Cat collar recommendations?

I'm thinking of getting my cat a cat collar. I think I saw three sizes at the pet store, a 8", a 12" and a 20". They also had a little elastic portion that stretched incase the collar gets snagged on something.

So how do I go about sizing a cat collar? Any recommended types? Do cats like bells? (I'm thinking that they might not)

Also, the humane society gave me a little tag with a number on it so that in the event that the cat got lost and they found it, they can look up the number and find my info. But on all the collars I looked at, there's no way to attach this little tag, how do you do it? Am I missing something obvious?

-Lemur 6

Is your cat used to collars?
My gang didn't like them specially if they had bells attached. I suggest microchipping.

Hi, Lemur6! Is your cat an inside cat? I ask because I had an inside cat get hung up by her collar (and no, the elastic didn't stretch enough because of the way her collar caught on a chair). My cat loved her collar with bell, but off it came anyway, and so did the collars on my daughters' and sister's cats (my sis had her cats microchipped). We all shuddered at the thought of "what if the cat had been outside and no one else was around"...just my experience that I wanted to share with you! But maybe someone out there has a collar to recommend, with a better release system. Good luck on whatever you decide on! I can see that you want only the best for your furbaby(ies). Sincerely, Susan

Usually there is a ring on the collar to attach the tags to.. Looks like a half ring near the closure on the collar
As for sizing I have heard that if you can comfortably slide 2 fingers under the collar it fits... though don't quote me on that... someone should be able to tell you better

Mine wear Beastie Bands.. You can find them in some of the places at Meowhoo.com
The beastie bands are the first link here and there are more to look at
http://www.meowhoo.com/Cat_Collars__..._ID/index.html

I personally do not like bells. I find them annoying as do my cats, as well the can be a potential choking hazard if your cat gets it off. Don't be discouraged though if you find a collar you like with a bell. They come off easily with some needle nose pliers.

Hope that helps!

Sierra has worn a collar with a bell since she was a baby, so she is used to both! This is Sierra's collar, and she is now wearing her 3rd one like it. It is a safety collar and is embroidered with her name. You also have an option of having your telephone # embroidered on the collar, but I chose to not put ours on there this time, though, since it's engraved on her tag. They have just changed the available colors I see. Sierra's is purple, and we just ordered it in Dec, now purple is nolonger available. The little purple box on the left of the screen at this link gives you a little tip for determining the best collar size for your kitty. Good for you for being so smart as to ID your baby!

My vet told me cats should never wear collars. The reason was she had a cat brought in who had been lost for a few days, when the owner found her she was hanging from a fence post, she had tried to jump over and her collar got snagged on it and she couldnt move, her neck had a bad gash on it where she had been struggling to free herself. Another owner put a collar on her cat and as the cat was washing her self her tongue hooked under the collar and it got caught on her teeth, she couldnt get it off and broke her jaw trying so hard to do so. I suppose its up to the individual of course whether they put collars on the cats or not and it must be a rare thing for such horrible things to happen I guess my vet was just being over precautious but I dont put a collar on my cat now as it scared me.

Originally Posted by Chrissie

My vet told me cats should never wear collars. The reason was she had a cat brought in who had been lost for a few days, when the owner found her she was hanging from a fence post, she had tried to jump over and her collar got snagged on it and she couldnt move, her neck had a bad gash on it where she had been struggling to free herself. Another owner put a collar on her cat and as the cat was washing her self her tongue hooked under the collar and it got caught on her teeth, she couldnt get it off and broke her jaw trying so hard to do so. I suppose its up to the individual of course whether they put collars on the cats or not and it must be a rare thing for such horrible things to happen I guess my vet was just being over precautious but I dont put a collar on my cat now as it scared me.

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I think that yes it is quite rare, though these things can happen but there are ways to prevent it.
There are many different collars out on the market, the ones to look for have safety stretch (one reason I really like Beastie Bands, they stretch through the whole collar not just a little section) as well as breakaways. Always do your research on anything that has to do with your cat, like always said, Better safe than sorry!

I dont like Martini going out without her collar on because she wanders off and gets lost then people know she belongs to someone but her new collar I bought her keeps coming off so Ive left it off. I guess it depends on what kind of collar you have for your littlen'

mine is an indoor cat, I bought a collar with diamonds on it! it looks so pretty! but its still too big for him and i just put it on him but he doesnt like it!!

All of mine have collars, with bells and tags - the collar is a "safte-cat" collar - it has a snap buckle, that if it gets pressure against it, it will release. When my guys used to go outside, they occasionally came back without their collars - could never get them to tell me what happened! Now that they are inside, the only times they come off is during rough kitty play.

Just looked at those beatie bands - they look wonderfull - but I wish they came in a no design option - just the color of the collar. For some reason I just don't like any designs on my kitties colloars.

The brand name of the collars mine have is 'Lupine' (you can see them here: http://www.arcatapet.com/category.cfm?catnum=36 ) - I like them because they have a breakaway buckle, in case the cats do get caught on something - in the past I've found that the collars with just a section of elastic won't actually come off if the cat gets stuck. I think the designs are cute, too, Esmeralda has the 'flutterbys' one and the boys have the 'wee fishies' one. They only come in one size, which can fit necks 8-12 inches - that works fine for my bunch, and Henry is quite small and Phineas is quite large. 20" is definitely too large for a cat, I think - whether you choose 8" or 12" just depends on the sze of your cat, I guess. I really don't like bells, as mine are indoor cats and the sound is very annoying after awhile; the collars came with bells, but I just pulled them off with a pair of scissors. If your cats goes outside, though, I've heard that having a bell is important so that your cat can't kill birds as easily. Most collars have a little ring where tags can be attached; I'd definitely recommend getting one that does so that you can attach ID.

Hope that helps a bit, good luck!

Wow, thanks for all the replies, I didn't know cat collars can be so involved! The human society has some sort of collar around her now (looks like some kinda tape), so I think she's pretty used to having a collar. Maybe I'll order one online since I can't seem to remember the last time I've seen a "break-away" collar in a pet store.

Well Polly is an indoor cat so I dont really have the need to buy her a collar, I suppose there are a lot of safety collars out there and of course they wouldnt be allowed to sell them if they were that dangerous, as was said before it must be quite rare for something bad to happen with a collar. I think though if Polly was an outside cat I would have her microchipped as collars can come off and get lost, so its better to be very safe than sorry