kitten collar

Hey everyone,

I've just bought Dora a little kitten collar to wear while she is in the house with an identity tag, just in case she finds a way outside! At the same time I have also been looking at cat collars for when she is big enough to go outside, and wondered which are best. The ones with the safety buckle that opens if she gets in trouble or the elasticated ones that stretch to free your cat? Or is there a collar which does both? And if so, does anybody know where I can get one from?

Thanks everybody,

IMO cats should not wear collars. You could get her microchipped. Also why not just let her be an inside only cat? If you do want a collar I would choose the break aways.

Even indoor cats get out sometimes. And we can't all live in places where the cat is '2 doors from the outside'. If Dora does not fight to get the collar off I would use an elastic one. The problem with them though is that sometimes the cat can get its paw stuck in it trying to scratch it off and then it does not come off as the angle is wrong. I find they lose breakaway ones more easily - but that is what they are for! Try and get one that is soft material but not a coarse weave - there is less chance of the cat getting its claw stuck and it will not irritate her neck - the hard plastic ones are a no-no in my book. And do examine her regularly under the collar for any signs of irritation or allergy - it is not uncommon for a cat to lose its hair under the collar.

I can no longer find a site that gives an illustration of the Tenth Life Reflective Cat Collar, but this one does at least offer it for sale. My cats have worn these for years. They are an elastic fabric, with a reflective strip, adjustable in their words "from kitten to monster size", and they have a breakaway catch. My lot don't spend a lot of time outdoors, but they do go out when they want to, and they do lose collars from time to time. I have a spare for each of them, complete with ID tag, ready to put on whenever someone comes home with a bare neck. When Fawn does, she actually comes and shows me, and we go get the new collar.

You're from the UK yeah? You'll probably find that many people on this site will suggest you keep her indoors, but in the UK we tend to let them out more. I would suggest a collar, purely so that people can identify her as belonging to someone, and she won't get taken to a shelter as a stray. I would also consider microchipping (only cost me £15 when I did Ziggy last year)

I put kitten collars on mine, they are fully elasticated, and VERY stretchy. I used to find that Ziggy would get her leg stuck in the breakaway ones and it would be typical that they wouldn't break away. Whereas with the elastic ones, at least she could still move around ok. We would also find the breakaway ones around the house, because they can detatch with just a really good neck itch.

The kitten ones are very adjustable, so they can fit cats up to a small adult.

My older cat is microchipped and my kitten will be too when I have her spayed (I want to do it at the same time, one less visit to the vet). They both have collars but they don't wear them unless they are going in the car or if they are staying with me when I'm out of town and are in an unfamiliar house. The kitten hates wearing it because she thinks the tag on the collar is a toy and tries to "chase" it, only to end up frustrated because she can't ever get it.

The collar I do have is a breakway collar that is supposed to be able to break free if it gets snagged. I would think that the elastic ones would be easy for the cat to get out of when they don't necessarily need to get out of it, leaving them collar-less.

Thanks everybody for all the info. I live in a cul-de-sac away from main roads with a large field by my house and think it would be a shame to keep dora indoors. She loves to explore and in the UK most cats are infact outdoor cats as sadieandziggy said. I would keep her in at night though. The collar is something that I will use along with getting her 'chipped. I'll check out the collars recommended. I think she should have a collar so that she can be indentified by neighbours if she gets lost. I guess either the break-away or elasticated ones will be okay judging by everyone's comments, some of you prefer one to the other. Perhaps I'll go with elasticated as there is less chance of her losing it.

Thanks again.

I am an indoor only kitty owner. We live literally feet (like 300) away from the interstate on one side. Even if we didn't she would still be an indoor kitty. I guess it is a matter of personal choice.
Even though she is an indoor kitty, she wears a collar with her id tag on it. There is always that chance that she will escape and I want her to have the best possible chance of returning home.
I use a stretchy elastic kitten collar.

Last winter my furnace malfunctioned and caught the attic on fire. The firemen propped open the front storm door, kicked in the utility room door and broke out my bedroom windows. They then pulled down the ceilings to get the water hoses to the fire. I was able to get my dogs out before they arrived but as I put the third dog in the car they drove up. After that I was not allowed back into the house for a couple of hours. I told them about the cats. I later found Freya and Furrari under my bed. But it took two and a half days to find Elija (he was still in the house). The house was boarded up before I left to take everybody (minus Eli) to my vet.

My point is that at anytime during all the commotion one or all of the cats could have escaped out a door or the window. You never know what can happen and let an animal out. My cats now wear collars to tell anyone who sees them that they are owned and to get them back to me as soon as possible.

Microchips prove ownership but not all shelters have readers for all the brands of chips and, at least around here, they don't always check for chips.

we tried for years to get damian to wear a collar since he goes outside a lot, but every day he would come home without it. we finally cought him one day actually getting the darm thing off, on purpose! what a smart kitty. our new kitten wears a collar, but doesn't go outside, the purpose of the collar is the bell, to help us locate him, or give damian warning he is coming, lol. but max's is a breakaway just in case he gets outside and gets stuck.

Jack is an indoor only kitty--but being that he is a kitten we are really concerned about escape. He wears a breakaway collar with a bell (for our location) and will soon get a tag attached that says "If you find me alone I am lost" and our phone number.

Leslie

I've always used breakaway collars but I saw some velcro collars that looked interesting especially for kittens. You just cut them to size and fold them over. Currently the smallest breakaway collar I can find locally is still big enough my kitten has gotten her leg through it twice tonight.

Not everyone bothers to take an animal in for a microchip especially if they don't have a collar. Chances are a cat here would never be checked unless the new owner went to have a chip put in. There are even a few stories of dogs who were never checked by shelters or the chip was missed and years later when someone went to microchip they realized the animal already had one. Cats are much worse. I don't know anyone who thinks to check for a chip when they take in a stray. I've reminded several people now to do that when they decide to keep a cat they've found. It doesn't even occur to them. They see a stray with no collar and assume it's homeless or the person doesn't care enough to notice it's missing.

As for just keeping them inside cats escape all the time. Carmel slipped through a damaged basement window 2 days ago and I thought for sure she wasn't coming back. Finally last night she reappeared on the sidewalk. I don't know how many times I've caught the kitten as it was headed out the door and a couple times had to retrieve it from the bushes around the house.

In my opinion a collar is a necessity if the cat is ever allowed near an exterior door. Now maybe if you lived in an apartment and had to go through a hallway to get outside or had double doors (entryway or going through a garage) and always kept them both shut and always checked for the cat before going out the 2nd one. Otherwise 1 mistake with a collarless cat and there's a rather high chance you will never see them again.