Does your indoor cat wear a collar?

[ebrillblaiddes]

Chilsa did, but he went out. For the others that are completely indoor, I feel it's unnecessary except in special circumstances like a cross-country move. Panther HATES wearing a collar because the first time she wore one, it was too big for her (even though it was the smallest size) and she pulled it partway off, into her mouth, where it put a lot of pressure, probably to the point of pain, on her jaw. The breakaway buckle didn't pop open for some reason; my cousin and I had to catch her, wrap her in a towel so we didn't bleed to death in the process, and put even more pressure on her jaw by sticking my fingers into the collar to pop it open. I won't remind her of that without a good reason.

 

[sharky]

Originally Posted by missymotus

Agree, my cats don't and will never wear collars.

I used to be pro-collar, but changed my opinion over the years.

same here... collar free for 3 plus years ...

 

[alicatjoy]

I voted that my cats sometimes wear collars.

All of my kitties have collars and tags. I should also mention that they are all microchipped. However, while they do wear their collars when going to the vet or going out of the house for any reason (they are exclusively indoor cats), I often take their collars off of them when I am home.

I used to have them wear their collars all the time, but after reading some horror stories and hearing people's personal experiences with collars, I'm beginning to lean toward having the collars off of the cats unless absolutely necessary (ie. a vet trip or in an emergency). Having my kitties microchipped certainly helps ease my mind should they accidentally find their way out of the house, but, in my neighborhood, it wouldn't be likely that anyone would take a cat in and have it scanned for a microchip. So, for now, it's kind of a 50/50 situation. I guess I haven't fully decided one way or another to either have them free from collars at all times or have them wearing them exclusively.

For me, I think that they look adorable in their collars. They have a variety and some of them are just too cute. And, it doesn't hurt that they don't mind their collars, bells, or tags at all. But, I also like the natural look and think they're cute as can be regardless of whether they're wearing collars or not.

I should recommend Beastie Bands. You can google them if you're unfamiliar. But, they're a really good collar and recommended for safety. I have the regular safety cat collars as well as Beastie Bands and have never had an issue with either, but if your cat is one that fusses with his or her collar and you absolutely refuse to go without one, they may be a good option. Just a little FYI...

 

[lovemahkitties]

Originally Posted by Kai Bengals

For us the possible safety hazards of collars outweighs the identification benefit.

agree with this. none of ours our collared, but all are microchipped.

safety/identity concerns considered, i also prefer the aesthetics of a 'natural' kitty (no brands of ownership)

 

[animalhouse]

Topaz wears one, as he is still young and interested in the outdoors. If we come in the slider with the dogs from them pottiying.. he will be sitting right at the door.. Soo we have to be careful. He has run out that door one time.. but we caught him cause it was raining and he stoped. Lol
He is Microchipped.. and has a tag with his name on it.. on top of the chip tag. He also has his rabies tag on there. We dont wanna loose him!

His collar is a Quick release.. and it comes off... a lot. Lol as he HATES his tags on him..and pulls on them..and pulls the collar off. Lol But he is getting that ring around his neck..and I have wondered if I should take his off..since he hates it so much.
My roomies cats never have one on.

 

[kkh]

Ku Ku wears collar, as well as ID tag, also this cute little tag says "Cattitude"

She's strictly indoor, and microchipped as well but just in case. Y'never know...

 

[aussie_dog]

Buffy wears a breakaway collar, since she's a door-darter, but the other two don't wear collars. Unlike my trouble child, they can be trusted, or at least managed. Buffy's too much of a live wire for it to even be a question.

 

[melissaw]

Neither of our girls wears a collar - several reasons for this

-right now we're in an apartment - if they run out the door, they're only running into a small closed off section of hallway
-they are not really door hangers. Sometimes Aspen will run out the door when we come home but its usually because she's so excited we're home that she just HAS to be at our feet, so her "escape" involves bolting out the door the minute we open it so she can stand under our feet

-Aspen is the clumsiest cat I've ever met. I would be way too worried that she would do something silly and end up hanging herself
-Libby is too adventurous - she loves to climb things and hide under things and turn anything into an obstacle course and again I'd be afraid she might hang herself

When we move next month I may look into getting a collar temporarily for Libby particularly because she is very nervous about new spaces and I'd be worried she might get outside and bolt until she's more comfortable in the house

Aspen has escaped before in years past (or in one case, I had a roomate who insisted I was cruel to keep her indoors and kept letting her out against my wishes) and she usually just sits at the front door until you let her back in so I'm not too worried about her

 

[kara_leigh]

Nora does at all times, with identification stating her name, our address, and our phone number...just in the SLIGHTEST chance she should ever get outside. She is strictly indoors only, and never makes even an attempt to get outside, but you never know. I know a collar could come off, and that I should get her microchipped b/c of that in order to cover all my bases, but I can't afford to.

Even if we had her microchipped I would still have her wear a collar, b/c it is something people can see and at a glance know she belongs to someone. She is a VERY timid cat around people other than us (on the rare occasions we have had company, she has just gone to hide the entire time), so I know she would be skittish if she ever got outside and wouldn't be likely to easily go up to someone and be friendly. I want to take every chance I can that someone would recognize that she has a home and be more likely to attempt to return her.

 

[laureen227]

i voted 'all the time', because 4 of mine do. Pixel doesn't - she reacts to collars by losing fur [?] for some reason. she has a collar - but only wears it to the vet. she's 12, & never, ever tries to go outside.
the other 4 have collars, & tags w/their names, my phone numbers, & the message 'if you see me outside, i am lost - reward' on them.

 

[girlsetsfiyah]

We don't have collars on our boys, but we had them both microchipped. I wish I could get them to wear them, but they both freak out, and jubbs got his front paw stuck in it once for god knows how long!

 

[brooklet425]

Mine all wear collars. A lot of people don't even realize that microchips exist (at least in my experience) so while they are a great idea, I don't completely trust that alone to get a cat home. One of my cats ran out the door and disappeared for 3 months. We put up signs everywhere and put fliers in people's mailboxes. In the end, none of those signs mattered. It was the the tag on his collar that brought him back to us. The man who found him told us it took him a few weeks to earn his trust, but he could see the cat wearing a collar with a tag so he knew he belonged to someone and thats what made him keep trying. So after that experience they will always wear collars. If Moses hadn't been wearing a collar, I'm not sure if he ever would have made it back home to us.

Plus, I have a few socialized ferals who have their ear tipped. If someone who knew about TNR saw that it might never occur to them to check for a microchip because they just look like a neutered feral.

So those are my reasons for all of my indoor kitties to always wear a collar

.

 

[pat traufield]

I tried having my duo wear collars. However Red and Yoda developed a mutual agreement to remove each others collars on a daily basis. Thank goodness they are also microchipped!

 

[carla1183]

I sadly had to put myself into the "they used to" category

We put very lightweight collars on them with the no-hang tags from when they were very little. After a few months of them taking them off once a week or so and us putting them back on, they started hiding them. Literally I'd put them on in the morning, they'd be gone by the evening. After buying 3 new sets we gave up.
I did eventually find a stockpile of collars/tags inside the lining of an old couch!