A collar that stays on?

[BrainScience]

Am I being overly optimistic in hoping there’s such a thing. My cat is 6 months old and neutered and I’ve decided to bite the bullet and start letting him outside. Before I did so I went online and got 10 collars and 10 fobs with his name, number and ‘please do not feed’ (he’s a greedy bastard, currently crying because I won’t share my crumpet). I’ve let him outside for an hour each day for the last 10 days, he’s stayed in the garden, I’ve stayed in the garden too and he’s lost every single bastard one. Our garden isn’t big but somehow he has disappeared all these collars and fobs. I know the minute I buy some more they’ll all turn up.

Is there such a thing as a collar that stays on? I know they need to be quick release so they don’t hurt themselves but I just don’t understand how they’ve all come off so easily. He’s been wearing it in the house for weeks and it’s stayed on.

Sorry, my first cat so I’m fairly clueless!

Oh, that’s my new plant pot. Hang on.

I think they just get caught on branches outdoors.

I don't use collars in case they get caught on something. The cats are microchipped though

Just stop putting collars on at all! I’ve had cats for over 40 years and never used collars. You can get a cat flap that’s activated by your cat’s microchip, to stop other cats coming in your house, and if your cat strays, any vet can scan his microchip to identify him.

My 2

Hopefully my cat

You clearly aren't a house trained dcat slave if you aren't prepared to share your crumpet.
You owe it to your dcat to let him out to find a more suitable abode.
Without a collar of course.
Found my dcat hanging by a half off 'safety' collar in a cemetery in a tree. . Never again.

Aww, they’re gorgeous demented. I’m more concerned about people feeding him than losing him. He’s very friendly and if anyone feeds him he will follow them until they let him live with them or die.

I think I just need to relax and hope he loves me enough to not run away with any old sod who gives him ham.

Oh God may, that’s awful

Just get him chipped. Save you money in the long run.

Have you tried different colours? My dCat loses any pink ones within a day or so, but keeps the yellow for ages. Probably a coincidence, but it is a pattern. I do try and keep a collar on her, because I once had a cat stolen and PTS by a neighbour who said she thought he was a stray as he didn't have a collar on. Microchips can migrate apparently.

He is chipped, that was the first thing I did after I got him. I didn’t realise it was common to let cats out without a collar. All the ‘cats found’ notices on my local FB page mention that there’s no collar and the cat looks underfed so they gave it some ham/ chicken/ salmon and now it keeps coming back and does anyone know who owns it because they’ll keep it until someone claims it etc. My cat is already getting porky but he’s an expert at doing sad eyes at people and crying like he’s half starved 🙄

It might be worth having a word with your immediate neighbours (including houses that back on yours), as they're likely to be the first targets for him. You can always embellish things slightly by saying he has medical problems and has to be fed a particular diet. If you don't feel you can do that, drop a note through their letter boxes? I may be a bit obsessed, but I've got a pretty good idea of where most of the cat population on my terrace live, and hence I never feed them, and chase them out when they go after my cats' food.

I’ve always had collars on outside cats so they have bells to give the local wildlife half a chance of escape. Some easy release collars release more easily than others. As long as you test it that it does release in case they get stuck on something then it’s fine. Come autumn you’ll find these collars in the undergrowth!

None of my three cats have a collar. They give them the slip within seconds and also the breakaway doesn’t always quite work