my parents got a different trailer that's not cat-friendly), she still wears her collar. My parents love her jingle-jangle and always know where she is (on the counters or playing) because of the bell.

When I got Jaden for my new family (husband), we knew we'd put a collar on her. The fact that her ear is clipped because she was planned for a TNR (but got adopted out because she was sooooo loving and cute) makes having a collar on her necessary. If she were to ever get out without one, people might assume she is meant to be out because of her clipped ear and not take her to a vet. She is microchipped, but that doesn't reassure me again, because of her ear. So she has a pretty pink collar with the yellow microchip id # on it and a spongebob squarepants tag with our info on the back. No bell, but our apt is so small we almost always know where she is anyway.

My sister's cat, on the other hand doesn't wear a collar after many attempts to get him to wear one. He'd get it caught on stuff and rip it off and after a few different styles, she's just given up and has him run around naked.
 

cubbie

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I go back and forth on the collars. My boys don't mind wearing them at all. I like the bell on collars so I can hear where they are. I just put collars back on them not too long ago after them not wearing them for 6 or so months.

My cats don't try to scamper outside if the door is open, but I guess there is that 1 in a million chance something could happen where an ID of some form would get them back (eg, house catches on fire, flood, a bad pet sitter).

I tried to get them to carry wallets but they wouldn't listen.
 

momto3cats

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Mine do not wear collars. They don't try to get outside anymore, and they hate wearing anything, so it just isn't worth it IMO. The next time I get a kitten I plan to get him used to wearing a collar and going outside on a harness and leash right away.
 
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trouts mom

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Originally Posted by churchi4cubs

I tried to get them to carry wallets but they wouldn't listen.
Trout does carry her wallet, so maybe she doesn't need a collar
 

cloud_shade

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My indoor only cats have microchips (one has AVID and the other has 24PetWatch) and collars. The tags have their names and two phone numbers where I can be reached on one side, and "Indoor Only Cat" on the other side. Many of my neighbors allow their cats to go outside, so I figure that the "Indoor only" part means a better chance of someone calling me if either of mine were to escape. The microchip, however, offers real proof that they are my cats. I also keep pictures of them, including their special markings, as proof of ownership.
 

betsygee

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oh goodness, I just realized this post is several years old.....
 
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dejolane

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Bella and Thunder used to have the collars with bells, number and name but since we moved I took the off.
 
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