Collars: Dogs and Cats

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buzbyjlc10

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Just a random thing I thought of during Oliver's monthly bath last night... both my cat and dog wear collars pretty much 24/7 (Oliver is FIV+ so I want to be cautious in case, God forbid, he ever gets out - it's on his tag)... now, my kitty goes bald (pretty much, there's still some undercoat there) around the neck from his collar... it's definitely not too tight, I can get two fingers under it and when he wears bandannas, they're even looser... my pup on the other hand, doesn't have any mark of wearing a collar... is it just because my dog has a thicker, labrador coat, that's meant to be tough?

Not a big deal, I'm just curious... I know it's not like a skin problem with Oliver - there is no rash or irritation and the baldness is only under the collar... the vet has also seen this and is not conerned. His collar comes off for a bit each month when he gets his bath, until he's completely dry...

Let me know what you think! Thanks!
 
tuxedokitties

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Mr Underfoot and Sylvestra had the same trouble with regular safety collars. Perhaps it was the weight and/or texture of the collar spinning around their necks, and rubbing or breaking off the hair? Or maybe it was the buckle? Felixia never had that problem at all, though, even though she wore the same kind of collar.


I switched them to Beastie Bands collars (which are very light), and now the fur around their necks looks normal - not almost bald like they used to be. You might want to consider trying Beastie Bands. I've also seen safety-release collars at the pet store made of silk - perhaps those might help too? (silk pillowcases are advised for people with long hair to avoid breakage, so maybe a silk collar would help protect a cat's hair too?)
 
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buzbyjlc10

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Hmm, maybe its a kitty-specific type of thing... like I said, I'm not really worried about it, more curious - I'm a little on the broke side at the moment, but maybe he'll get a new collar for Christmas - his is starting to show a little wear from him scritching his neck and it is over a year old, so I'll look into a new one... It's just a regular clip collar - solid royal blue (which I have to say IS his color - he looks stunning in it!), soft material... it's not the break away clip, but I've seen him easily and successfully slip out of it when necessary (I can get at least 2 fingres between his neck and the collar)... anyway, I was just curious why it happens to the kitty and not my pup - the dog's is even more heavy duty too - leather and nylon, embroidered with a brass buckle (except at Christmas time when its red nylon with jingle bells and a brass buckle)...
 
tuxedokitties

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My dogs don't show any wear from their collars either...just the cats
 
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buzbyjlc10

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Ok, so I got Oliver a new collar for Christmas (although, he may end up getting it early, haha)... it's the same color blue, but it's a "safety collar" it's the kind with a buckle (but no holes on the collar, you just push the buckle part through the fabric of the collar) but the collar material is stretchy, so if he gets caught on something it will stretch and he'll get out - should I still use the 2 finger rule or can it be a little tighter since it's stretchy?... don't know if it will change the baldness problem, but like I said, I don't mind and I don't see him begging for kitty rogain...
 
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Originally Posted by BuzbyJLC10

Just a random thing I thought of during Oliver's monthly bath last night... both my cat and dog wear collars pretty much 24/7 (Oliver is FIV+ so I want to be cautious in case, God forbid, he ever gets out - it's on his tag)... now, my kitty goes bald (pretty much, there's still some undercoat there) around the neck from his collar...

Let me know what you think! Thanks!
Click to expand...
Pixel has this problem sometimes, too. if she develops a bald spot, i usually remove her collar for a while, give the fur time to return. i have no idea why she has this happen & the other 2 don't - none of them have thick, tough coats.
 
sylorna

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Originally Posted by BuzbyJLC10

Ok, so I got Oliver a new collar for Christmas (although, he may end up getting it early, haha)... it's the same color blue, but it's a "safety collar" it's the kind with a buckle (but no holes on the collar, you just push the buckle part through the fabric of the collar) but the collar material is stretchy, so if he gets caught on something it will stretch and he'll get out - should I still use the 2 finger rule or can it be a little tighter since it's stretchy?... don't know if it will change the baldness problem, but like I said, I don't mind and I don't see him begging for kitty rogain...
Click to expand...
My rule of thumb is at least 2 fingers, and I try to aim for 3 tight ones if I can. Chester wears the break-aways, and soon will have his first beastie band. I think that if it were me I'd rather wear a necklace then a choaker 24/7, and that's really all of the reasoning that I have
 
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