A very sad story with a message from my local paper

Painful death for cat caught in own collar

THE horrific death of a Reading cat that got her paw stuck in her own collar is being used as a warning to other owners by the RSPCA.

Black and white cat Taz was found in Tilehurst last week, extremely dehydrated and with a festering wound in the front leg where it had been trapped inside her blue flea collar.

Animal workers tried to save the cat by putting her on a drip, but she had been weakened by the injury as well as suffering from an infection and died on Thursday, August 22.

Inspector Graham Hammond said: “Sadly Taz just wasnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t strong enough to pull through. The collar had gradually caused a very nasty festering wound, which was smelly and infected.

“Her trapped leg had left her with limited mobility and she was extremely dehydrated.â€

The distressed pet was found under a shed in Bromley Walk on Wednesday last week and immediately taken for treatment.

As Inspector Hammond left the scene a neighbour handed him a leaflet about a missing cat with a blue collar and he tracked down the owners who had moved to Aylesbury a fortnight before.

He said: “They had been unable to find their cat when they left and had posted leaflets in nearby houses urging people to get in touch if they found her.

“Itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s a very sad ending to what otherwise would have been a happy reunion. But Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m relieved we were able to contact Tazâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s owners so at least they knew what had happened to their pet.â€

The RSPCA says it has had two similar cases in Wiltshire and is advising cat-lovers to make sure collars are properly fitted and preferably have a built-in safety release catch.

The charity is also urging owners to get their cats micro-chipped, so the owners can be identified and contacted if they are lost or stray.

What a sad story indeed. Poor little Taz.
I hope that she is running the Bridge, free from her suffering.

It never fails to infuriate me when people like her owners are not responsible. So needless and unnecessary.
for Taz.........

A very sad story.

Unfortuantly I have noticed a lack of the saftey release collars, at least in my area. In the 2 local pet shops (one of which is a big chain)the saftey collars they sell just have an elasticated bit rather than a release catch. Which is a shame as I think a lot of people may not realise the need to have a good saftey collar if they are not available.

I now buy collars from a local discount shop, where I normally buy in bulk as Corky is a master of losing hers, but I am much happier buying her a constant supply of them instead of what could happen.

Oh, Yola, how sad! What a predicament we cat owners have. If we use a break away collar, we are unlikely to get our cat back if it gets out. If the collar does its job, it comes off in a situation like this. Not every organization has the equipment to check for microchips, either. To be honest, I think many people think that cats are expendable, but dogs are not. Well, I love both, and neither is expendable! That poor,poor baby. My heart aches for the owners.