The cats got through 6 collars. Help!

[MrsMingech]

He's 7 months old and I keep getting calls from neighbours "is this little one yours? She looks lost."

She is a he, and he is naughty.

He follows my middle son around the houses so he's always looking for him and looks lost. And without a collar he looks stray.

I'm worried someone will "take him in".

I've tried 6 different collars.
They appear to be firm, they are as tight as I can get without strangling him.

He either goes out and comes in without them, or they are slightly too lose and he gets his bottom jaw stuck in them.

What collar would you recommend please? I've wasted SO much money.

He is microchipped. But he's so handsome I worry someone will just keep him for themselves, telling themselves that they are doing him a favour

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No collars here.

Honestly, if someone wanted to steal a cat a collar won't stop them.

I wouldn’t use a collar at all, there all a strangulation risk. Put flyers through their doors “Ming cat is owned but socialable”

No collars here either.

None of my cats have ever worn one I think as long as he comes home I wouldn’t worry

My tabby goes through phases of losing collars and seems to lose them mostly in spring when she's climbing in hedges to get at the fledglings. Dont have them so loose that his jaw gets stuck as that will make him fearful of collars and therefore will pull them off all the time.

😍😍 Sounds like he's made his position perfectly clear

We have three cats and no collars - the injuries and risks posed by collars are terrifying.

One of mine hobbled home once with a front leg stuck through his collar. I stopped using them from that day, apparently they can cause really horrible injuries, apart from making the cat vulnerable by limiting their ability to move/climb/ escape.

We had the same with our cat. When he got through five in a week we gave up. We've had him since 2013 along with his sister and she is on collar number two. We just hope he always comes home but did hang around someone else's home and didn't come home for over two days. Luckily I mentioned it to a friend in the next street and she had been told about this cat by her friend and I went and claimed him.

I gave up on collars with Dcat as she lost so many.

The neighbours will soon get to know him and know he is yours.

As pp have said if someone wants to steal him a collar will not make any difference at all.

He is gorgeous by the way!

My cat was forever losing her collars or so I thought. Til I watched her five minutes after putting a new collar on remove the damn thing and hide it in my neighbours garden 😂😂. Never bought another one after that but my neighbour returns them when he finds them 😂

Same here - never had a collar on any of my cats. The risks massively outweigh the benefits if they are chipped.

As PP said, the kind of person that "takes in" a fit and healthy cat and downs t immediately get them chipped and returned are not deterred by collars.

Collars are dangerous event the supposedly quick release ones. They can get caught in bushes, branches even gates and they're stuck. They can't get away from predators and some have been strangled/hanged. Collars and kitties don't go together.

He's a stunner, maybe a bengal by the look of him? You'll no doubt hear him before you see him 💞

We have a handsome terror. After losing a very expensive tracking collar we just tend to buy cheap ones as and when.

Despite being fairly independent, he doesn't take kindly to being left for a long weekend (with a visiting cat sitter) and will often try and rehome himself in protest - following strangers home, yowling noisily and the like. The worst that's happened to us is that he's been taken to the vets as a lost pet, had his chip scanned and we get a call at silly o'clock and have to explain his amateur dramatics to the vet.

Not sure if that's helpful, but thought it might put your mind at rest that most people have good intentions.

Also if your cat is pretty strong willed and bonded with your son, he knows where his home is and I doubt anyone would be able to hold him again his will.

Two kitties here. No collars and no problems.

If your cat is returning without his collar be happy. They’re obviously getting caught on something and the safety clasp is opening, he’d strangle otherwise.

Ok, thanks for the insight.

No collars!

Does your neighborhood have a Facebook group? If so, you could post there that he likes people but is owned by you and not homeless.

D-Cats don't lose collars often at all. I wonder why not...
Still, anywhere between 3 weeks to 12 months to need a new one.

Poundland sells them at cheapest price I've found.

I like them because they are double-belled, to find the cats in the dark. Cut down on predation a little, too.

My parents frequently get their cats collars posted back through their door. Their cat is not happy about this. It's a good job cars are colour blind as his current one is purple with flowers on. Totally unsought such a handsome manly feline.

I'm not a fan of collars - I've seen too many cats get injured or choke themselves in them. I don't see that they really have a benefit nowadays when most cats are (or should be) chipped.