When to put collar on kitten

[Happymummys]

Hello 👋 Our kitten has been with us 9 days. Wanted her to settle in before I put a collar on her. Is there a specific age I need to wait for her to be before I put one on her? I have a break-away collar for her. Thanks

Hmm ok thanks. I’ll speak to her vet tomorrow and see what they advise.

You ask on here for advice but are ignoring it and are going to ask the vet?

I've had cats for 42 years, none ever had a collar on, for all the reasons already stated.

Never, all collars are dangerous.

When I lived in a house share one of the tenants had a cat, a lovely yet rather plump ginger Tom. He went missing, he was eventually found hunging in a shrub. He was about 7kg, if a ‘safety’ collar doesn’t open for a chubby 7kg cat, how will it open for a very curious light kitten?

💔

Never! I used them on my first cat however one day he came home without it, and I found it on a branch of a tree in the garden.

Viewed them v differently after that

My cat hasn't worn one for ages but now, after reading this I'm thinking this is why she's started killing more birds. How can I stop that?

I don't always agree with the collective wisdom of mumsnet but on this I'm 100% in agreement.
If the vet says otherwise then I'd take the kitten to another vet.

Ah damn, we adopted two cats at the weekend and I was planning collars because I absolutely cannot tell them apart unless they're standing side by side and I can see the difference in their eyes

How can I distinguish two identical black shadows now?!

Both my cats wore collars all their very long lives. We collared them from twelve weeks. When they came to us. The collars were treated to help stop fleas., and the magnets for their this -house -cats -only cat flaps hung off them.

I changed them every three months, they would stretch their necks out for the new ones with every sign of enjoyment ( Siamese, so vain). They wore different colours, useful for identification as the flashed past with some stolen item of food or clothing.

Im pretty sure I'll get flamed for this but when I had 4 black kittens the only way I could tell the difference (for fleaing, worming etc, didn't want to double medicate) I put a dot of nail varnish on the tip of their tail, 4 different colours. Didn't need to do it for long as once their personalities come through you can tell them apart.

I put collars (for the bells) on mine as soon as they went outside. No regrets.
Am pretty sure my vet could muster zero opinion about collars.

What I do with fosters, where it's really useful to know which is which, is I snip the fur from the tip of the tail of one of them, so one effectively has a blunt cut:)

Well I wouldn't trust any vet who didn't recommend not using collars. Admittedly it's generally rescues that see collar injuries and hear about related deaths, but I'm sure all vets will come across at least some such cases in their time.

Well flea collars don't work against fleas and can cause skin irritation. Flaps these days are microchip operated. And yes, of course some cats can live all their lives in collars and not have any problems. Some people can smoke 60 a day for 60 years and have no smoking related health issues. It doesn't mean it isn't a risk.

Bells are pretty cruel, cats have excellent hearing, would you like to listen to bells whenever you move?

I agree! Its like putting reins on a toddler and letting them have free rein with them still attached in a play park. Its not going to end well.

Another vote for no collar. Assuming you just have the one female cat (ie she is not part of a pair) she is going to get enough hassle from the local cats when she does go out without having the added issue of a collar that will provide a good hold for local bigger cats asserting their dominance.

Where is the kitten photo? I demand to see one!

We did put collars on our cats and the fur was rubbed right down, complete bald ring around their necks. Current cat has never had a collar on as advised by Cats Protection. All of them have been micro chipped though and we'll not use the collars again.