Breakaway Collar

[Chestnut]

I decided to get a GPS tracker for my cat, and want to choose a collar to pair it with. Does anyone know of a good high force breakaway collar?

I've bought a few normal breakaways at Pet Smart, but my cat has come back four times without her collar. I really doubt she was in a life/death situation. The problem is, these collars break away with very little force. Just guesstimating, I'd say 5 lb. A feisty cat should be able to apply 20 lb of force, easily.

A 5 lb breakaways seem almost useless, IMO. I've bought 4 collars and had 4 engraved tags. I wouldn't be surprised if the low force design is partially chosen to sell more collars. :/ I don't want to lose an $80 GPS tracker because of this.

On the flip side, are secure non-breakaway collars really that much of a risk?

 

[Kieka]

I've seen a cat hung by a non-breakaway collar. I would never risk it.

I have a GPS tracker too and use the Beastie Band collar with great success. I have an escape artist who was able to get out of every other collar I tried.

 

[Draco]

I second beastie band collar. Its the only one my cats would wear- though they do need to be replaced due to wear and tear every year or so

 

[Chestnut]

Thanks for the suggestion. What is the breakaway mechanism for the Beastie Band collars? From pictures it's hard to tell. The description mentions something about velcro. Wouldn't that be very easy to come undone?

 

[Kieka]

Beastie Bands are stretch collars. The Velcro is incredibly strong and there is too much for a cat to pull that apart. But the material is incredibly stretchy. The only time mine have gotten them off is in play when someone hooks it over the head of the other. With how much it stretches a cat could likely wiggle out if it gets stuck on anything.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

I had a scary incident when Noodles was still a kitten when her tag got stuck in the floor vent and the collar didn't break open easily. I've also had a cat come limping home because her leg was stuck half way through the collar. It was an old kind that had only a small section that stretched.

I've always heard good things about Beastie Bands but we've not tried them. My girls have preferred to be collar-less as they've gotten older. (And they are indoor only.)

 

[Chestnut]

I found the Beastie Bands at a local pet store. They are absolutely perfect! Thanks again.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

Please let us know how the collar works with the tracker. I'm curious but I know I've heard people ask about the GPS trackers before so it might help people in the future too.