Collar Or No Collar?
By Janey1966
@Janey1966 (24170)
Carlisle, England
July 11, 2010 7:57pm CST
Our cat FloJo was running around the house earlier and I noticed that her collar had fallen off onto the stairs. I have no idea what happened because it's only designed to come off if she gets stuck somewhere. There is nowhere in the house she can get stuck so I can only presume that she scratched it and it fell off.
Anyway, my husband has spent all afternoon trying to get the thing back round her neck. I told him she won't have it because she realises what it is now. When I put it on a couple of years ago she had her back to me on my lap and once she realised what it was it was too late. It was already around her neck.
Now, she is microchipped and she did go missing for 13 hours a few weeks ago. She is what I would call a semi-indoor cat. She goes out into the yard but does her "doings" in the litter tray situated indoors. The time she gave us the slip was when John was having a smoke at the back door before going to bed and she must've got out again without him realising. We got her back through the neighbours as she was spotted underneath a parked car the following day.
Anyway, this collar has a bell and tag on it with our telephone number on one side and our address on the other. What is your opinion about collars? Are they really necessary for a cat that spends most of her time indoors? To be honest, I was never 100% happy about her having a collar on but John said it was for "added security."
I don't know whether to try to put the collar back on tomorrow or not. She seems to like her new-found freedom.
Anyway, my husband has spent all afternoon trying to get the thing back round her neck. I told him she won't have it because she realises what it is now. When I put it on a couple of years ago she had her back to me on my lap and once she realised what it was it was too late. It was already around her neck.
Now, she is microchipped and she did go missing for 13 hours a few weeks ago. She is what I would call a semi-indoor cat. She goes out into the yard but does her "doings" in the litter tray situated indoors. The time she gave us the slip was when John was having a smoke at the back door before going to bed and she must've got out again without him realising. We got her back through the neighbours as she was spotted underneath a parked car the following day.
Anyway, this collar has a bell and tag on it with our telephone number on one side and our address on the other. What is your opinion about collars? Are they really necessary for a cat that spends most of her time indoors? To be honest, I was never 100% happy about her having a collar on but John said it was for "added security."
I don't know whether to try to put the collar back on tomorrow or not. She seems to like her new-found freedom.6 responses
@for3verfamous (2190)
• Canada
16 Jul 10
I would go with no collar. I've had a cat for five years. We used to have a collar on here with a little bell. She hated that little bell and it would scare her! :P The collar was designed to come off just likes yours is, but things can go wrong. Her collar once got stuck on something and she got scared and peed everywhere! Another time when we weren't home, she tried to get her collar off and it got stuck in her mouth while it was still on her neck. Because it was still around her neck, it was like the collar was holding her mouth open. After this happened I never put a collar back on her. I think the safest thing to do is to go without a collar.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
16 Jul 10
Oh my, how traumatic for the moggy! Thanks for telling me all this, it's much appreciated. You will be pleased to know that I haven't put the collar back on Flojo and I don't think I ever will now. You have reinforced my belief that collars aren't a very good idea. I mean, even the bell was no good really because if she wanted us not to hear her (like skulking about the yard) she would walk extremely slowly so the bell wouldn't tinkle anyway lol.
@for3verfamous (2190)
• Canada
16 Jul 10
Thats good to hear, I'm glad I could help! I'm sure Flojo will be happy about your decision too! lol
@scarlet_woman (23463)
• United States
20 Jul 10
if it's a known door rushing cat,i would.
some places don't bother scanning for chips,even tho they should.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
20 Jul 10
There's gonna be a programme on Thursday night about dodgy vets (someone filming undercover) and I reckon I WON'T be watching it. Can't stand animal cruelty, especially when it's supposed to be at a caring establishment. Makes it worse somehow.
As for the collar, it's still off lol.
@ladysurvivor (4746)
• Malaysia
13 Jul 10
Hi,
Currently I have two indoor cats and I let them play outdoors as well but always under my observation. I think if your cat is spending most of its time indoors it is not necessary to put on a collar. It is not comfortable. However, you can put it on whenever you allow it to go outside.
As for me, I prefer not to put on a collar. During the weekend I will let them out to play on my front yard and they like running around, playing run and chase with each other. When time is up I would carry them back inside and I never let them be out of my sight. I know this is difficult but I just don't trust them since they are so naughty yet too dependent on me. Once one of my cats managed to escape from the window and she climbed the roof of my neighbor. She was so afraid and seemed lost even though I saw where she was and I called her to come over to me.
Maybe you can discuss with your husband so that both of you can come up with a unanimous solution. Good luck.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
13 Jul 10
Hello!
Many thanks for telling me about your two indoor cats. They remind me (a lot) of our FloJo. She isn't really equipped for the great outdoors. For a start, she doesn't like other cats and the lady next door has 3 of them so you can imagine how excited ours gets even looking at them through the window!
Well, yesterday when my husband came home from work I told him that I couldn't bring myself to try to put the collar back on FloJo and that she seems "happier in herself" which is true; I wasn't lying about that.
"Ok" he said and he hasn't tried putting the collar back on either.
I think I may be getting somewhere!
@dawnald (85137)
• Shingle Springs, California
14 Jul 10
Some people won't think to look for a microchip. Our cat Sunny got out last November and we never saw him again. It was probably a coyote, but if it was a person who picked him up, maybe a collar would have gotten him back to us.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
14 Jul 10
So sorry about Sunny.
FloJo still hasn't got the collar on her and I would feel guilty now if I put it back on her.
She did a funny thing earlier (and totally unexpected). Well, John bought me a treat from the shop in the form of a double KitKat Chunky (no, not cat food, chocolate lol) and FloJo just pounced on the wrapper, stuck her head into it and started eating the half of the KitKat Chunky I had in my hand. She chewed the side of it too to get the chocolate off and the wafer beneath. So funny!
FloJo still hasn't got the collar on her and I would feel guilty now if I put it back on her.
She did a funny thing earlier (and totally unexpected). Well, John bought me a treat from the shop in the form of a double KitKat Chunky (no, not cat food, chocolate lol) and FloJo just pounced on the wrapper, stuck her head into it and started eating the half of the KitKat Chunky I had in my hand. She chewed the side of it too to get the chocolate off and the wafer beneath. So funny!
@fifileigh (3615)
• United States
20 Jul 10
although my cat is indoors and has a microchip, he still wears a collar with nametag just for emergencies. u never know what will happen next, with animals. they are unpredictable and a mess. they dont think. they r like babies. they just want to play as well as they want lots of attention. so, it is better to be safe.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
20 Jul 10
I know what you are saying. Flojo has no collar on now but we've still kept it!
@sulsisels (1685)
• United States
12 Jul 10
Janey..NO COLLAR..I have heard of too many disasters that have happened to cats wearing collars. I don't care if they are designed to come off if something happens, I don't trust it. Plus, cats hate collars and they hate bells. I read all this in a book about cats written by a lady who has raised cats her whole life. It reminds me of a funny story however, My beautiful siamese cat Elsa who has passed a few years back (major bummer) would not hear of a collar. When she was a baby, I put one on her and she started walking backwards, all the way down the hall. It was so funny janey. When she got to my bedroom she laid down and refused to get up acting like she couldn't walk with it on. We laughed so hard and I think that pissed her off more because the next day I found the collar hidden in my closet all chewed up..She told me what she thought of that collar. She mangled the bell and actually got the bell out of the silver thing! We never put one on her again. I just don't trust those break away collars. What if they don't break away? A cat could get caught up somewhere and the worst could happen. You do, of course, what you think is best but my vote is NO COLLAR! She'll be much happier!
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
12 Jul 10
Hello there! Thanks so much for your thoughts on this issue. Yes, your story reminds me of Mum taking ages to place collars on Thebes and Chloe only for them to run up to the top of the garden in a state, shaking their heads as they went. To Mum's dismay when they came back in the house neither of them had their collars on..so that was telling her wasn't it?
Years before that Mum had a cat called Fuzz and that poor moggy hung itself in a tree by accident..she had a collar on.
Her present cats obviously had collars on before they were found as strays and there is a distinct mark round Ellie's neck where her tight collar had cut into it. They had been abandoned in a shed whilst the owners decided to move house without them. They are the happiest cats I have ever come across..without collars. They are microchipped along with my moggy.
So I guess I have answered my own question haven't I? The thing is, how do I persuade John that a collar isn't a good idea? I mean, she is microchipped but what worries me is that not everyone gets a cat checked out that has "run away." If they want to keep the cat, they keep it so finding out if its microchipped wouldn't be high on their list of priorities.
Years before that Mum had a cat called Fuzz and that poor moggy hung itself in a tree by accident..she had a collar on.
Her present cats obviously had collars on before they were found as strays and there is a distinct mark round Ellie's neck where her tight collar had cut into it. They had been abandoned in a shed whilst the owners decided to move house without them. They are the happiest cats I have ever come across..without collars. They are microchipped along with my moggy.
So I guess I have answered my own question haven't I? The thing is, how do I persuade John that a collar isn't a good idea? I mean, she is microchipped but what worries me is that not everyone gets a cat checked out that has "run away." If they want to keep the cat, they keep it so finding out if its microchipped wouldn't be high on their list of priorities.