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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

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Original poster

Should cats wear collars?

55 replies

PristineCondition · 30/04/2019 19:06

So we moved a while back and one of the new neighbours a few doors down is a lovely lady but a cat feeder, she calls any cats over and constantly feeds them then takes them in, shes famous for it
I preempted this by taking my kitties over to meet her before they started going out and made up a vague problem that requires special food only, she was vv sympathetic and promised never to feed them if she remembers look like.
Ened up at pets at home today and saw collars that say not feed so got a few and stuck them on the cats.
Its worked she saw my two, read the collar and tshked them out her garden,good times!!

Dp has come back and is horrified , apparently you can't put them on cats anymore and I'm the worst person since

Are they really bad? They are fitted properly and easy release.

OP posts:

Willowkoko · 30/04/2019 21:16

We have collars for my cats, I brought them after witnessing a cat being ran over many years ago, the guy who hit the cat said must be a stray because it didn't have a collar and that always stayed with me, and god forbid anything happen to my cats i’d hope someone would get intouch. They have occasionally lost collars but at least that's a sign the collar release sorks .

I have also taken a badly ran over collarless dead cat to the vet and they couldn't read his microchip.

GarthFunkel · 30/04/2019 21:19

Ours have quick release collars which they have quickly released all over our garden and in our neighbours gardens.

FionaJT · 30/04/2019 21:43

I don't put my cat in one as a rule but did get one of the Pets at Home 'fat bastard' collars (as they have become known here) when my cat stopped turning up at mealtimes but was mysteriously putting on weight. He only had it on for a couple of days before he came back without it but normal routines were resumed and he slimmed down again so it did its job. I had to take the bell off though because it really freaked him out.

viccat · 30/04/2019 21:45

I've read too many stories of quick release collars still causing injuries that I choose not to put collars on my cats.

The cat charity where I volunteer recommends collars to all though, the reasoning being it's much quicker to contact owners if a cat with a collar (and phone number on it) is injured or otherwise lost - not many people would take a cat to the vet for a microchip check. Microchips also stop working sometimes and most people wouldn't know if that happened unless your vet scans them at the annual check up.

Toddlerteaplease · 01/05/2019 06:24

Cheddar wears one. Solely so I can see it reflecting if she escapes. Snorg doesn't as she's long haired and it causes matts. All our cats have worn collars with out issue.

Toddlerteaplease · 01/05/2019 06:25

Cheddar's has her details printed on hers as the very posh tag I bought freaked her out!

Lonecatwithkitten · 01/05/2019 06:48

Seem to many horrific injuries from collars, cats hung on even quick release. Horrible non-healing armpit injuries. Collars and cats do not mix unless the collar is paper.

JanetWeb2812 · 01/05/2019 10:31

Our two had a simple solution to collars. Jack would tug at Daisy's until it came away and she returned the favour.

We didn't bother after that.

thecatneuterer · 01/05/2019 19:10

I too have seen huge numbers of injuries caused by collars - even quick release ones.

Also a lost cat needs to be in a much worse state and in much more obvious distress for people to take notice and do something if it's wearing a collar - the reasoning presumably being that it has owners so there is no need to do anything.

Judystilldreamsofhorses · 01/05/2019 20:38

No collar here. I would hope that if, god forbid, anything happened, someone would bring her to the vet to get her chip scanned. She doesn’t tend to go beyond our garden and immediate neighbours, and on the rare occasion she goes out the front because we’re doing something in the garden, putting out the bins or whatever she dashes inside if a car passes.

Normaknowall · 03/05/2019 21:42

I put a quick release collar on His Catness esp in winter, it has the reflective strip just to give him a bit of visibility. He regularly ditches them so clearly the release works. I always pull them apart a few times before a new one goes on. It comes off in the evening when he's in for the night. He did have a bell but still caught mice regularly, he has caught a few birds but not many as he always brings his catches home (record was 4 trips in with mice in one day).
I went with the idea that: he seems to be able to ditch them when caught, he has something that makes him more visible in the dark, he looks like he belongs to someone, so it was overall better to have one. He is chipped but that's not visible to the average person.

Bringbackthestripes · 03/05/2019 21:50

My boy wore his collar with no problems.
If he hadn’t been wearing a collar then the lovely dog walker wouldn’t have been able to call me and tell me where my boy had been killed. I was very grateful I could go and collect his body.

BollocksToBrexit · 03/05/2019 21:55

Mine don't wear collars because they're pointless. Every time they come in the collar is missing. None have lasted more than 24 hours. So I gave up.

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 03/05/2019 21:55

I am lurking on Litter Tray now (just posted a thread about possibly getting some cats so I hope you'll all be kind to me )

Is feeding other peoples cats A Thing? I can appreciate if she puts the food out then the cats will pootle over on the off chance , but if you've told her "Please don't feed them" then is she going to say "Oh sorry , I didn't know that's your cat" .

My old cat (many years ago) was 17yo and my NDN cat was 21yo. I know she used to go to his house for lunch and I know my NDN fed her , but it was only a spoonful, nothing that would harm her or overfeed her . And she asked me if it was ok , if my cat went into the house . (He came into my house bit was shy so scarpered if we called to him)

I don't like collars personally .

BollocksToBrexit · 03/05/2019 21:59

It's a thing for some people and utterly selfish. We've lost 2 cats this way. We knew one of them and my DD (8 at the time) when round in tears and begged the woman not to feed/steal her cat. Heartless woman kept doing it and eventually he stopped coming home.

Wolfiefan · 03/05/2019 22:05

Many many years ago we used to buy Beastie Bands. They were Velcro. Stretchy too. No way could they hang a cat, trap them or cause a collar injury.
I haven’t been able to find them for years so no collars here.
Both cats microchipped.
@70isaLimitNotaTarget exciting!!! Don’t you have piggies too? You can print off paper collars to send a message if someone is feeding it etc or you don’t know where a cat lives.
@Bringbackthestripes that’s so sad. We lost a boy cat. He was taken to the vet who scanned him and informed us. We got to say our goodbyes. Awful but microchips work.

happymummy12345 · 03/05/2019 22:06

My cat has always had a collar with a bell and a name and address tag, since he was a kitten

Foxmuffin · 03/05/2019 22:07

Personally don’t like them. But each to their own.

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 03/05/2019 22:09

Wolfie I'm piggieless now and my DH has always wanted more cats . My DD is nearly 17yo so I don't think I could handle more guinea-pigs once she leaves home .
Trying to get them out of the rabbit run and into their beds when they don't want to. I'm too old to climb in to catch them

Babdoc · 03/05/2019 22:10

I’ve had cats for over 40 years and never put collars on any of them. The microchip is sufficient to identify them. I wouldn’t be prepared to risk the horrific injuries PPs have described.

Wolfiefan · 03/05/2019 22:17

Commented on your thread. Old? Can’t believe it.

OnlyRealButterWillDo · 03/05/2019 22:17

Of course cats should have collars. I've had a collar on mine since she was first allowed out because if, god's forbid, she got run over, it's at least got my number on it. If people collared their cats there would be a hell of a lot less Missing or "Anyone know who's cat this is" posts on Facebook every day.

Collars these days are quick release and whilst my cat has lost hers a few times they're cheap enough to replace. Well, on the rare occasion she doesn't go fetch it and present it to us on our doorstep as her latest "kill", we have had to buy another.

smartcarnotsosmartdriver · 03/05/2019 22:20

Mum used to foster and had some horror stories about her boys getting caught in their collars and injuring themselves (they were quick release) so we don't have them on ours.

Wolfiefan · 03/05/2019 22:24

@OnlyRealButterWillDo they really shouldn’t. If my cat is hurt she’s microchipped.
Having seen a cat get its leg caught through a collar that didn’t release? That is awful. (Don’t google collar injuries)
That’s if the collar doesn’t see them hung or trapped somewhere.
If people want to know who owns a cat they should use a paper collar.

Lellochip · 03/05/2019 22:28

Like Peachy85 had a cat get injured many years ago with a front leg caught in his collar. Neighbours had seen kids picking a cat up by the collar earlier so probably related to that. He and our other cat didn't wear one after that.

When I adopted my current cat I wasn't sure but I was worried she'd get lost when I first let her go out so got one. Am now pretty confident that she's so lazy and unathletic she's low risk for catching it! And she's pretty friendly so hope it's a deterrent for any knobheads who like to pick up "stray" cats.

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