To collar or not?

[Maggiemumby]

Do people still put collars on cats? She will be micro chipped before she goes out so don’t need one for ID- Just thought a collar with a bell might give the birds half a chance to get away!? TIA x

 

[verna davies]

I don't like collars, especially on outdoor cats. They can get caught up in branches and such, even the safety release ones. Better to have her microchipped or better still keep her as an indoor cat.

 

[di and bob]

I have found the bell is really irritating in the house. That constant ding, ding, ding gets on the nerves because cats move so much. My cats, who are strictly indoors now since i have lost so many on the road, killed way more mice and voles then they did birds. Easier prey. i tried to keep them in in late spring when the fledglings were leaving the nest. Those were what tehy caught teh most and a bell wouldn't help.

 

[Maria Bayote]

I used to put collars on my cats - the ones with bells, and thought they were cute. But as mentioned by di and bob the constant bell sounds got to my nerves. Also, collars irritated my cats’ skin, on that neck area, and their fur seemed to be not growing as it should be.

So I got rid of them. They are all indoor and all are microchipped.

 

[Tik cat's mum]

I don't use collars, I tried them on my boy because they look nice but he got caught behind the fridge and the collars release didn't work, when I had outdoor cat's as a kid they always lost them after what happened with Patches I guess I was lucky it was only the collars that got lost. So I'm not a fan.

 

[Dario the GreyCat]

I put a collar on Dario when he was a baby so I could hear where he was, and I put one on when we go to the vet. Other than that, he has no collar.

 

[Maggiemumby]

Thanks everyone for taking the time to reply, I will not bother with a collar x

 

[Neko-chan's mama]

Some cats hate collars. Neko-chan will not wear the pretty pink one I got her. She freaks out and rabbit kicks it off.

 

[vince]

I'll be the contrarian here. I have collars on all the cats. I don't mind the little bells and like others have said, I like being able to know where they are if they're moving. It helps me not to lock them up in a dark closet or a cabinet.

 

[Lari]

I like to say our cats are nudists.

But they're not allowed outdoors, anyway. And if I ever were to bring them out, I would harness train them or have them in a carrier, so they're allowed to be au naturel.

 

[sivyaleah]

I used to use collars but realized since our cats are completely indoor cats and microchipped, maybe it wasn't needed. Plus they always were clawing at them to try to get to itchy neck spots and would eventually wear the collar down - I even had one of them nearly tear off because it got so worn.
Never used anything with a bell on it though. That would make me insane to hear all the time.
I will have to say, however, I still do consider the collar to this day because I do think if they somehow got out of the house, someone finding them would be more likely to look at the collar tag and call us than take the time to drive to a vet to be scanned. Because people, are lazy.

 

[Kieka]

I like keeping collars on cats. People are fundamentally lazy and might not get the chip checked. Especially if the found cat is in bad shape they might justify to themselves that the cat was mistreated and needs to be saved. A collar gives a quick and easy way for them to get ahold of you regardless of when they find the cat.

If you are depending on a microchip. Make sure your vet scans the chip at your annual appointment to make sure it hasn't drifted or malfunctioned. Most importantly though is register the microchip and update the contact information. I called my local shelter and asked them what service or registry they check for contact information with (the manufacturer). See if you can get a dog license on your cat so that their microchip is registered with the county system, even if the animal shows dog it at least ensures they have your information on file. I also called vets in a 5 mile radius and asked what they check (some manufacturers and some registry systems). I made sure my cats information is current and valid at all the locations cited by local shelters and vets. I double check every year that it is still current. I know of someone who lost their dog, called to check and somehow the information got deleted. If you are dependent on your cat getting scanned and calling off the chip be sure the chip is right.

 

[GaryT]

Theo's lovely mane would be destroyed by a collar.

 

[jefferd18]

I happen to like collars on cats, not only do they look nice, but also not every shelter scans for a microchip and not everyone (who may find your cat), will think to take her/him to a shelter to get scanned.

 

[shebaa]

i have one on my cat, she just looks naked without it lol. also because shes extremely aggressive to other people, if she were to get lost, a collar will tell people she belongs to someone and hopefully do their best even if they cant pick her up to find her owner.

 

[Azazel]

I have never had a cat who wanted a collar on them and so I've just given up. I do also worry about their collars getting caught on something. For a visible marker in case they get lost I get their ears tattooed.

 

[IndyJones]

All my cats wear collars with my Adress and phone number on them Indy has a tag that clips to the side of her collar so it doesn't dangle. I don't use bells or anything other than my contact info and their name.

Here we do not have a humane society serving our area and many cats get dumped on the side of the road so having a collar is a must for them if they ever get loose so they can be returned home. The general public doesn't have access to the gps or whatever the system they use in microchips so cats here end up being picked up by animal control where they are trapped and either killed or euthanized.

 

[Azazel]

The general public doesn't have access to the gps or whatever the system they use in microchips so cats here end up being picked up by animal control where they are trapped and either killed or euthanized.

Wow, animal control doesn't communicate with shelters to ensure that lost pets are scanned for chips? That's awful.

 

[dustydiamond1]

Gypsy doesn't wear a collar in the house, afraid she'll get caught & it won't release. She is in harness, or jacket, on a leash with us when outside.