Collar or not?

frivolous_fay

Ok, my two kitties are 20 weeks old now. They get to roam pretty freely outside, although not at night. They LOVE trees. I will be booking them in for the snip & chip when they are old enough.

Until then... I worry that they have no ID. Are collars suitable for kittens? I have horrors of them catching them on a tree branch. That's assuming I get one on their necks and get away without losing a pint of blood

I will be getting them chipped, as I say, but I do wonder how beneficial it might be. Ok, they might get lost, (and might eventually get taken to a vet, who might scan them) but if they're killed on the road, the binman isn't going to scan them, is he? So is a collar equally or more important?

Sorry if the above sounds morbidly practical!

spookylukey

My cats are both chipped and wear collars, if I had to choose one only it would definitely be microchipping. If your cat ever got lost and taken to a rescue or vets he would be scanned and also most councils scan dead animals at the roadside so if the worst was to happen you would find out.

Microchips reunite thousands of pets every year and also prove ownership if someone tried to adopt your cat!

With regards collars I only ever use breakaway collars rather than so called (elasticated) safety collars. They can cause horrific injuries if caught under the leg or even death by hanging. You might lose a few breakaway ones but they are only a couple of pounds to replace. In my opinion it's pointless having a collar unless you're going to have a tag with your contact details on aswell.

The breakaway collars can't be used on young kittens as they can get their jaws caught under them but by the time my kittens were 5 months they fitted just fine. Prior to that I put the collars on for a few minutes each day gradually building the time up, I only put them on now when they go outside and they come rushing up when they see the collars in my hand as they know it means the back door is being opened!

snowman2_2

sookyluky is right, most councils will scan dead animals - they want to know where to send the bill if nothing else. We had a stray cat in yesterday that had a chip and the owner was able to collect the cat within 2 hours. He had been missing for 2 months so a microchip is the way to go. Cheap and last a lifetime. As for tags, I like the small engraved metal ones, the screw-in barrels tend to get lost. There is nothing more frustrating than getting a stray cat in the surgery with a collar but no proper ID.

Sazzyukrafc

We are getting our boys microchipped soon. We decided that they couldn't wear collars after numerous incidents with one of them. He chewed through three collars and learnt how to undo two others, so we gave up.

If your kittens are happy with a collar, have a collar and microchipped

davetrousers

frivolous_fay wrote: »

Are collars suitable for kittens? I have horrors of them catching them on a tree branch.

Collars should be designed with an elastic or weak section so the collar will stretch or break so the cat doesn't get caught anywhere by its collar.

nealallen

I'm sorry but collars are a no-no. A freind of mine lost their beloved cat when he got it caught on a small branch, it killed him and they were herat broken

Paparika

I know it's the law for dogs to have a id badge on them via a collar, not sure if its the same for cats.

The OH has a collar on his cat with a little bell on it so that birds can hear him sneak up on them.

nealallen wrote: »

I'm sorry but collars are a no-no. A freind of mine lost their beloved cat when he got it caught on a small branch, it killed him and they were herat broken

Bit late now but wouldn't that be down to the collar not fitted correctly?