Stressy cat Mum!

[Kittyhelp]

For new year my beautiful boy is getting a collar! He's lovely but has decided the neighbours gardens are more fun than ours (obviously 🙄) we cat proofed the garden but he's a long legged beast and can jump 6 foot with no problem. My last fur baby never left the garden so I had nothing to worry about, this boy is going to be the death of me! His sister is half his size so can't or doesn't want to go far. I hope he stays as safe as he can. Lovely boy cat stories welcome ☺️

I've had many cats over the past 41 years, and found collars to be unnecessary, sometimes harmful, and frankly not worth the bother. One cat came home limping, with one from paw through the collar.

Why don't you want your cat going into a neighbour's garden? It might be more peaceful/sunny/entertaining. So long as he returns home, it's not a problem, is it? My boy is old now (17 at least) so doesn't want to go out much. His nemesis(s) are always in my garden - 2 black cats, I assume brothers.

I don't like collars either. I'm stressed someone will think he's a stray and try and keep him 😂 I think I might be a bit too invested in my cats!
I've never had a proper wanderer before, I've always had home loving cats. I need to stop stressing don't I? 😂

How is wearing a collar going to prevent him from going into the neighbour's garden?

I agree with @TheCreamCaker that collars are not necessary, and can cause injuries. We have a rescue cat with a collar injury in his armpit and it is taking months to heal. He's on antibiotics again now.

Is he chipped OP?

Chipped and neutered. I think I'm just stressing too much. I just didn't want people thinking he hasn't got a loving home. Thanks for your opinions, I'll leave the collar idea alone!

Only reason one of mine had a collar was because he was an avid hunter so had 3 bells!

If he's chipped and neutered, well-fed, he'll be fine. Let him have a wander . If you feed him at the same kind of times each day, he'll get to realise when he needs to be home. My boy is fed at about 7.30am, then he's asleep for hours. He's fed again at 2ish, then again at 9pm. Dry stuff plus water is available all the time, as well.

He's funny in that he won't go to the toilet outside! So he comes back for a wee 😂 and to check that we're still here! He's very vocal when he comes home, I think he's telling me what he's seen 😁 really appreciate all your opinions. DH has always had cats that wander, he's also lost a couple on the road (which really worries me!) So he's happy to let them wander.
DS is an adult now, so these two are my babies 😁

Which cat proofing system did he break out of? Maybe they can suggest an adjustment?

Proper cat proof or just a tall fence?