Is there a collar that is 'safe' but that doesn't 'break away' all the time?

[caracoveney]

Hallo.  Can fellow cat owners give me some information/help, please?   I have always used 'break away' collars on my 3 cats and these are fine for 2 of my cats, as they don't move much past the garden, but the third, Joey, tends to roam far and wide, through undergrowth etc and subsequently often loses his collar.  This would be ok if it was just the collar, but since I have had him (over 3 years), I have also used a light 'Loc8tor' tab on him, which is fantastic, except that when he loses the collar, the tab goes with it!  I have only ever recovered a couple of collars using the 'beeper' unit, which were in the field nearby, but the others are either completely out of range of the unit, or with a very faint 'signal'.  Where I live, there is a large private field behind me, which he starts off in, then he goes to the built-up areas, which it is impossible for me to access without constantly trespassing over private land and gardens to see if I can get a better signal.  Over that period, I have lost at least 15 collars with tabs attached (it may be more)!  At about £20 a time for the tab + the new collar cost, it is a very costly exercise, but I keep doing it as I am so worried about my cat coming to harm and me never being able to find him.  

It is often really frightening when I get a faint signal which stays the same for hours.  Has Joey's collar broken away or is he lying somewhere, hurt or worse?  So whenever he is out I am frightened to death when he leaves the garden.  It would be sheer cruelty to keep him in all the time.  For a start, he has broken through several cat flaps and also is so strong, he has pushed away any other barrier as he is so determined to get out, but mostly he is just not an 'indoor' cat (though he sleeps indoors at night and stays in in bad weather (though often likes to watch the rain from his waterproof 'kennel' in the garden).  I 'cat-proofed' my garden fence recently, but he even got over that, hurting himself in the process, so I took it down.

Is there real evidence that the 'elasticated' type collar can cause harm to cats, perhaps by hanging?  Or is there another alternative (though I can't think of one).

I might add that Joey has been microchipped also - however, that is no great comfort if no-one finds him and takes him to a vet or the police to have his microchip checked.  Also, I have been using collars which don't have any 'dangly' bits on (eg bell or name tag, as I have his name printed on the collar - the Loc8tor tab fits flush to the collar).

If anyone can stop this constant anxiety I have about Joey that he is always going to lose his collar and therefore becomes 'untraceable', I would be really grateful.  Thank you.

 

[Kieka]

Link won't keep a collar on for more than 30 minutes without finding a way to get it off. Since he has legitimately gotten stuck on things (we've found his collar on a branch with a disturbed mud spot and a muddy cat in the house) I am hesitant to use an elastic collar. I usually try to test the pull on the collars because different brands have different breaking points and go with the heavier one. I bought an elastic one and the amount of pressure it took to break it was scary. I've given up on collars for him.

With that in mind I have him registered with three different microchip listings online. One through the chip manufacturer (AVID), one through HomeAgain and one through AKCReunite (which are the systems checked by vets within a 10 mile radius of me). I called the local shelter to see what service they use when they check microchips and they said they just check with the manufacturer. That said, when he was lost for a few days and I checked at the shelter they asked me if he was registered. They meant with the city, which I didn't even know you could do for a cat, so next up is registering him with the city. The more places that show his microchip number with a phone number the better the chances of someone getting the information. Plus I sent emails out to all those places with his information when he was lost so they would be on the lookout. I wish there was one centralized database everyone used but there just isn't. 

If its any consolation, since Joey is already used to the outside the chances of him losing his collar and getting lost are slim. My Link came home after 4 days of missing all on his own (with a broken leg, but still he came home). For cats that are used to going outdoors the bigger risk is injury or death causing them not to come home. In which case hopefully someone would take him to a local vet or humane society/animal control so you could find out what system all the local vets, humane society, and animal control use and make sure those systems have accurate information on Joey and his microchip so you will be contacted. 

 

[caracoveney]

Thank you, Keika.

I think that things are a bit easier in the UK, where I am.  There is a central 'Petlog', which is the largest register in the UK and which most vets use, and I will just have to trust to luck that some kind person finds him, should he get lost or 'hitches a lift; somewhere. I don't believe that he has to be registered anywhere else, to my knowledge.   I am always telling local workmen if they would mind either shutting their van doors and windows while they are working or at least make sure that they check their vans before they leave, which is why I am usually happier about Joey when the weather is bad so they don't open their van windows!  He is not a particularly 'sociable' cat and tends to run off if strangers appear, which is good, but I have seen him get in my car before now when I had the boot open.

I am glad that I read your answer, though.  Whilst I wouldn't have wished the experience you had with Link, and very happy that he escaped unscathed, at least I know now that an elasticated collar is certainly NOT safe.  I just hadn't come across anyone with that experience, and I don't want to risk Joey's safety that way, for the sake of keeping his collar and Loc8tor tab on.  

It is something that I think I will have to live with for now.  I bought a GPS tracker, but didn't get on well with it.  The collar unit was much heavier than the lightweight Loc8tor, and it just 'didn't work', because of a bad signal round here.  As I said, he stays closer to home in the bad weather, so am usually glad to see a rainy day!  Shouldn't be that way, of course, and I am using 'Anxiety' mp3s to try to reduce the amount of stress I am putting myself under, when Joey seems completely happy and doesn't realise what all the fuss is about!

That is terrible about Link's broken leg, and am so pleased that he was able to get home to you.  It must have seemed like a very long four days for you.

Best wishes to you and many happy years with Link.

 

[Columbine]

Is there any reason why you're using the Loc8tor unit instead of a traditional metal tag? It sounds like the Loc8tor is causing you more stress than anything else, and you and always say he's chipped on an engraved tag (though, to be fair, all vets and reduces here scan routinely for chips, so that addition isn't totally necessary ).

If you went with engraved metal tags, then you could always get a bulk order of tags and collars, and probably vastly reduce the replacement costs in the process!

Lastly, have you considered enclosing your garden to make it cat proof? That way, they cats could still go outside, but you'd know they were totally safe at the same time. If I ever had the money (my garden would be a nightmare to enclose) that's what I'd do, for sure [article="22375"][/article]
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[crazy4strays]

Beastie Bands are safe but stay on well. I've had great success in using those with my personal cats and fosters.

 

[caracoveney]

Hallo Columbine

Thank you for your reply.

Joey doesn't have an engraved tag - his collar has my phone number printed professionally onto it.  He has been microchipped internally. The Loc8tor tag isn't there to give the cat's details, it is a tag that my handheld unit can 'home in' on, a sort of 'remote control' unit, When it works well, it is fantastic and gives me a lot of peace of mind.  It's when the collar falls off by getting caught on branches, undergrowth etc is where the trouble comes.  I do get a bit obsessed with it, I know, but I feel that if I had absolutely no idea where Joey was, him being one of the most adventurous cats that I've owned, that I would be in a much worse state.

I did spend several days in the blazing sun this summer trying to cat-proof my garden.  I put Joey into a cattery for several days, and erected 'inward facing' fencing myself.  I couldn't afford to have it professionally done as the cost was a couple of thousand pounds.  I spent about three hundred pounds. It was all for nothing though as when I brought Joey home, he went ballistic.  For hours he tried to find bits that he could escape through, and I patched them up as I went along.  He was also trying to leap the fence, hitting it and falling onto his back (cats don't always fall on their feet, especially if they are not very high up, as they can't turn themselves round in time).  I went in for 2 minutes to put the kettle on late at night as I hadn't eaten or drunk for many hours, and when I went out, Joey had disappeared.  He came back later, limping, as he had obviously hurt his leg - another trip to the vet next day - and I ended up taking a lot of the fencing down as he seemed more at risk by him trying desperately to get out.

 

[Columbine]

hno: Poor Joey In view of that, you absolutely did right to ditch the fencing :nod: One of my childhood cats had a huge territory too, and there's no way he'd have handled an enclosed garden either :uuh:

I know the Loc8tor is for your peace of mind I just wonder whether, given his large territory, you'd do better with just a traditional tag :dk: The problem with printed details (even professionally done) is that there's always a risk of fading or otherwise decreased legibility. With an engraved tag, nothing will shift your details, so they can actually give better security if a cat does go AWOL. Just a thought

 

[Kieka]

I wish we had a central information here. It was a pain to try to reach all the different organization he might end up at but Link came home. 

I've heard a lot about the Beastie Bands and just ordered some for Link and Rocket. We'll see how they work out. Beastie Bands are an elastic Velcro collar that will stretch if caught on something. Since the whole band is elastic it should be more stretchy than the regular bands with little elastic loops. It still leaves me with the fear of getting caught on something on the way down though so I'll have to test how much weight for the velcro to give. Mostly because Links broken leg was likely from falling off a tree/wall/building according to his other injuries and my vets best guess at this point (he has almost gouges that aren't bites and didn't bleed but fur is missing mostly on his right, heavy bruising on his right and tummy, right hind leg broken, but no road dirt or gravel and no internal injuries, odd boy). Anyways, makes me worry that if he had a collar on he wouldn't have come home if it got caught on a branch on his way down. He's 13 pounds and Rocket is 7 pounds so I need a collar that gives at 7 pounds of pressure roughly.   

My problem with the locator tags (of any brand) is they hang and even if I can get mine to wear collars the hanging it a no go. Oddly enough my Moms cat L-O-V-E-S his collar. He's cried and looked confused when its fallen off. I swear he loves the dangling name tag too and purposefully hits it against things sometimes. Bu Link and Rocket, nope. Last time I had a hanging tag on Rockets she flipped out. So their last round of collars had their names/numbers sown into the material in embroidery thread. Problem was the number ended up half under the adjuster so you'd have to take it off to read it. For the Beastie Bands I went with a metal plate that goes over the band. 

Joey sounds a lot like Rocket when it comes to strangers and Link with roaming. I think you are doing everything you can and shouldn't stress the things you can't control. Joey sounds like a smart and stubborn cat so I'd put him in the can't control category.

 But seriously, there isn't much more you can do until they develop better cat GPS or Joey agrees to keep his collar on.