How tight do I make his collar?!

I got Maui's new collar in the mail today!

How tight do I make it?

I've never had a cat that wore a collar before. I put it on him at first kind of loose and he kept getting it in his mouth... so I tightened it. I thought it was tight enough- I could get my finger in there with a little room (probably too much) but after playing with his neck for 3 minutes he pulled it off!! I know he used his paw to do it and I think he got the bell in his mouth somehow and the combo was enough force to pull it off...

It looks so cute! If only I can get it to stay on!

Does it have elastic or an easily-popped fastener? If so, you can make it snug, at least snug enough that he won't be getting his jaw caught on it...if not, you may want to add a circle of elastic. If it has no 'break-away' feature, it could hurt him. For comfort sake, he should have at least room to slip 2 fingers between his neck and the collar.

This is the one I got- it's from the Ragtime place and it does have a break away clip thingy.

I put it on again even tighter- I can't believe how skinny his neck is compared to his body! He has such a tiny head!!! It's still on as of now but he's playing with the bell as I type- he's still trying to chew it It's hilarious! He looks special

Just a note of caution, be sure the collar will breakaway if caught on something and remove the bell. If he is chewing on it, he could loosen it and swallow it and choke.

I never have had collars on mine there's just to many of them and I'd be afraid they might try and choke each other to death I alway's take those tiny bells off the toys though I agree with hissy, kinda takes the fun out of not hearing that little bell, but with 8 I would probably go nutts...

Originally Posted by halfpint

I alway's take those tiny bells off the toys though I agree with hissy, kinda takes the fun out of not hearing that little bell, but with 8 I would probably go nutts...

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I bet you would! Maui has been scratching his collar since the last time I put it on him and it's driving me crazy! I like the bell sound but I wish he would just quit scratching!

Also- since I tightened it last he hasn't been able to chew on the bell but I will continue to keep an eye on it- thanks for the advice!

I'm worried he's going to scratch a raw spot into his neck

he might still be trying to get at the bell, you might try removing it and see if that helps.

Two fingers between the cat's collar and its neck is about right.
I have a very similar collar on Gizmo. I can see that yours is cotton, too. These are an improvement on the polyester ones that she scratched all to pieces; her scratching has noticeably diminished. It's amazing what an allergic cat can be allergic to!
Good luck, and you are doing the right thing by making sure that your cat has a collar with ID. You may or may not want to keep the bell. I need to know where Gizmo is so I have one on her collar.