# Cats and collars



## poiuytrewq (13 September 2018)

Do cats need to wear collars? I thought they did, with a name tag like dogs legally but my O/H says no and that its dangerous for an outdoor car to wear a collar. The ones I've seen have breakaway sections so i think are safe. 
I also thought they had or were supposed to wear bells to stop them killing birds?!!  I strongly believe Kitty Arlo is going to be a killer. He's scared of nothing and spends ages stalking and attacking the labrador's so a bird or mouse is going to be nothing to this tiger.....
Does your cat wear one or not and why? (either way)

Also the vet said he can either go out after his second jabs or maybe to wait til he's neutered incase he strays. Another interested in wwyd please.


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## BallyJ (13 September 2018)

Ours were micro-chipped and we didn't use collars as they both love exploring and we were worried they'd get caught up somewhere - With regards to the breakaway they'd always return from adventures without them! so we tired of re-purchasing tags and collars weekly! Bells also didn't really work and we regularly receive 'presents'.

I can't remember what we did ref neutering and going out! We definitely kept the female in as a large Tom Cat would sit outside the patio doors yowling for her from Week 1.


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## poiuytrewq (13 September 2018)

Ok, well hes having a microchip put in, hopefully with his next injections. They said he was a bit too small last time and as he definitely wasnt going out that was fine. 
Thanks


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## Meowy Catkin (13 September 2018)

They are microchipped but don't wear collars. We've never put collars on our cats as I've seen an armpit collar injury and it was horrendous. RE birds we have a very tall bird feeder and have positioned it so that there is nowhere for the cats to hide and ambush the birds, this has dramatically reduced the number of birds caught. They catch a lot of mice and voles though and the little cat has caught three rats, a squirrel and a mole.

RE letting them out, we've always let them out after their second jab and none have wondered at that point. It's generally when they are older that we've had trouble eg our very elderly siamese went on a little jaunt for a few days once and we were all convinced that she must have sadly died of old age and we just hadn't found her body yet. Then she turned up starving hungry and definitely wondered what all the fuss was about. That's cats for you.


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## Lindylouanne (13 September 2018)

All mine are chipped but the girls are elderly and don't go out of the garden and Sebastian is blind and isn't allowed out of the garden. I would never put collars on cats it's just asking for trouble.


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## pixie27 (13 September 2018)

Chipped but no collar. We tried but he just kept getting them off. He's a massive hunter and regularly brings presents back.. a bell made no issue. Apparently they learn how to walk without making a sound go off..!


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## poiuytrewq (13 September 2018)

That answers that then! I had always thought it was law &#128514;&#128514; idiot 
Hes so looking forward to going out and is very good at coming to call so will see how I feel after his second boosters 
Having only really had dogs its a bit odd to think of not knowing where a pet is!


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## Umbongo (13 September 2018)

I have always had collars on my cats, but the breakaway ones. I buy lots of them in bulk so when they did loose one I had spare! I do it mainly because they say DO NOT FEED ME (cat is a fatty) and I like having my mobile number on the tag. Would never ever buy the non break type, too dangerous. Not the law though! Although I have a lovely pacman one on him now. 

The bells help with hunting, but a lot of cats can learn to move without them jingling. I would still have one on though, at least I feel like I am trying to help the birds/mice 

I would wait to let him out until he has been castrated, otherwise he could go off and get other cats preggers, wander, fight etc.


It is a shame that it is the law for dogs to have tags, chips, illegal to hit a dog with a car and leave it etc, yet for cats nothing 

You can buy little GPS trackers if you want, but they can loose them!!!


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## HashRouge (13 September 2018)

I never let cats out until they're neutered, just in case. They're still quite little at that stage too, and I'm a worrier!

Re collars - they don't have to wear them, as others have said. You can get breakaway collars but I found our cat used to lose them more often than not! We never found bells helped with our male cat and his hunting, and our last female was such a good girl and never used to hunt (she barely went outside tbf). In fact Stan, our make cat, used to wear three bells on his collar and it never made a difference! He doesn't wear one now, I think because he just kept losing them and in the end we didn't replace the last one. He is chipped though.


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## mushroom (14 September 2018)

My cats have collars made out of a piece of elastic with a disc on.  They are microchipped and don't normally go beyond the garden so many of my neighbours will not know them.  If they do stray, I want people to know where they live.


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## WandaMare (14 September 2018)

Mine just has a blingy one which he wears on special occasions, his party wear. Sorry not very helpful


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## Fiona (14 September 2018)

I have a five month old female kitten, and at the moment she is wearing a safety collar when out (though has lost about 3 so far  )

She is only outside when one of us is at home to supervise, but will be spayed in the next month or so, and then she can be out more.

At the moment she isn't confident using the cat flap which will need to be addressed....

Fiona


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## MotherOfChickens (14 September 2018)

Fiona said:



			At the moment she isn't confident using the cat flap which will need to be addressed....

Fiona
		
Click to expand...


sometimes it helps putting something either side of it as 'cover'.

Neither of mine wear collars, both are chipped. We dont have any neighbours with cats although we do get periodic visits from a feral monster ginger tom. Both of mine are neutered and I didnt let them out much before that without supervision, they are so tiny and I am surrounded by cattle.


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## Keith_Beef (14 September 2018)

I don't believe that birds take any notice of the bell on a cat's collar.

As far as I can tell, garden birds react much more to visible movement than to noise; the only noises they seem to react to are the cry of another bird or a loud noise like a gunshot, clapping hands or a shout. A tinkling little bell does nothing.


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## Shoei (14 September 2018)

I don't use collars after a couple of my cats have managed to get their front leg through and then its gets stuck in the armpit.


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## Sussexbythesea (17 September 2018)

Chipped but no collars, too scared theyll get caught on something.


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## Pearlsasinger (17 September 2018)

poiuytrewq said:



			That answers that then! I had always thought it was law &#55357;&#56834;&#55357;&#56834; idiot 
He&#8217;s so looking forward to going out and is very good at coming to call so will see how I feel after his second boosters 
Having only really had dogs it&#8217;s a bit odd to think of not knowing where a pet is!
		
Click to expand...

We always found that having regular mealtimes, one last thing at night, meant that cats usually came home to eat, even if they were hunters and then, of course we could make sure that they were safely locked in overnight.  We also fed at tea-time, so they could be kept in on dark evenings too, especially around Bonfire Night.


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## Nasicus (17 September 2018)

Always used breakaway collars, sure they lose them regularly, but that means they've done their job. Plenty of people around here that seem to think if a cat lacks a collar, it *must* be a stray and absolutely needs to be shut in their house and fed!
As for bells, I once stitched bells all around our male cats collar, he looked like a tambourine, but it did scupper his hunting plans until he managed to ditch it!


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## ginatina (22 September 2018)

ours has one with a bell as she's terrible for catching song birds otherwise!


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