Does your cat wear a collar?

[JMSA]

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.

No, my cat doesn't have a collar. He does of course have a microchip.

I remember a colleague being very distressed after finding a neighbour's cat close to death in her garden - the collar had caught in some netting over the vegetable beds, and then twisted as the cat struggled. The collar being quick-release doesn't help in that situation.

I've also seen one of my neighbour's cats - wearing collar with bell - catch a bird with casual ease, so they really do seem pointless.

No, no collar on mine but he doesn’t go outside

No I don’t put collars after I used one on my first cat - even though it had a stretchy elastic bit on it one day he came home not wearing it and I found it on a small branch of a tree in my garden, with a tuft of fur under it so he’d obviously got stuck and had to struggle free.
Really panicked me and I vowed to never use a collar ever again (which was a shame as he had a very stylish snazzy range of collars…)

she used to but it kept breaking, so we just binned it off. She is about 16 and knows what side her bread’s buttered on. Seems never to go further than next door either side and if she does run out the front, is soon to be found popping back in the cat flap in the back wall - especially in this colder weather!

Cats shouldn't be left outside period.

We put a reflective collar on mine because he is all black and there aren't many streetlights where we live. It's got a safety breakaway which I check still works every so often - as pp said, they can jam up with trapped fur etc. He's lost quite a few collars over the years but I'd rather that than have them not come off when needed. I take the bells off as they are pointless and annoying.

Mine has a collar as I hate all the 'cat distribution videos' where people see cats out and about, generally doing cat things, and take them home with them because they were apparently chosen by them. And they didn't belong to anyone as they weren't wearing a collar.

Mine has contact details on, but I took the bell off. However if we're vising my parents during bird nesting season, cat does wear a bell outside as their garden is full of nests and baby birds. It's as much for us as it is for the birds as we can hear her sneaking over and can intercept

Oh gosh, I don’t think I’ll bother. Thanks everyone. She’s already chipped 😊

Yes, because her record is 7 mice in one evening.
We're down to a couple a year now she has a bell.

Yes
I do not like kt but when he goes out it has a tracker
I do not for the life me me understand anyone who has a cat and dopes not have a tracker

Mine does not wear a collar. Let's just say that it is entirely his choice.

We’ve never had a collar on previous cats but this girl kept bringing in mice and birds both alive and dead so she has a collar and a bell!

My cats are houdini, they go out with a collar and come back with no collar. Every single time so I've given up now. They are both chipped.
The young one had a post surgery suit put on her and 5 minutes after coming home she had that off too.

My long haired girls didn’t, as it caused Matts. My short haired ones did. Although Penelope doesn’t, as she is tiny. Kitten ones don’t fit and adult ones are too big.

Because there is no real point, other than you can see where they go. Which is interesting but you can't stop a cat, catting, unless you keep them in. Which I also wouldn't do.

Outs has a collar with two bells . She hasn’t killed a bird for a while but she wouod if she didn’t have that
Collar on. She still kills mice though.

From observing my cats hunting, they generally keep still and wait to pounce on rodents (so the bell is still and silent) whereas they tend to track birds tinkling their bell. It's not foolproof though. My rescue boy hunts most (or maybe catches most) when it's raining which muffles the noise even more - (sorry) am repeating myself.

My rescue wears one with a tracker but no bell. It has my mobile number attached to it. I'm pretty sure the quick release works cos I check it.
The main reason I have it is so that an ordinary person who finds her in any distress will not have to find a vet to get the chip scanned and then contact the chip company, then wait to get my contact details and then finally tell me what is going on.
Seems much more time efficient to just phone me straight away.

Mine don’t for the reasons already listed. I dont like them catching anything, but it’s just nature.

No, never. Quick release is a misnomer. I've heard and read horror stories about cat collars.

That wasn't the question.

Our neighbours lost a cat to a collar - she strangled herself in a tree. When I heard what happened to them I decided it wasn’t worth the risk.

My cats don't wear one. One of mine is a prolific hunter. I did go through a phase of putting a collar on him, but it was lost almost every day.