Collar is breaking fur?

I just removed Puppy's collar and noticed that all the fur under it is REALLY short. It's not bald, but it looks like someone shaved him. I'm guessing that the collar somehow is breaking his fur off? It has two fingers room, but I loosened it anyway. I'm not sure if it's because of the kind of fur he has? He's got a lot of undercoat, so he's got a very downy texture. There isn't much of an overcoat on him.

Can someone suggest a different collar I can try that won't do this?

What type of collar are you using now? Maybe you want a "softer" material for puppy so it doesn't chop the hair off. Also, maybe puppy is alergic to the collar you're using now? Just some thoughts. Good luck!

Until I learnt not to use them, I had a cat who became bald under his flea collar. Try Beastie bands, which are held on with velcro and are very soft. Or the other ones I use have a soft wool backing that seems OK. Don't put them on too tight, and of course always use a collar that is breakaway or has a long elastic strip so that the cat can get out of it in an emergency.

Sorry- is "Puppy" a cat or a dog?
Collars can wear the coat off of either, but to recommend a particular type I would need to know what breed it is. Generally for most coat types a rolled leather collar works best.

If it is a cat I would avoid a collar entirely. I don't keep collars on my dogs when they are indoors either, but that's just me.

Puppy is a cat. He's a DSH. I ought to put a pic of him in my sig to make it more clear.

I keep the collar on him because I'm concerned about him running out the door. The tag has our apartment number on it, so hopefully someone would return him. There's a lot of internationals here, so I'm not sure if everyone knows about microchipping. I figure the tag is a good extra precaution.

I'll have to try the beastie bands, and the wool backed one sounds good too. I thought it was a pretty soft material, but it's kind of elasticy, so maybe it's catching his fur and ripping it out.

Do you think a rolled leather collar would be good for cats too?

A rolled leather collar wouldn't be safe on a cat - any collar you use on a cat MUST have a safety release, as cats often get themselves into situations where their collar can get caught on something, and if that happens up high it can have disastrous consequences if the collar doesn't have a safety release.

Beastie Bands might work well for you, or there are some cat collars at the pet store made with a silk covering and a plastic safety release that might be good too. I think they're called "Silkies".

Ah, found them! Silk cat collars by Sporn (click here)

Mr. Underfoot's hair is a little shorter under his collar too - all 4 of my DSH cats wear Beastie Bands, but for some reason he's the only one whose fur is affected, so I've been thinking about getting one of those silk collars for him. If you try it and like it, please let me know. Or if I get one I'll post the results after he's worn it for a while.

We saved a kitty from outside, poor thing was wearing a leather collar. She tried to get the collar off and ended up getting it stuck behind her front leg. So it went around her neck and behind one front leg. It had been that way for sooooo long that it gashed her open and she had scar tissue that had begun to grow around the collar. Not to worry she is happy and healthy today and has settled nicely in my family of cats.

When we took her to the vet he told us that collars really aggrivate cats, especailly any thick collars. And they often "freak out" trying to get them off.

I know that your baby is well loved and this would not happen. I just want to share the story so you would understand some of the horrors of cats and collars.

I use to use flea collars but Izzy lost all her fur in a ring around her neck.

It has been several months since i stopped using them (i use advantage now) but none of her fur has grown back.

However Jake and Jaz did not have this with their collars so i guess Izzy was just really sensitive to the chemicals that are used. I stopped using flea collars on all my cats now, but Jake and Jaz do have quick release collars for their ID tags.

Well, I just got the Sporn Silk collar. We'll see how it goes. I've got it REALLY loose right now, but I'm going to tighten it once his fur grows back in. Then I'll check every few days and see if the fur has broken at all. I suppose I can leave it super loose; he hasn't tried to take it off even though it fits over his head easily.

You can get the sporn collars direct from the company.