Does your indoor cat wear a collar? - Page 2

When I first got Oscar, I got him a collar, but he hated it andscratched and pawed at it. Then I noticed a bald spot underneath the collar so took it off. He is now just barely growing all the hair back. He is microchipped but microchips depend on the honesty of the person who finds him. So far he doesn't seem too interested in gettin out. I will have to put a collar on him though when we move. We are moving from Ca to Wa so I want one on for safety sake.

Collars depend on the honesty of someone who finds them too though, but (at least here) if a cat is microchipped there are other rules the shelters follow if they are picked up, including a longer hold time - which if you are near a kill shelter could save your cats life.

As far as the microchips being pushed out, I have never heard of it being pushed out but if they are not properly inserted they can come back out, the needle is quite long and needs to be completely inserted

Attitude and Nuts both do even though if they get out they don 't go far, they will dash under the car if they get out. They haven't door dashed in a few months but I feel more comfortable when they wear them. Both like to look out the screen door at the outside cats so if the door was somehow pushed open(and they are already 10 lbs each) I feel more comfortable knowing if they get out they might get back to me.

I see way too many lost pet no collar signs. My neighbor will take dogs she finds without collars to a rescue and have them put up for adoption. One the owners had to go rescue it(after seeing the lost dog poster.) She told them she almost took it home with her and if she had they never would have seen their dog again. Another was the farmer's dog Daisy who decided to cross the railroad tracks. She is the only dog who we have no problem with not being tied up or fenced( I won't even go into the woman up the street who doesn't even feed her animals much less half-arsed try to keep them contained) since she patrols the farm(she's a working dog, when Paul and Bobby went over to check out the buffalo the farmer had she made sure they weren't hurting him or the cows before going off about her business) and I don't think she has ever crossed the RR tracks and left the property before. If Mitzi finds collar less dogs she has no problem lecturing the owner about it. I will say however that dogs are a lot more important to have collars than cats since they are more likely to get out by someone being careless with a gate) or whatever. After Abby went blind and had arthritis she only wore her collar for walks. She was also microchipped but we knew she wasn't going anywhere.

I do remove their collars for baths and take my time putting them back on. I also know their collars will release if they get caught because they are heavy enough to trigger them. I found Attitude collar less and found hers in the closet. They also don't try to remove their collars or even chew on their tags. You can also get in deep trouble if animal control picks up an animal that is not wearing it's rabies tag(county ordinance.) Doesn't matter if you have one and the animal just isn't wearing it, the animal has to be wearing it at all times or they fine you if they pick up the animal. Another reason they always wear collars, I don't feel like getting fined if they do get out. I also don't want them going to the pound or a rescue with no identification because either way they will be immediately destroyed due to their leukemia(both test before a cat is even placed in a cage) so for me they have to have some form of identification because if they are picked up they will NOT be held. So for mine it's a matter of life or death that they have identification on them. I'm sure ya'll can understand why I make sure they always have their collars on because if they don't and get out they won't be coming home without them.

Taryn

In most places and certainly everywhere here, they have to hold an animal for 72 hours, even if it tests positive for something - so the owners always have 3 days after the day they are found to come forward and claim their animal before it goes up for adoption or anything else - even in the high kill shelter.

I would work to have the same laws instituted where you live, it has saved many animals here

Leukemia is contagious(though hard to be transmitted to other cats in a shelter unless they are having direct contact which they shouldn't be allowing anyhow) so they will not hold them. It will be listed on their 'dead list' under PTS but I'd rather not find my cat(s) on a list of dead cats. It also depends on the shelter they would end up at, some test some don't, but all rescues do and none here on the IL side of the river adopt out leukemia positive cats(I think one rescue told me state law forbids it.) There are a few in MO, but I doubt my cats will be crossing the Mississippi river and making it to St. Charles for the only humane society that tries to adopt out FeLV /FIV cats. There are rescues in St. Louis and the surrounding area but as I said I don't see them crossing the river or even managing to reach it.

If I ever get the money I also need them chipped, but I need to get Nuts neutered first.

Taryn

Ella doesn't, and Punkin doesn't. Sterling didn't, until he scared us last week with a door dash as I was going out the door to work. Flambe does, because he's also a dasher and he's not ours.

Mine are microchipped and also wear collars.

I answered "always" but it only applies to three of five of my six cats. LOL, not too confusing...

Ginger: always wears her collar, unless I take it off for grooming and give her an occasional break from it

Ferris: same as Ginger

Baby Bonnie: same as above, but her breaks are very short - she's a door dasher!

Max and Penny are both microchipped and will remove any collar put on them - they think collars are beneath them, LOL!

Sissy, being an outdoor only cat, wears her collar 24/7

A lot of shelters here will not adopt them (leukemia cats) out but unless the animal is suffering (hit by care, severe renal failure etc) they can not euthanise it until the advertising hold is done. In my city, the shelters advertise cats online and in the local paper as well as a phone in lost and found service.

If they test, the cat will probably be kept in quarantine as a precaution but they would be in a lot of trouble (a minimum 72 hour hold is law). Most shelters treat for fleas only on intake until the hold is up and then do testing and vaccines / speuter etc.

We do have a few shelters within an hour that do take keukemia cats and two that I know of that will deal with pretty much anything including FIP and FIV

The collars my cats wear are breakaway and they will (and have) come loose if the cats get caught on anything. I feel safer knowing they are wearing collars just in case. Most of them are interested in the doors and I have had a cat get out the door twice when someone held the door open too long. Luckily I was able to grab the cat quickly...
There are feral cats all over around here so if people see a cat running loose they assume it is feral unless it has a collar on. My cats' tags include a line that says "If alone, I'm lost" or "Lost if alone"


Several of the cats-only shelters here are cageless so the cats do have contact with each other. They test all the cats that come in for FIV and FelV and make sure they are healthy before they're allowed in the general population, and some of them also have a separate section in the shelter for FIV positive cats.
I know some of the animal shelters here in Chicago do adopt out FelV positive cats as well.

Chilsa did, but he went out. For the others that are completely indoor, I feel it's unnecessary except in special circumstances like a cross-country move. Panther HATES wearing a collar because the first time she wore one, it was too big for her (even though it was the smallest size) and she pulled it partway off, into her mouth, where it put a lot of pressure, probably to the point of pain, on her jaw. The breakaway buckle didn't pop open for some reason; my cousin and I had to catch her, wrap her in a towel so we didn't bleed to death in the process, and put even more pressure on her jaw by sticking my fingers into the collar to pop it open. I won't remind her of that without a good reason.

same here... collar free for 3 plus years ...

I voted that my cats sometimes wear collars.

All of my kitties have collars and tags. I should also mention that they are all microchipped. However, while they do wear their collars when going to the vet or going out of the house for any reason (they are exclusively indoor cats), I often take their collars off of them when I am home.

I used to have them wear their collars all the time, but after reading some horror stories and hearing people's personal experiences with collars, I'm beginning to lean toward having the collars off of the cats unless absolutely necessary (ie. a vet trip or in an emergency). Having my kitties microchipped certainly helps ease my mind should they accidentally find their way out of the house, but, in my neighborhood, it wouldn't be likely that anyone would take a cat in and have it scanned for a microchip. So, for now, it's kind of a 50/50 situation. I guess I haven't fully decided one way or another to either have them free from collars at all times or have them wearing them exclusively.

For me, I think that they look adorable in their collars. They have a variety and some of them are just too cute. And, it doesn't hurt that they don't mind their collars, bells, or tags at all. But, I also like the natural look and think they're cute as can be regardless of whether they're wearing collars or not.

I should recommend Beastie Bands. You can google them if you're unfamiliar. But, they're a really good collar and recommended for safety. I have the regular safety cat collars as well as Beastie Bands and have never had an issue with either, but if your cat is one that fusses with his or her collar and you absolutely refuse to go without one, they may be a good option. Just a little FYI...

agree with this. none of ours our collared, but all are microchipped.

safety/identity concerns considered, i also prefer the aesthetics of a 'natural' kitty (no brands of ownership)

Topaz wears one, as he is still young and interested in the outdoors. If we come in the slider with the dogs from them pottiying.. he will be sitting right at the door.. Soo we have to be careful. He has run out that door one time.. but we caught him cause it was raining and he stoped. Lol
He is Microchipped.. and has a tag with his name on it.. on top of the chip tag. He also has his rabies tag on there. We dont wanna loose him! His collar is a Quick release.. and it comes off... a lot. Lol as he HATES his tags on him..and pulls on them..and pulls the collar off. Lol But he is getting that ring around his neck..and I have wondered if I should take his off..since he hates it so much.
My roomies cats never have one on.

Ku Ku wears collar, as well as ID tag, also this cute little tag says "Cattitude"
She's strictly indoor, and microchipped as well but just in case. Y'never know...

Buffy wears a breakaway collar, since she's a door-darter, but the other two don't wear collars. Unlike my trouble child, they can be trusted, or at least managed. Buffy's too much of a live wire for it to even be a question.

Neither of our girls wears a collar - several reasons for this

-right now we're in an apartment - if they run out the door, they're only running into a small closed off section of hallway
-they are not really door hangers. Sometimes Aspen will run out the door when we come home but its usually because she's so excited we're home that she just HAS to be at our feet, so her "escape" involves bolting out the door the minute we open it so she can stand under our feet
-Aspen is the clumsiest cat I've ever met. I would be way too worried that she would do something silly and end up hanging herself
-Libby is too adventurous - she loves to climb things and hide under things and turn anything into an obstacle course and again I'd be afraid she might hang herself

When we move next month I may look into getting a collar temporarily for Libby particularly because she is very nervous about new spaces and I'd be worried she might get outside and bolt until she's more comfortable in the house

Aspen has escaped before in years past (or in one case, I had a roomate who insisted I was cruel to keep her indoors and kept letting her out against my wishes) and she usually just sits at the front door until you let her back in so I'm not too worried about her

Nora does at all times, with identification stating her name, our address, and our phone number...just in the SLIGHTEST chance she should ever get outside. She is strictly indoors only, and never makes even an attempt to get outside, but you never know. I know a collar could come off, and that I should get her microchipped b/c of that in order to cover all my bases, but I can't afford to.

Even if we had her microchipped I would still have her wear a collar, b/c it is something people can see and at a glance know she belongs to someone. She is a VERY timid cat around people other than us (on the rare occasions we have had company, she has just gone to hide the entire time), so I know she would be skittish if she ever got outside and wouldn't be likely to easily go up to someone and be friendly. I want to take every chance I can that someone would recognize that she has a home and be more likely to attempt to return her.

We don't have collars on our boys, but we had them both microchipped. I wish I could get them to wear them, but they both freak out, and jubbs got his front paw stuck in it once for god knows how long!

Mine all wear collars. A lot of people don't even realize that microchips exist (at least in my experience) so while they are a great idea, I don't completely trust that alone to get a cat home. One of my cats ran out the door and disappeared for 3 months. We put up signs everywhere and put fliers in people's mailboxes. In the end, none of those signs mattered. It was the the tag on his collar that brought him back to us. The man who found him told us it took him a few weeks to earn his trust, but he could see the cat wearing a collar with a tag so he knew he belonged to someone and thats what made him keep trying. So after that experience they will always wear collars. If Moses hadn't been wearing a collar, I'm not sure if he ever would have made it back home to us.

Plus, I have a few socialized ferals who have their ear tipped. If someone who knew about TNR saw that it might never occur to them to check for a microchip because they just look like a neutered feral.

So those are my reasons for all of my indoor kitties to always wear a collar .

I tried having my duo wear collars. However Red and Yoda developed a mutual agreement to remove each others collars on a daily basis. Thank goodness they are also microchipped!

I sadly had to put myself into the "they used to" category

We put very lightweight collars on them with the no-hang tags from when they were very little. After a few months of them taking them off once a week or so and us putting them back on, they started hiding them. Literally I'd put them on in the morning, they'd be gone by the evening. After buying 3 new sets we gave up.
I did eventually find a stockpile of collars/tags inside the lining of an old couch!