Having trouble getting my cat to get used to a collar.

[Jasper'sMom2022]

Hiya,

I have tried many times to get my 1 year old black cat Jasper to get used to a collar. I've used catnip spray on it and he's played with
the collar so his odor is on it but when I put it on him his mood changes from happy and energetic to low and the pupils go big in his eyes.
I toss a toy away from him and he just walks a step or two and then sits. If I have the collar off him he runs after the toy. He was a
stray cat before he was in the shelter last November when I adopted him so I guess he has never had a collar on him.

Does anyone have any ideas? I give him a treat when he does well when I put the collar on but he feels uncomfortable wearing it.
If anyone has any ideas and solutions to get Jasper to get used to his collar I would be most appreciated.

I took off the bell on the collar as he hated the sound of it and he is microchipped but I do have an id tag to put on the collar
which I will slowly put it on when he gets used to the collar. I'm doing baby steps on all Jasper's new things that he has to
get used to as he was on the streets although I don't know his background history.

Thanks for any help in this matter.

Meow!
Anne
JASPER

 

[vansX2]

Have you considered a "Harness"? Kitty would likely be more receptive.

 

[imaginewizard]

Have you considered a "Harness"? Kitty would likely be more receptive.

I disagree a harness is an alternative to a collar - it's generally not encouraged to have a harness on for long periods of unsupervised time (the circumstances on which a cat would wear a collar), as a cat could get themselves stuck in it - unlike most modern collars, by design, harnesses aren't breakaway. Harnesses are for use with leashes to restrict a cat's movements under supervision, collars are for marking the cat as owned and including id, as well as to attach things like bells to for location and hunting prevention.

J Jasper'sMom2022 : How long have you kept the collar on? If you're the first one to collar him, he's probably simply not used to it. From my perspective, it's simply a case of exposure. They're not going to understand the new feeling on their neck at first, but cats - I believe - are adaptive so long as they are given time to change to their new status quo. If you take the collar off as soon as you believe Jasper is acting abnormal, you may not be given Jasper time to get used to it, so he's always going to treat it as weird. My cats adapt quickly, so I am often inclined to simply expose them to new things until they get used to it - but for other cars a bit less tolerant, sometimes the method of 'increasing the time' between exposure works better, so you would have it on Jasper for like 5 minutes one day, then 10 minutes, and keep going until you reach permanent.

 

[maggie101]

My cats do not like collars either. Maybe it has something to do with their obsessive cleanliness.

 

[minish]

Minish has a collar 6 months per year when she moves to our other house and becomes inside outside cat. She protests every time but gets used to it in a few days. When we collar her, we don't take it off. Maybe if you get the thinnest lightest collar possible, leave it very loose unless the cat struggles out of it, it will work. As the collar becomes part of the coat (same scent, can scratch underneath, lick over it..) you can add the other stuff (bells I'd etc)

 

[maggie101]

Long time ago I woke up from a strange noise. She had the collar in her mouth. I had to carefully use small Scissors. So not too loose. There is also the risk of the collar getting stuck on something

 

[Jasper'sMom2022]

I disagree a harness is an alternative to a collar - it's generally not encouraged to have a harness on for long periods of unsupervised time (the circumstances on which a cat would wear a collar), as a cat could get themselves stuck in it - unlike most modern collars, by design, harnesses aren't breakaway. Harnesses are for use with leashes to restrict a cat's movements under supervision, collars are for marking the cat as owned and including id, as well as to attach things like bells to for location and hunting prevention.

J Jasper'sMom2022 : How long have you kept the collar on? If you're the first one to collar him, he's probably simply not used to it. From my perspective, it's simply a case of exposure. They're not going to understand the new feeling on their neck at first, but cats - I believe - are adaptive so long as they are given time to change to their new status quo. If you take the collar off as soon as you believe Jasper is acting abnormal, you may not be given Jasper time to get used to it, so he's always going to treat it as weird. My cats adapt quickly, so I am often inclined to simply expose them to new things until they get used to it - but for other cars a bit less tolerant, sometimes the method of 'increasing the time' between exposure works better, so you would have it on Jasper for like 5 minutes one day, then 10 minutes, and keep going until you reach permanent.

Thanks I"ll try that with the collar. I have to let him get used to it and get his scent on it. About the harness and leash I will be walking him on the deck with it as he will never be unattended when I put it on Jasper. I would always be with him. He will only go on our deck and if he wants to go inside I will let him. I always let my pets make the decision on what's best for them. I'll try the collar idea and put a bit of catnip loose on it as it will make him feel less nervous about it. Thanks so much

 

[Jasper'sMom2022]

I'll follow your advice and his collar is thin and it's one of those detachable ones so if it gets caught it comes apart
and will free the cat. I always use those on my cats as I don't want my cat to choke on it if he got stuck on something.
Thanks so much I'll keep the collar on and I'm sure Jasper will soon get used to it. I'll be patient with him as it's all new to him.

Meow!
Anne

 

[di and bob]

It just takes a while, my cats absolutely hated their collars, but after a few days, they accepted it and returned to normal. I agree with the above too, don't have it too loose for a while at least, my cat got his lower jaw stuck in it too. It can take up to a week. Make absolutely sure it is a break-away collar made for cats too, that is a must, cats get them caught on things all the time. My favorite collars were on Amazon and had my phone number stitched right into the collar.

 

[ladytimedramon]

I use the "beastie band" type neoprene collar. Delilah hasn't minded it at all. In fact when I when I took hers off to replace with a newer one, she looked at me like "when do I get to wear this one?"

I did have a problem though with the beastie band on Fancy - apparently the rivet for hanging bells and tags was not crimped properly and it irritated her neck. She licked off most of the fur in about a 1 inch area on her neck before I discovered it. When the fur grows back I'm going to try again, but I will make sure that the rivet is sealed.

 

[misty8723]

None of my cats have ever had collars. I tried to put collars on the first two we got in 2005 and they were having none of it. So I thought, well they're indoor cats and I'm very careful about not letting them get out, so why bother with collars.

 

[vansX2]

None of my cats have ever had collars. I tried to put collars on the first two we got in 2005 and they were having none of it. So I thought, well they're indoor cats and I'm very careful about not letting them get out, so why bother with collars.

Amen.

 

[jamie_02]

my kitten doesn’t like collars either, i’d like her to wear one just incase she gets out but .. it seems unlikely lol, she’s fully indoor and we’re very careful about her getting out, you could keep trying, it can take days for them to get used to it but some kitties just won’t tolerate them, we’re gonna try again with ours soon as she got a new one for christmas [its a super cute studded one from pets at home] but we don’t know if she’ll let us lol, let us know if he accepts the collar soon !

 

[TardisDance]

I tried to put one of those necoichi collars on my male cat and he absolutely hated it. It had a really obnoxious bell and every time he moved, he started running in circles and pawed at his neck. I thought a bell could help give my older female cat a warning that he’s nearby. However, in the end, I didn’t want to drive him to insanity and removed the collar.

The collar sure was cute - a red bow tie and he’s a tuxedo cat. Too bad.

 

[vince]

My youngest thinks collars are toys. She kept taking hers off and I'd catch her playing with it, so I quit putting it back on. She even gets the collars off the other cats sometimes, and plays with them. These were all breakaway collars.

They're all indoor-only cats and microchipped, so it's not as big a problem as it could be.