Problems with collar

[whethergirl]

I have a 4 and a half months old kitten and I have just put a collar on him for the first time.

The reason for this is that I have just bought a pet tracking device which requires him to wear a tag attached to his collar.

However, he keep scratching at the collar...it obviously aggrivates him. Other times he seems fine and forgets about it, but every now and again he'll have a good old scratch there.

Is he likely to get used to it?

Also, should I keep it on him at all times so that he gets used to it, or can I take the collar off when he is at home? (I don't have a cat flap so am in control of when he goes out).

[ZebraOwl]

When my two first started wearing collars they'd have the odd "scratch mentally at the collar" moment but they very quickly got used to wearing them.

I'd recommend leaving the collar on - The Whetherkitten will get more used to it & it also means that, if he should manage to Houdini out of the house he'll have it on. It will also ensure that it Smells Right (i.e. of him) which will help him feel happier about wearing it.

Is it fitted correctly? You should be able to fit 2-3 fingers between his neck & the collar so that it's not too tight & the safety release can operate correctly but not so loose he's removing it himself every two minutes...

[whethergirl]

Thanks ZebraOwl, I must admit I took it off him last night because I felt so sorry for him (I keep him in during the night) and then put it back on him in the morning.

I could fit 2 fingers but I might try loosening it slightly. I had to change the type of collar because the previous one had an elastiated section and he was just taking it off all the time! At least he can't take this one off.

[ZebraOwl]

You're welcome!

Collar off overnight is fair enough - you have to do what's right for him. If you're going to do that - and he's not able to shallow the tracker or anything like that! - it's worth putting the collar into his bed at night so he can scent it & get used to what it is.

Eek, no, elasticated collars are not ideal! You want one with a safety release clip so if he gets caught up somewhere it will come off & he won't get hurt.

I get my cats' collars from a company called Kittyboo collars - they come in three different sizes, come in awesome designs, & aren't actually (significantly) more expensive than collars from pet-shops are.

I hope The Whetherkitten gets used to his collar soon

[TheProsAndConsOfHitchhiking]

Why would you put a collar on him? :(

They are so dangerous. Can you not just get him chipped?

[whethergirl]

ZebraOwl - no point putting it in his bed as he never sleeps in it! I'll have to put it in my bed!

The collar with the elasticated section was supposed to allow room for escape if needed. The one he has now has the safety release clip. Thanks for the link, I will get one from there when he has grown out of this one. I am LOVING the designs! The only thing is I need to make sure the tracker device case can fit on it.

ThePros he is chipped, but the tracking device can be useful in other ways. For example, my kitten sneaked into a neighbour's car the other day and got locked in, thankfully for only a short while. My previous cat was locked in a garage for 3 days. And had he been wearing the tracker device, I might have reached him in time before he died in an accident :(.