Does your indoor cat wear a collar?

Does your indoor cat wear a collar?

  • Yes, all of the time

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Yes, some of the time

    Votes: 50 82.0%
  • No, never

    Votes: 11 18.0%

  • Total voters
    61

crazy4strays

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Well, I was too shy to post this before--
--but since I discovered my new kitty did not object to wearing collars, she is the first cat ever to sport one.  Or two.  Oh well, I may as well admit it, Lilith has a whole wardrobe of pretty breakaway collars, including pink glitter, red glitter, snowflakes, ladybugs, patriotic stars, halloween, autumn, shamrocks, and a few more in glitter.  My favorite is a rhinestone that I made myself, because the manufactured ones didn't seem safe to me, or looked like they might loose stones.
I also have a tag, even though she is chipped, just in case.
There, I said it, don't judge me.:D
No judgement here! Your kitty must be very stylish. :D
 

yoshiyama

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None of my 3 cats wear a collar.  All 3 are indoor only.  I did try at first when we only had the 2 girls, however they would not wear them.  Elsbett the oldest got her jaw stuck in the collar & before that she was contantly digging at it trying to get it off.  The same with Shiva, non-stop digging trying to get it off so I gave in.  Shiva doesnt like it outside to the point that my husband carried her outside to look around and she clawed him to jump over his shoulder to get back inside the door.  Elsbett has walked out the door only 1 time & we were right there and she stayed right by the house & we grabbed her real quick.  After that, she has not tried it.  Our newest addition Loki has gotten out a few times, but didnt get past the car.  He was a stray that adopted us.  We dont have many visitor's & since its just my husband & me, we are always checking to see that the cats are away from the door when we come & go.  Mostly now, they jump on the cat tree next to the door when it opens to see what is going on.
 

gareth

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No. Neither of my indoor cats wear collars. 
 

babygirlsmom

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Our Babygirl always has her "necklace" on so that if she gets out of the house she doesn't get confused for the many feral cats that we have roaming around.
 

tarasgirl06

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I take mine off right away, as I'm pretty sure that sound stresses cats, who are stealth hunters.  Of course mine are indoor-only cats, but you can't be too careful.  Breakaway collars with ID tags are mandatory catwear here.
 

cassiopea

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Both kitties are full time indoor.

Morgana wears a collar all the time (Though will give her the odd break to let her neck breathe a little of course) She is deaf, so having a bell on her is very useful for me, and of course she doesn't hear the sound itself so it never phases her, nor does she try to stop or hinder the sound. On top of that, she is a very spritely and mischievous thing 
 so another reason why the collar with a bell is very useful. I always know exactly where she is in the house!
 

And I have to admit, the bell sounds pleasant to the ear.

Camelot also wears a collar the majority of the time, but doesn't have a bell.



Altogether too, there is the extra security if they ever manage to get out of the house. I live in a rural area, so good to have it confirm that these kitties are not feral or barn cats. On top of being pure white, one being deaf, makes them a tad more vulnerable to predators. 
 

kittens mom

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I take mine off right away, as I'm pretty sure that sound stresses cats, who are stealth hunters.  Of course mine are indoor-only cats, but you can't be too careful.  Breakaway collars with ID tags are mandatory catwear here.
My cats learned to go into stealth mode even with bells very quickly.
 

stefanie

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I have a breakaway collar that has a bell on it for my DSH, Riley. She is an indoor cat only and sometimes she'll hide in random places in my apt. The bell helps me find her.
 

dartalins

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All of our cats/kittens have collars and bells which they seemed to take pride in when placed on them. It's nice knowing where they are and what they are getting into. They are indoors as well:wavey:
 

kittens mom

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Remember, A collar on an indoor cat is not so you know who they are. It's for the safety of the house fluffy should the worst happen. Just like micro chipping. Because the sweetest cat in the world can do an Oscar worthy rendition of a feral when stressed.
 

crazy4strays

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As always, KittensMom, your comments are spot on.

My cat escaped through a window the other day and disappeared for multiple hours. While frantically searching for him, I found it comforting that I had already prepared for this possibility. He has a microchip that not only is registered with my current phone number and address and phone number , but has contact info for my veterinarian as well as an alternate emergency contact. He has a collar and tag with his name, my phone number, microchip information, my vet's name and phone number, plus the phrase "Indoor Cat."

Luckily I found him relatively quickly.

The statistics tell it all, really. Out of lost cats, approximately 25% are never found again by their guardians. Out of lost dogs, only 6-7% are never found.
 
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artiemom

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I have tried to get Artie to wear a collar. He just hates it. At the age of 12, I think it is too late to try. He has too many other issues. I do not want to stress him out anymore. He also has a skin tag in that area. I do not want to irritate that.

If I adopted again, with a dark colored cat, I think I would try a bright colored collar. I have wear eyeglasses, so it could be a bit easier to see the cat in the dark or if it was hiding. 
 

crazy4strays

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My cats both wear bright purple tags. One cat's collar is orange and the other one is tiger striped. I want collars and tags that are as bright and flashy as possible, so that they stand out and don't blend in. (i.e. no black collars and tags for my black cat)
 

reversedpolarit

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In the process of adopting an indoor cat and I don't think I will put a collar on him. I live in an apartment block, so he'd have to get out of my front door and then two more locked doors to get outside. He'll be microchipped seeing as it's routine with this shelter. Plus the amount of collars previous (outdoor) cars have gone through! Perhaps if he gets underfoot a lot I'll get him one with a bell...
 

molly92

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Delilah has developed an obsession with trying to slip out the door, so she has a collar with an ID tag that says "indoor only" as well as a microchip. Fortunately she doesn't seem mind the collar at all. And also luckily for me, she's very easy to catch on the occasions she managed to get by me!

Lost cats are less likely to be found than dogs, and that's partly because people are less likely to assume a cat outside is lost, but also because dogs are more social and will interact with people more freely. At the shelter I used to volunteer, one of the other experienced volunteers had good advice for anyone who came in who had lost an indoor cat:
  1. Indoor cats are usually found very close to home. After the initial dart out the door, they tend to get scared by the unfamiliar surroundings and take cover as soon as they find a good hiding spot. Focus your search in the areas immediately surrounding your house.
  2. Scared lost cats will hide during the day and come out when it gets darker, so dusk is the best time to go looking.
  3. Put their favorite food out along with something that they spend a lot of time with, like their bed. The scent of something familiar might help them find their house.
  4. A flashlight can help a lot! If the beam catches the cat's eyes you'll see that distinctive cat eye glow immediately.
  5. Keep calling the cat's name as you walk around (or saying whatever word they associate you with or shake a bag of treats or make whatever noise it is that they respond best to). The cat may hear you from a street away and start heading to your voice, but by the time it gets to you you may have moved on, so it's important to keep calling over and over so they can keep track of where you are. Because they're an indoor kitty, they don't know the surrounding area at all and your voice will be their only landmark.
  6. Post flyers around the neighborhood, but also go door to door and talk to people and/or put flyers in mailboxes. This does a better job of informing people who may not stop to get a good look at a flyer on a lamppost. It also shows people that you're very dedicated to finding this cat, on the off chance that your cat has been stolen (it does happen!). A cat thief will eventually give in if you're persistent enough.
 

grooverite

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I have a question for the folks who have cats who 'bolt' out the door.......

1.) Are they fixed?

2.)Were they feral, semi-feral, strays before your bought them indoors?

.......just asking because I'm very curious in learning and understanding cat behavior. Thank you! :-)
 

crazy4strays

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I have a question for the folks who have cats who 'bolt' out the door.......

1.) Are they fixed?
2.)Were they feral, semi-feral, strays before your bought them indoors?

.......just asking because I'm very curious in learning and understanding cat behavior. Thank you! :-)
1. Yes, my cat is neutered.
2. I adopted him as a stray. He was almost solely outdoors initially. I assumed that I would keep him
as a barn cat (since I thought that my landlord didn't allow pets) but later changed that totally when my
landlord gave approval for indoor pets.
 
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catpack

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I have a question for the folks who have cats who 'bolt' out the door.......

1.) Are they fixed?
2.)Were they feral, semi-feral, strays before your bought them indoors?

.......just asking because I'm very curious in learning and understanding cat behavior. Thank you! :-)
While none of my cats are bolters, I do have a friend that adopted a sibling pair from my rescue and one of them IS a bolter.

A little background:
"A" is a female that came into our rescue at 5 days old. Mom was not feral nor was she really a stray. She belonged to an older couple that meant well and had acquired about 100 cats very quickly after a huge tornado hit the area. Momma belonged to the couple *prior* to the tornado, but she was one we took due to the babies.

Mom and babies resided in a strictly indoor environment (still do) and "A" was adopted out with a sibling at 5 months old. She was spayed at 6 months.

I have the other siblings of this litter and they are not door darters. "A" does have access to a screened porch and an open deck that is 3 stories up, which mine do not, not sure if this plays into her desire to be outside, but I suspect it does.
 
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