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Original poster

Cat collars - final verdict?

38 replies

MrD20 · 12/03/2021 12:41

Hi all. Some of you may remember Dennis the kitten... he’s not so little anymore! (Picture attached)
We are getting to the stage now where we are thinking about him going out unsupervised with his cat flap, and initially started him wearing a collar. The trouble is everytime we put one on him he just seems so uncomfortable & I don’t think it’s for him!
We had an incident in the garden earlier where he jumped onto the fence & one of my plant pots with a hook on it got caught on his collar. It’s a quick release collar but remained on long enough that I had to remove the collar myself.
This has spooked me and I feel as though I’m just going to bin collars altogether, he appears well looked after, he’s microchipped.. so I think I’d feel more comfortable if he was without one. My only niggle is he is brown/black & visibility at night worries me.
I know this is an ongoing debate but what is your current consensus re: collars?

Thanks 😊

Cat collars - final verdict?
OP posts:
dementedpixie · 12/03/2021 12:52

I have 2 cats and neither have ever had a collar. They are microchipped

HowLongTo2022 · 12/03/2021 12:56

Definitely fan of microchip. I hate cat collars but appreciate that’s just my view (I hate having something tight around my neck myself!) and others hold a different one. My relative is a vet and has many a tale of a cat that got damaged by a supposed safe quick release collar.

Wolfiefan · 12/03/2021 12:57

Collars are a hazard. Trapping, hanging, getting a leg caught through it.
No.

AnnaMagnani · 12/03/2021 12:59

No collar, don't let him out at night. Works for my black cats and better for the wildlife.

thecatneuterer · 12/03/2021 13:00

No. That's my final verdict.

thecatneuterer · 12/03/2021 13:00

And keep him in at night.

minipie · 12/03/2021 13:11

Mine had a quick release collar for the first 8 months or so but became very adept at losing them. Obviously I didn’t want to use a less quick release style for safety reasons. After she lost 3 in 10 days I gave up.

She catches occasional mice (maybe one every 6 weeks) but not birds, if she went for birds I might try again on the collar.

RandomMess · 12/03/2021 13:17

Used one on our boy as he was a prolific hunter but never ate anything just gave them a long lingering death Angry

Girl cat never had one.

Both chipped, both kept in overnight for their safety.

Toddlerteaplease · 12/03/2021 13:21

That's not Dennis the laptop kitten is it?!!! Good Lord he's huge!
Cheddar has a collar because she's absolutely invisible if she escapes in the dark. So she has a reflective one.
Magic doesn't because it causes her long hair to Matt.

Original poster
MrD20 · 12/03/2021 13:36

@Toddlerteaplease yes!! It’s Dennis the laptop loving cat Grin

He’s very big now!

Thanks everyone, glad that many are on the same page re: no collars.
Yes I think that’s a good idea not letting him out at night! We have actually purchased a microchip cat flap with an app connected to it and you can set a curfew on your phone, so it will let him back in but if it’s after a certain time will then lock for the night!

Now just to stop feeling anxious everytime he’s out...!

OP posts:
Fluffycloudland77 · 12/03/2021 13:42

Good lord Dennis just gets more handsome. He is a stunning looking lad.

You never stop feeling anxious when their out though, most of your conversations will start “where’s the cat?”.

ragged · 12/03/2021 13:50

If you collar them then make the collar very tight (2 snug fingers underneath tight) then it shouldn't get caught on things. It shouldn't get caught on a plant pot hook unless the cat rubbed itself all over the plant pot and was trying to spear itself on the hook, basically.

I am very happy to have collars on D-Cats. Bells on black cat out in the dark are useful things.

bonzo77 · 12/03/2021 13:53

No collar on our black and white cat. I found her with her jaw or leg caught in it so many times even when it was very tight. She’s kept indoors during darkness. She’s nearly 11 now and knows the rules!

Bamaluz · 12/03/2021 13:54

A definite no here since ds found a young cat with his leg through his collar on his doorstep. It was in a bad way so he took it to the vet, but it died.

Stickytreacle · 12/03/2021 13:58

Definite no here too, we rescued a cat with horrific injuries cased by a collar. Sad

ChangedName4TheSakeOfIt · 12/03/2021 15:10

Cat collars can be very dangerous so I can understand people's views on them. That's said, we do use them. They're quick release and I have a damn good go at ours to loosen the mechanism before we put them on our cat. One small pull opens it and if the collar stays stiff we bin it. Of course this is no good for most cats as then it means the cat will lose its collar every time it goes out but our girl brings them home and presents them to us on the doorstep as if it's a mouse she has proudly caught.

We once lived on a farm property with a huge colony of feral cats (which I started to capture and have neutered/spayed as soon as I moved in) and every single cat that got run over on the road (could be as often as every couple of months) was always overnight. Never did we find a dead cat in the daytime, only in the early morning having been hit during the nighttime. Now my kitty has to come in at night and we don't have a cat flap so we know when she is in or out as it's us opening the door for her.

ExponentiallyDepleted · 12/03/2021 15:15

It's a no from me.

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 12/03/2021 15:29

No from my cats , jet black, kept in at night . Micro-chip activated door .

They aren't really hunters (he's brought in a bird and a mouse) unless you include worms moths and dragonflies .

Toddlerteaplease · 12/03/2021 15:33

How old is he? He's a beauty!

Vinorosso74 · 12/03/2021 16:08

He's gorgeous! I'm another no to collars. I do know someone whose cat died as the collar got caught. Microchip all the way.
There was a huge debate on Nextdoor not long ago as someone's cat had come home with a collar on (smelling of Febreeze too) and the amount of people who say a collar is the only way you can tell if a cat has a home was quite high. It led to quite a lot of disagreements! I just don't think some people get that no collar doesn't equal stray.

Soubriquet · 12/03/2021 16:13

No. I bought my cat a beautiful reddingo collar and she nearly committed suicide trying to get it off.

She literally threw herself down the stairs.

It was awful and she had the same reaction to the cone of shame when she was neutered so we had to take the risk of not having her wear it

GeidiPrimes · 12/03/2021 16:21

I used to think the click/breakaway collars were OK... Until he got his jaw trapped in the thing. Poor little bugger was just sitting there gaping quietly until I noticed. He didn't even squeak to alert me.

Best to keep them in when it's dark.

AlwaysLatte · 12/03/2021 16:24

We microchipped ours when we had cats years ago, and didn't use collars - quite apart from being a safety issue we wanted them to be good mousers since we had mice coming into the garage.

minipie · 12/03/2021 16:43

our girl brings them home and presents them to us on the doorstep as if it's a mouse she has proudly caught

This is adorable

Slub · 12/03/2021 17:25

Mine are microchipped, don't have collars and are kept in after dusk.