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Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Original poster

Does your cat wear a collar?

48 replies

JMSA · 18/12/2025 05:26

We have a new rescue cat. Our old boy was an adept mouser but actually, he created a mouse problem in our home, as he used to bring them in alive and let them go! I actually haven’t had a single mouse in the house since he passed. RIP Bruce 💕

Our new girl hasn’t been outside yet. I’m tempted to put a quick release collar with bell on her, to act as a rodent/bird deterrent. But I don’t want the bell to annoy her. Bruce never wore a collar.
She has recently been spayed and is still in her little surgical suit. So I was thinking of popping the collar on as soon as the suit comes off, as she’ll be distracted.
Bad idea? I’m very happy to do whatever’s best.
Thanks.

OP posts:
dementedpixie · 18/12/2025 05:56

Neither of mine have one

Cando6 · 18/12/2025 06:00

Mine is a very fluffy thing so I think a collar would get lost in there. I don’t like the idea of him getting trapped when he’s out gallivanting in the bushes so no collar here.

IamChipmunk · 18/12/2025 06:04

Ours have collars because the both wear trackers. They are rogz snap off ones.

when girl cat was spayed I ended up taking the suit off her because she was going mental trying to get it off... climbing into the sink to try and hook it off using the tap!!
So I'm impressed yours is keeping it on!

She doesn't mind wearing a collar though!

Simonjt · 18/12/2025 06:05

No, not only are bells annoying, break away collars are still dangerous and lead to injury and death each year, it isn’t a risk we are willing to take with our cat.

HedgeWitchOfTheWest · 18/12/2025 06:08

He did when he was young (reflective collars), but he eventually worked out how to take them off so I stopped bothering, except for in certain circumstances:

He is much more of a hunter than our old girl. Which is fine (we have a Zero Mouse unit because he does the same as old Bruce and likes to bring them in alive 🙄).

But as soon as he goes near a bird he gets a collar with multiple bells. I don’t care how annoying it is for him. He’s brought in maybe 2 birds ever but mostly sticks to the mice now. It doesn’t last long, but hopefully long enough to put him off the birds and to give them a chance to avoid him.

GentleSheep · 18/12/2025 06:09

No, six cats in and we've not had collars on them. I feel their disadvantages outweigh any advantage.

JumpLeadsForTwo · 18/12/2025 06:26

Our rescue cat lost about 5 collars within minutes when he was very young so we gave up! I’d love to put a tracker on him though as I think he roams quite far

Mothership4two · 18/12/2025 06:29

Our boy has a quick release reflective collar in case he goes across the road. They don't last long as he seems to have worked out how to remove them - I buy them in bulk. He also has two bells to protect the local bird population. The other thing he's worked out is that if he hunts in the rain, mice (and the occasional rat) can't hear this bells! He's the only cat we've had that literally gets regularly drenched and bedraggled - doesn't seem to bother him

vanillalattes · 18/12/2025 06:30

No, none of ours wear collars - too dangerous.

AlwaysTheRenegade · 18/12/2025 06:42

Collars/ stuff touching his neck (one of the kids bowties Blush)is the only thing that makes my big rescue boy stressed and he's the most loving cat I've ever met! ❤ I've tried maybe three times in about five years.

Our other rescue cat wore a collar when we got her, from a neighbour not a shelter, but it was really worn out, like cracked and the paint was peeling and she was nearly bald underneath bless her.

they're chipped if they go missing and since we got them we don't put food out for the birds anymore so the bells just annoying.

ArcticGrass · 18/12/2025 08:43

No, had a cat who went missing, when he turned up his leg was so badly damaged it had to be amputated. He’d got it trapped in his collar. It was supposed to be a quick release collar.

Stickytreacle · 18/12/2025 08:52

Will never use collars on mine after witnessing horrific injuies from so called quick release collars. Plus missing/lost/starving cats are often dismissed by the public as having a home because they are wearing a collar.

Microchips are a better option.
Plus cats who hunt wearing collars with bells just learn to be more stealthy.

Pepperedpickles · 18/12/2025 08:54

We used to have a quick release one for ours but one day (luckily) I was at home and realised he’d got his bottom jaw stuck through the collar (despite it being on relatively tightly, as it should have been) and he was so distressed, thankfully I was able to quickly get it off of him. I will never put one on him again after that. Obviously he is chipped etc. I think they’re more trouble than they’re worth.

Pericombobulations · 18/12/2025 09:05

My first cat had one of these. It rubbed all her fur off underneath the collar. I removed the collar but the fur never grew back. I regretted that collar for the rest of her life.

when getting the next cat, cat’s protection agreed with me that they never recommend a collar due to the many injuries they can cause. So he has a microchip only now.

Octavia64 · 18/12/2025 09:08

Yeah I tried it with a tracker and my cat got it off within ten minutes, after that I felt no point.

most cats don’t like them and many cats can get them off quite quickly.

mustwashmycurtains · 18/12/2025 09:10

my outdoor cat does. She’s never been bothered by it. We put it on each morning before I let her out.
It’s partly for the bell - she has caught birds before as out NDN has bird feeders (despite also having own cats) But main reason is she went missing once as a young cat and despite only being a few doors down in the street behind they didn’t know who she belonged to (terrace housing - fell into their garden and couldn’t get out over high walls) I know that ppl can take a found cat to vet to check for microchip, but I don’t genuinely believe that many non cat fans would bother to do that. But calling me on my mobile number on the collar is low effort. we have lost a couple of quick release collars so they must work when needed.
I do think it’s different if the cat objects though as they are more likely to injure themselves trying to get out of it.
i recognise it’s a minor risk but for me it’s a lower risk than losing the cat would be 🤷🏻‍♀️

Judystilldreamsofhorses · 18/12/2025 09:31

No. He's pretty daft (ginger) and I would worry he would end up hanging from a tree like a Christmas bauble or something. He's chipped and doesn't really roam beyond our garden and the immediate neighbours. Our previous cat didn't either. If we had a black cat - previous girl was pure white - I would be more inclined to consider it from a road safety point of view but even then we live on a very quiet one way street so not in a high traffic zone.

Chemenger · 18/12/2025 09:36

We had a tracker for a while, even though I am not in favour of collars in general. We mostly used the tracker to find the collar where he had removed it. If you get a collar that will come off easily if it’s caught on something, which is essential, they are very easy for a motivated cat to remove. Bells are a waste of time and very irritating for a cat’s sensitive ears.

HostaCentral · 18/12/2025 09:45

No. Just think how awful it must be for them. A constant ringing in your ears, when you already have super hyper sensitive hearing.

BlueandWhitePorcelain · 18/12/2025 09:48

No, previous DCat could get a collar off within half an hour. I have never bothered with current DCats, as I am more afraid of them being injured/hung by being caught on something. I firmly believe in Murphy’s law, even with quick release collars. ITA a jingly bell must be extremely annoying to a cat - mine are ten now, and haven’t caught anything in two years!

DCat sister only goes out between April and September anyway, as heaven forbid she ever gets COLD! DCat brother only goes out two minutes to the toilet, then he’s straight back in!

DD2 has got a CCTV microchip cat flap, which can detect if the cat has prey in its mouth - it won’t let the cat in, and sends a video to your smart phone! I’ve seen the videos and her cat clearly has a mouse in its mouth!

Soony · 18/12/2025 09:49

When my 14 year old cat started bringing mice in for the first time in his life I put a collar on him. It didn't stop the mice and he soon lost it.

LuerLock · 18/12/2025 09:53

Our cat does not wear a collar. I did consider a quick-release collar, but discovered that the quick-release mechanism can easily fail if there are bits of grass, fur etc stuck in it. I also knew somebody whose cat was discovered dead, trapped by her collar against the garden fence. So our cat is microchip only now.

Ddakji · 18/12/2025 09:53

With my first cat, she always had collars (flea collars) which worked in keeping her flea free and were never a problem.

When DH and I got our first pair he didn’t like collars so we’ve never used them since (on our second pair now).

I’ve noticed that no flea treatment seems to be as good as the flea collars were.

rainbowsparkle28 · 18/12/2025 09:56

Mine doesn’t but only because the several times before that she has had a collar it has ended up being lost when she is outside literally within hours of putting it on so I just gave up with replacing them 😂

CurlewKate · 18/12/2025 09:58

Mine don’t. Do remember to get her chipped, though!