Should a new kitten wear a collar with an id tag & bell?

[EsmeraldaX]

My thought would be yes. Doors can accidentally be left open, and quiet kitties can be stepped on in the dark if you don't hear them.

A person at my job who "considers" herself to be an "expert" on everyone's pet thinks that putting a collar on a cat is a death sentence and will cause the cat to choke to death or get caught in the collar.

So what do you think?

My friend who has never had a pet before is getting a cat tomorrow, and she wanted to know if the kitten should have a collar? I told her yes, because I know of a lot more cats getting out and lost than of cats strangling themselves on a collar.

What say you, good cat owners of the DIS?

 

[Chicago526]

I've never had a cat, but my friends do! They don't keep collars on their cats, but their cats are also affraid to go outside, so it's a small risk of them getting out.

That said, I do think kittens/cats should have a collar (they make them with "escape" features in case they do get stuck, it's a stretchy section of the collar that will allow the cat to slip his head free) with tags. Even without tags, the collar will indicate that this is an owned cat and not a stray. And if your kitty turns into a mini-tiger and likes to hunt, the bell can save some poor bird from an early death. The bell can also make the cat/kitten easier to find IN the house when they are hidding.

Over all, the benifits of the collar out weigh the slight chance of injury. Get the collar.

 

[chrissyk]

Our female escaped for a day when she was a kitten. A bell wouldn't have done any good, because she was hanging out in the woods apparently. She came out around dusk, and we've been much more careful of her whereabouts ever since. When they are little kittens, why not confine them to a particular room when you leave the house? That way, they won't escape accidentally when you go out. My female would have strangled herself for sure on a collar. Besides, she probably would have kept moving 24/7 just to make the bell ring

 

[oogieboogie]

We put a collar on our cat once, but she decided to use her paw to pull it off. Well, with the escape feature, she instead got her paw stuck between her neck and the collar.

Needless to say that collar didn't last long. But my cat is smart, she's outdoors most of the summer but she stays near the house. We've moved 2 times since we've had her, and she's never ventured far. Most days she's just sleeping on the sidewalk or in my veggie garden.

If it's a kitten your friend is getting, I say get a collar. It'll get used to it. I would just take the bell off. Those things will drive you nuts!

 

[VampHeartless]

Yes, get a collar, but only if you are giving them ID tags.

If you start when they are kittens, they will gradually get used to it. Harder with adult cats that aren't used to collars. Just make sure you keep them large enough so they have room to grow.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Originally posted by chrissyk
Our female escaped for a day when she was a kitten. A bell wouldn't have done any good, because she was hanging out in the woods apparently. She came out around dusk, and we've been much more careful of her whereabouts ever since. When they are little kittens, why not confine them to a particular room when you leave the house? That way, they won't escape accidentally when you go out. My female would have strangled herself for sure on a collar. Besides, she probably would have kept moving 24/7 just to make the bell ring

Chrissyk - I just PM'd you. Feel free to ignore it, if you want. I just needed to PM a cat lover & you seem like a very nice person.

 

[jfulcer]

We put a collar on Snowball so that if he gets out he may be returned. The whole neighborhood knows him (from coming over to our house) so it shouldn't be a big deal.

The collar we bought has the breakaway elastic on it also, so if he does get out and get caught up, he should be ok.

 

[Aimeedyan]

We put collars and tags on our kittys, too, but those breakaway ones that will release if caught on something. Never had a problem, and we liked being safe than sorry.

They were both indoor only cats, too.

Good luck!

 

[battricia]

I didn't vote, but I'll tell you my experience. When I got my cat I put a collar w/ a little bell on it on her (because I thought it was a cute idea). She would keep the collar on for a few years (probably 3 or so). Now we don't really keep a collar on her. You could tell she was aggrivated by the collar, but it wasn't hurting her to wear it. So I really think it doesn't matter much either way. It's not a bad thing to have if you're trying to find the cat in the house, but if she's sleeping you probably won't hear it anyway. Also we live in a really small house now so it's not that hard to find her.

Oh, also, after we stopped putting her collar on her, one day my sister left her window open and the cat jumped out the window (2 floors down), and soon realized she couldn't get back in. It was snowing and she was cold and crying, and a neighbor picked her up. Well I guess many people had seen my cat in the window all the time, so everyone knew EXACTLY who's cat it was w/o the collar. They left a note under our door saying our cat had gotten out and they were keeping her until we got home (which was VERY nice of them). So cats can find their way back to their owner w/o the collar, though I guess it's not all that likely. I don't really know what my point is. Just rambling and sharing my own cat experience.

tricia.

 

[katerkat]

Well... It depends. The first kitten, I got a breakaway collar. Oscar loved it and was an indoor/outdoor cat. He always came home, though. Whn he went to live with my parents, he got a bell and a pretty ID tag - Mom called it his jewelry.

Then I got my boys. Gave Wedge a collar. Gave Tycho a collar. Tycho removed his and Wedge's within a day. And buried them in the litterbox. After three tries, we gave up. Last Christmas, they stayed with my parents and Oscar, and Oscar made Mom take off his jewelry, too. Because Wedge and Tycho could hear him coming and tackle him. Now, even though my boys are with me, Oscar refuses to put his jewelry back on.

Both Wedge and Tycho have gotten outside, without their collars. With Tycho, it was just a few days after we moved in, but he sat right outside the door and waited for someone to let him back in. And he used to be a stray before we got him! I guess he realized who feeds him.

 

[ToriLammy]

Our cats (Beau 10 and Rocket 7) have always worn figure 8 harnesses. Rocket doesn't go out all that often - he's a big scaredy cat but it's almost impossible to keep Beau in. Beau has lost his harness a couple of times but that just proves to us that if he gets stuck he can get out of it. I recommend looking into a harness for the kitten or the breakaway collars mentioned in an earlier post. Forget the bell, get an id tag and their rabies tag and put those on the harness, together they sound like a bell

 

[AStarOnMars]

I do think it's a good idea ... When my cat was a baby he always found a way to take his off.

 

[Danauk]

I voted no. We have 2 cats and neither wear a collar. We did put a collar on Cheeky at first but he kept scratching at it so we took it off. Both cats are indoor and outdoor cats, they come and go as they please, although they never go far, either in the garden or the field at the side of our house. We also decided to take the collar off as a girl at my workplace lost her cat as the collar got stuck on a fence and the cat died (it was supposed to be a breakable one too.) We do however have both cats microchiped. My inlaws have had many cats over the years and they have never put collars on their cats either and have never had any trouble with them. Cats are great fun and very loving. I hope your friend has fun with hers.

 

[Rock'n Robin]

I have a collar on Tabitha. She was 9 months old when we got her but had been a stray, had even had a litter already, and I was afraid if she got out I would never find her (sometimes DS doesn't shut the door to the garage tight and if the wind is out of the north it blows open). The bell annoys me at 6AM, but it does alert the other cat (age 17 1/2) that she is coming. It is also a breakaway collar.
One thing though--I've seen cats who had collars and grew, and the collar got tight enough not to hurt the cat, but to chafe the hair off of the neck in a little circle. So keep checking to make sure it's not getting too tight.
Robin M.

 

[SeaSpray]

I have a 3 year old Siamese cat who is 100% an INDOOR cat, and I did not put a collar on him.

I don't see the reason/need to, because:

We don't have little kids who could accidently let the cat out (DSs were 13 and 10 when we got Mushu).

We don't use our front door, people always come to our side door for some reason, so I'm not afraid of Mushu getting out the front door. (Even if I opened the front door, there's a storm door that always locked, and we wouldn't open the front door if the cat was there at our feet, or anywhere nearby).

Our back/side door has an enclosed porch attached, so even when we go out that door, there's a large porch that you're in before you get to the outer door. We are VERY careful to make sure that the cat isn't around before opening that outer door.

Mushu has NO interest in going outdoors. A couple of times he did walk into the back porch, but then immediately ran back into the house.


Is there a 100% guarantee that Mushu will never get outside accidently?? No, but for his daily comfort, we chose to not put a collar or tags on him.

Just my opinion, everyone should decide for their cat, of course =^..^=



Edited to add: If I planned on EVER letting a cat go outside, I'd definitely put a collar and tags on it! The reasons above are because our cat is *solely* an indoor cat!!!

 

[Feralpeg]

A collar is a great idea if the cat will be going outside. If an inside cat, I don't really feel a collar is necessary. Mine don't wear them. If you do decide to get one, please make sure that it has the elastic in it that will allow the cat to slip out if it catches on something.

 

[Pete's Mom]

Back a couple of months ago one of my strictly indoor cats (Shadow) who was terrified of going outside one day bolted for the door while I was bringing in groceries. I searched and searched but he never came back. He did not have a tag and I feel absolutely horrible about it.

I learned a very painful lesson and now Luigi has a safety collar with an ID tag and bell on it. The tag in case he decides to make for the door and the bell to warn of his famous sneak attacks.

 

[Mad4Mickey]

I do not keep a collar on my cat ( I see stuff at the clinic I work at that keeps me from doing that )

I do have my cat micro chipped . I think that if your cirty scans all pets when they pick them up then they should get their pets chipped

 

[Margie J]

Our indoor cat had no collar but we did have a harness for him for walks outside. We got him used to the harness when he was a kitten and all it took was for us to shake it and the cat came running and would lay down to have the harness put on. We tried a collar but he fought to get it off.

 

[Penny12]

I put 'other'. There is no 'right' answer to this question and there are pros and cons to to having a collar so I'd just leave it up to the owner of the kittie being that it's not my business anyhow, LOL.

Of course, if it was <b>me</b> I'd have my pet chipped then it doesn't matter about ID'ing them if it gets out or not