Trackers for cat collars

[VanessaShanessaJenkins99]

Can anyone recommend a good tracker for our cats collars? Are the tags any good fron amazon?
Thanks :)

I got a set of 3 from Wowcher, put one on my cat’s collar and he sabotaged it by dunking it in his water bowl. It beeped CONSTANTLY and there was no way of taking the battery out so we had to bin it and hear the wheelie bin beeping every time we walked past it for the next two weeks until it was collected 😂

We have a Tractive. It comes with it's own collar - which the cat in question learned to take off within 30 minutes.

However the Tractive itself is great, it's fun knowing where your cat hangs out and where he is lurking when he can't be bothered to come home.

They are also OK to find when the cat loses them although if it loses one where you can't access you are stuffed. If you buy the subscription they will replace them.

AirTags are pretty good for urban areas.

My parents boy wears an AirTag

Collars aren’t safe for cats. Quick release don’t always release and you run the risk of them sustaining a collar injury or being trapped or choked.

Being outside on roads isn't safe for cats either. It's all a gamble unless you cat proof your garden.

Putting a tracker on a cat will not protect it from road accidents either. I’m not sure what the link is.

Exactly that's the point.

Those things are bloody HUGE my cats have never worn collars , I don't trust them ( the collars ) but they are chipped .
There's no way mine would get through the cat door with a tracker on them they'd get caught and panic.

Look up a company called Freedom Fence. It's a system where an invisible wire with radio waves is put around your garden. Cats wear a collar and are trained on it in a morning by the company. The younger the cats the easier they learn. Works a treat, mine have never got out (so far) and endorsed by Cat's Protection.

NEVER PUT A COLLAR ON A CAT.

Indoor cats are safer, they like to feel safe and that is indoors where they know and not outside having to run the gauntlet of all the local animals, people and traffic. It is now the law for all cats to be microchipped so negates the need for collars anyway.

All collars are dangerous for cats. When you find a cat that has died after being trapped by its collar or has its leg through the collar and suffered horrific injuries which need major surgery, including amputation, or death from infection you would never, ever put a collar on a cat.

AirTags worked for us.

But have bott options they can choose to stay indoors? I have two cats and one likes to go out and about for most of the day and the other one would rather curl up on the sofa after a potter in the garden.

If I ever have another cat I will build a big catio!

We had a cat killed on the road outside our house and I said none of the others will go outside until we have built a secure area for them. We were lucky that there was a paved area between the kitchen and the garage which we caged in. It incorporated a lean-to wooden greenhouse which then became their catservatory with rugs and beds etc. Given the opportunity cats will find the smallest space to snuggle in because they like to feel safe. How often do you find your cat crushed into a cardboard box, half their size, because it makes them feel secure. They do not feel safe outdoors on their own in wide open spaces.

We have cat proofed our garden. So sad another cat was killed just the other day in the village. It is a regular occurrence.

Both of ours have tractive trackers and they're fab - they're chunky but lightweight and both have adapted to them easily.
Love seeing where they roam and also being able to pinpoint them when I want them home is great.

Our Tractive attachment now lives in DS's school bag so we can find that if he loses it. It worked fine, but our cat is a midget and it just looked massive on her.

I understand what some are saying about the risks with collars, but we've never had a problem with the quick release ones - DCat has scattered them around the neighbours' gardens, so they clearly do release when required! We deliberately buy reflective ones - we can't easily let the cats out and block off the front garden, but at least this way they're relatively easy to see in the dark which should hopefully reduce the risk of being run over.

Unfortunately making cats easy to see in the dark is a double edged sword as it gives some bastards something to aim at.

All cat collars are pointless, the permanent ones kill and the (hopefully) quick release ones come off anyway. As you now have to microchip all cats by law there is no benefit to having a collar. When you see the injuries caused by cats getting their legs through their collars, right through the the flesh and into the muscle which often requires amputation, and the result of getting the collar stuck on branches, hedges etc and the cat having a painful and slow death through starvation you would never, ever put a collar on a cat.

Make sure you keep microchip details up to date as a lot (if not all) companies only keep your details for a set time and not necessarily for the whole life of the animal.

Most of my cats now have an enclosed garden, but my oldest still roams. He's 11 and has always worn a quick release collar with an ID tag, and a tracker. The ID tag is useful if a cat is found by a member of the public (IME).

He wears Tabcat, it's pretty good. He used to roam long distances when younger and it let us find him several times.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tabcat-tracker-patented-subscription-purchase/dp/B09XF678NT/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.m8jZ8aHmRA9IQoPaCoM8-aPuC9hEsx_oCh6t7c2kHxTE86I0t9AWa-09rVd-SXBJ.EdVddHv1ReuVKC7kLovxNF8b8Viwh6ItvLAOqRK7R-Q&dib_tag=se&keywords=tabcat&qid=1717847035&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

(When it first came out years ago it was called Loc8tor, then it changed to Tabcat with a different, and crap, design and I stopped using it. They have now re-released it in the original design and it works well. You have to change the batteries every few months but apart from that it is trouble free.)

We've had two air tags in our DCat and he's lost both!

I won't put collars on my cats after we nearly had one throttle himself. My son has an airtag on his cat and it works very well. He lives in the middle of town though, probably wouldn't be anywhere near as useful in rural areas.

How is it held on ?

Apple say they do not recommend using airtags on animals and they still need to wear a collar so you've still all the dangers of collars.

It is the LAW to have your cat microchipped so if it is found it can be checked by a vet and you will be reunited.

DO NOT USE COLLARS ON CATS.

I cannot stress it enough. I have seen at first hand the results of collar injuries and deaths. Have a look online if you don't believe me. It is not a sight you will ever forget.

There is more chance of your cat getting injured by wearing a collar than not.

They get caught in hedges and can't get out, so starve, on railings and branches and are slowly strangled to death.

Putting a collar on a cat is the same as putting on a death trap. Literally.

Don't do it.

I just checked , Apple Airtags are around £20 a piece .

I would have to sew it onto my cats to stop them losing these ( I have two cats this would get expensive )

They have microchips and no collars .
They go in the garden , we are not on a busy road but there is one next road to us .
I just have to trust them.