Collar recommendations

[Davros]

DCat is chipped but I like her to wear a collar too since we lost her one Xmas day. We just moved so the address on her collar needs updating and she lost it anyway on day one of the move. Looking for easy release collar with bell and separate ID tag (not embroidered). Any suggestions gratefully received. Thanks

It’s a bit dangerous, ours had a quick release one & he came in one day with his front leg trapped in it & a fang caught in the fabric. He was a 6.5kg Bengal so if he couldn’t undo it I think a weaker cat would also struggle.

I have read on here rescues saying a collar makes a cat less likely to be helped if it’s lost as they see a collar and assume it’s owned.

I'm always being told they are dangerous but I feel the added safety of being returned home quickly outweighs this.

It really doesn’t outweigh it. Cats can be hung, trapped or suffer dreadful collar injuries.

It makes them less likely to be helped though, not more. There’s a reason why your always being told their dangerous to use.

We use collars. There are a lot of people round here who will assume any uncollared cat is a stray and will feed them and possibly even try to adopt them (shortage of cats at the moment!). Also the main danger I worry about with Dcat is getting run over rather than lost and if that happens I would want someone to be able to see she is owned and contact me immediately.

Can’t recommend the collars we use though as Dcat keeps losing hers... it is safe though as it’s clearly very quick release!

Oh plus, without a collar she couldn’t have a bell and would kill a lot of birds. She manages to catch mice even with the bell...

We don't/can't collar our. But if you do want to it really is essential to get one that releases easily. Try pulling the catch and if it doesn't separate easily, don't get it.
I did put collars on my previous cat and generally just got them from a local pet shop, nothing fancy.

Thanks everyone. I still want to get her a collar. She's got out of two before with no trouble or injury. I think there has been an increase in people trying to adopt already owned cats. Our Nextdoor often comes up with posts asking if X cat or Y cat are stray when they're perfectly well looked after pets. I think a collar, as well as being quicker to reunite, gives a clear signal that a cat already owns some people

Rogz Night cats or Rogz Alley cats. The first has a reflective band that is visible in the dark.

I really wouldn't. As long as your cat is chipped it's much safer to not have a collar. If you worked in a vet clinic and saw the damage done I think you'd change your mind.

Thanks for all the information and thoughts. I know we all have our love of cats at the heart of this issue. I'll have a think but will also look up Rogz. Losing DCat on Xmas day really freaked me out and I know that we would have got her back much quicker if her address and phone number had been available immediately. But that only happened once and we should have been more careful. I don't know, we've just moved and she's 13 tomorrow, it's a difficult time. I just want her to be safe

How did she get lost?.