Cat has just come home with a collar on!

[kirinm]

My cat has just come in with a collar on. She doesn't have a collar. I feel like someone is trying to claim her. What are we meant to do to signal that she has a home?

Of course it does. If some cat owners actually genuinely cared for their cats, they wouldn’t wander into other people’s gardens.

Most cat owners have cats because they are cheap, often free, and require minimal care. If they spent £700/800 to buy them (like many dog owners do) I can pretty much guarantee the owners would not advocate their ‘right to roam’.

It's estimated that 200,000 cats are killed on our roads every year. So a lot of people don't seem to care much about their cats.

She's lovely..People do try to ''claim'' cats- have you read ''Six dinner Sid?''- it's very funny.

BUT microchip your cat ASAP. Maybe get her a collar with a disc that says ''chipped''.

https://www.rspca.org.uk/documents/1494939/7712578/CAT_adviceondeterringcats.pdf

Cats are free to roam in UK.

And enter people's houses?

Are you sure it's your cat?

Yes.
Cats are free agents in law unlike dogs.

Dogs are seen as trainable.

I have strange cats coming in if there’s a window or door open .

Despite having had two “working” dogs in past.

Last night saw this:

But you can let them out in a cat proofed garden. So they can go out, but not get killed/lost///stolen

To be fair though , she's singing for her supper in that photo

I am kind of glad that my two cats are bolshy anti-social little ratbags , Both are chipped and neutered and they come inside to use their trays and like to stick to their garden. Noise from children or dogs scares them.

Anyone who tried to grab them and put a collar on them would spend the rest of the day picking up their own skin,

But I defend my cats' right to roam. They were born as feral kittens , it would be cruel to keep them indoors . They often choose to be indoors , they have a cat door and get locked in at night .
If they have a shorter , but fullfilled life doing cat things in their own garden rather than be stuck inside for a longer life then that is my preference for them.

Most cats cost their owners a lot in insurance &c

No, I haven’t seen cats tortured as most cats are agile and why would I want to watch cat torture?

But they should if they want safe pets really.

Put your own collar on her phone number or something and get her microchipped.

That happened to my cat many years ago, I assumed someone was trying to protect the birds - he was a rampant hunter. I never did find out who it was, but left the collar on, until he managed to get it off.

It's obvious you have never owned a cat 😂

A cat has every right to poo in your garden you dozy twerp. Just the same as a fox or a hedgehog. If you don't want cats, who have every right to roam to go in your garden then it's you who needs to cat proof your garden.

Most cats cost their owners a lot in insurance &c

A lot really? It’s a minimal amount for the average cat.

It’s some idiot claiming the “cat distribution system” has bestowed them a cat.

there was a thread recently where a poster “found” a cat and everyone was encouraging her to just keep it, it obviously wasn’t happy at home etc.

I think you’re meowing up the wrong tree OP. The bell is the clue - someone is trying to prevent your cat from killing wildlife.

For those who expressed an interest, parts of Australia have laws about cats roaming, particularly at night. Where I live cats are not permitted in bushland areas because they are the biggest predators of native animals. However it’s not illegal for cats to be out and about in the street. Obviously you can’t teach a cat where it’s allowed to be so the council sets traps in the protected areas and if your cat is caught they will scan the microchip and call you to come and get them.

I expect over time there will be more laws here about containing cats in your own property as they really are adorable killing machines. I am a cat lover and I have two very loved and happy indoor cats.

Currently my local fb page seems to be full of posts about cats. Either they’ve not come home for several days and the owner is worried or someone has a cat hanging around who won’t leave and they don’t know if they’re lost and need help or just greedy wanting extra dinners!

Do you have the right to own a fox then? Why are you comparing pets to wild animals?

Oh do bore off!! My cats have always been allowed outside, none have ever been taunted or tortured. While I accept it does sometimes happen, it never has to anyone I know who has a cat, and most cats here (not UK) are allowed free rein outside.

As for costing so little time and money 😂I spent over $5,000 on one of mine many years ago, and have spent over $2,000 on another one this year alone - only to end up with no cat at the end of it. That was my money btw, no insurance.

OP says in her 2nd post that the cat is chipped

Unless you walk about with a scanner or have access to the cat to take it to be scanned you cannot tell by looking .

Collars can be dangerous , I won;t put one on my cats .

I know some strays are ear clipped which gives you a visible sign but that is for neutering . Every domestic cat by law should be microchipped when they are of age . I;m sure they aren't yet

Well they would have to deal with a hell of a lot of cats! We have numerous bird feeders and lots of birds visiting our garden. Our own three cats are happily indoor only (all of them rescues who previously had outdoor access/lived outdoors) but our neighbours' cats aren't, so we have to deal with the feeding ot lots of birds in the knowledge that furry predators are going to take some of them out!