Cats and collars - should they have one?

[Moln]

Bear with me I'm going to be posting here a lot I think!!! (new kitten!!)

My kitten is 15 weeks, he's had his vaccinations and is booked in to be neutered and micro-chipped in a fortnight.

THe burning question is - should I put a collar on him? He WILL be going outside (don't think I'll have a choice as he sits at the door meowing already!)

Are collars danger? I've a small on here, it's the quick release type, the bell on it seems to annoy the heck out of him (or more correctly he wants to catch the bell) but should he wear one so those without a microchip scanner (ie most people) know he's not a stray?

I have given up putting them on my cat - she loses one a week. I was trying to help preserve the local birds.

Yes, I think a collar is a good idea. Otherwise people might think the cat is a stray, plus you can put a tag with your phone number on it.

My cat keeps removing them so it's pointless.

Generally, yes I think they should have one though.

Yes, all my cats have collars. I have the quick release type. They're also microchipped.

Mine wear them to go out, but not when they are just in the house. A bit like putting your shoes on to go and play in the garden

They have their name and our phone no on a tag so we can be contacted if anything were to happen.

yes to quick release - much safer

One of the reasons why we adopted one of our cats was that her collar somehow slipped and ended up around her stomach. We managed to release her but it could have turned out far worse. The vet said she was lucky not to have dislocated her shoulder when it slipped. If she hadn't been malnourished it could have been far worse.

Once we took them on we had them microchiped. Hopefully if they did get lost then someone would take them to a vet who would scan them for free. Vet said that they have seen a number of collar related injuries and that they are safer with no collar.

Mine all had one when they were kittens. One cat lost at least one collar a week, the other would chew the end. I took them off as the bells kept us awake all night and couldn't get it back on as she'd chewed the end.
I gave up after spending a small fortune.

No collar on mine. She takes them off immediately. She's caught herself up in them before, even "safety" ones. I keep her in at night, she comes when I call her and a collar won't stop her getting stolen.

Two cats here and no collars. Eldest cat loses them all the time and the younger cat once came in with hers half round her neck and half around her body so we've not used them since.

My cat came home one day with her front paw stuck inside her collar, it was horrible seeing her trying to walk on three legs and she was very distressed. I think you can buy collars which are more "safe" but I personally wouldn't risk one again.

My boy has a collar by he no longer goes outside so its just a fashion accessory. New kitten doesn't yet have one but I'll probably get one as a fashion accessory.

Mine doesn't. Not only for safety reasons, but also because I feel collars are a symbol of ownership, and I don't own her. If anything, I am owned by her.

She has a microchip so that if something happens and she gets lost / stolen I can be traced, but to me that feels different.

Mine has a cheap quick release reflective one for this time of the year as it is dark in the evenings when she goes out. She is also microchipped. It's mainly for the reflective qualities, but cheap becasue she does lose them occasionally usually in fights. I leave it off in the summer as it is lighter in the evenings, she's moulting, and she literally gets hot under the collar. I did buy her a lovely disk with her name and my number on it, but she lost in within a week .

Mine has a quick release collar with a tag - no bell though as it scared him! He is also microchipped but I prefer him to have the collar as well as I don't believe a lot of people would take a cat to the vet to be scanned.

When my elderly stray went missing his collar and tag was the reason we got him back.

I won't use one on my cat.
My mother found her cat hanging from a tree by her collar, luckily in time to save her, and DS recently found a cat in a very bad way with its leg stuck through the collar. He took it to the vet but it died.
It was only young cat.

I don't use collars since my cat came home with a terrible injury from getting his front leg trapped in his collar - his leg nearly had to be amputated. It was one of the collars with a strip of elastic so supposed to be quick release but it didn't. I have used the very quick release ones on the cats and they just instantly took them off as soon as they got outside. The back lane was littered with them and they would also bring in ones from other cats.

They are microchipped though.

My three all have collars with magnets on as the catflap is opened by the magnet. They lose them very occasionally but are fine with them but I know of others who can't tolerate them - depends on the cat I guess.

List maker, we used to have the magnetic ones but the cat kept coming back with tin lids, spoons and other bits of metal stuck to it.

Until 10 years ago I would have said that all cats should have collars. Then we got our boys who can't wear them (they both get bald patches from them), and of course micro chipping has become normal not niche now

Mine don't. They're all chipped though.

I just don't think it's very safe, or very natural. Even the quick release ones are dangerous.

Please collar and bell. Our poor wild bird population has taken a nosedive due to influx of unbelled domestic cats preying on them for entertainment.

Ours has a collar and bell. Useful for working out which direction he's lurking in.

Also sometimes goes out in a harness. He seems to prefer that.

Strange kitty.

Since having a cat get its leg stuck through a supposedly quick release collar I will never put a collar on a cat again. She was lucky that she must only have been stuck for a short time, this can cause awful injuries. Collars weak enough to come off reliably in this situation would probably be lost all the time.

Hmmm, divided still!!

I do worry about him getting caught and the quick release not releasing. He's not gone outside yet (well i should say back outside as he was dumped/abandoned outside, but he does sit watching the birds which is why I'd quite like a bell (I like my garden birds!)

I suppose ultimately he'll decide for me - if he won't wear one then that's that1

One of the recent collar threads here: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/the_litter_tray/1969133-Collars-pros-and-cons

I would certainly advise against using collars. The dangers outweigh any benefits in my opinion (and that of the rescue I'm with).