indoor cats - to collar or not to collar... that is the question :)

jenny · 10-02-2007, 08:32 PM

those of u who have indoor cats, do you collar them?

im not sure if i am going to collar harvey or not. indie doesnt wear a collar, but then she doesnt run out of the house, so theres no worries, and when we are on a walk, she wears a harness with tags.

however, even tho harvey is going to be an indoor cat, he could still potentially escape and get lost. if he doesnt have a collar, someone could take him as their own, or not know how to contact me, even tho he will be microchipped.

whats ur views? and what age would u introduce a collar if u did?

smudgley · 10-02-2007, 08:44 PM

Talking from a "person who does the Lost & Found cat register for the local area" point of view, I would say yes, collar with ID & M/C for all cats. I know of a few indoor only cats that have got out & gone missing, but no tag because they never thought he'd get out.

Not saying your baby will get out, but imagine if he did

You would be so much more likely to get him back if he had a collar on.

Remember my friend that rehomed the silver BSH? She ran down the stairs & out the door when the kids were coming in, she never returned.

dandysmom · 10-02-2007, 09:04 PM

Smudgley has a point there; that said, my cats have always been indoors only and only out to walk with a harness and tags. None of them has ever gotten out or attempted to do so, hence no collars. If I were to do so, would start as a kitten to get him/her used to it. Question for the breeders on here: do you collar your show cats? Doesn't it mat and abrade the fur somewhat? When I rehomed Patches she had a collar, and when I took it off the fur was all worn down and took ages to grow back properly......

Soupie · 10-02-2007, 09:15 PM

At the risk of making myself highly unpopular I would chip but not collar but I don't agree with collars for cats I'm afraid

Especially indoors with so many hazards - although you can of course minimise those.

How high is the risk of them getting out? Pousse would have to get through 3 doors to get outside my flat and I have taken the view that she is low risk of escaping - she is though being chipped

But then taking it from Smudgley's point of view if your cat does get out you are more likely to get a collared cat back

Tanya · 10-02-2007, 09:33 PM

Oli is an indoor cat and has no possible way of escaping. We put the windows on a latch so he cant climb out & our flat leads onto the main corridor which is safe and also indoors. Saying that, I have been putting a collar on him since he was a little kitty to make sure he got used to the collar. Not every day, just a few hours over a couple of days.

Fran · 10-02-2007, 09:35 PM

None of my cats wear collars, some are indoor only cats and others have access to outdoors. All my cats are microchipped. My meezers would be a constant worry to me if they wore collars, they are too mischievous and would surely get themselves into difficulty. Plus which, as Eileen has said I wouldn't collar a cat that was being shown as it does affect the hair growth. My out door cats used to wear collars when I had a magnetic cat flap and they only did so so that they could wear the magnets. Once I got rid of the magnetic cat flap, I got rid of the collars and Lucky my elderly cat whom is no longer with me had a permanent ring of whitened hairs around her neck due to the years of wearing collars

It's a personal opinion but I don't like collars for cats really

jenny · 10-02-2007, 09:44 PM

i cant see how cat collars are dangerous tho.. dont they have a safety elastic on them designed to snap if the cat gets caught on something? or doesnt it work all the time?

i think i'll put a collar on him now, i hadnt planned to, but its easy for him to escape through our front door, and i wouldnt wanna risk losing him.

we dont have a habit of opening our bigger windows, cos of indie. but we do open our long small windows to let air in on hot days. is there a window guard i can put over these that is big enough so i can have windows open without the cat escaping?

Soupie · 10-02-2007, 09:51 PM

[quote=jenny;341647]i cant see how cat collars are dangerous tho.. dont they have a safety elastic on them designed to snap if the cat gets caught on something? or doesnt it work all the time?

QUOTE]

I have seen several nasty injuries from cat collars including cats half hanging from things and getting front paws caught up in the collar. Also badly fitting ones can cause horrible sores. So called safety collars are not completely failsafe.

I'm sure statistics will say injuries from cat collars are a small percentage and in the grand scheme of things it probably is but I believe there is a risk. It's one I personally have decided not to take especially as I don't feel there is a way of Pousse escaping.

Re the window grills - I believe you can buy some but failing that it's quite easy to make some using the same wire grill as on rabbit hutch fronts and a wood frame which yo can fit to hook on wall/window frame

jenny · 10-02-2007, 09:54 PM

ive just been having a look around and cant seem to find anything.

these are bigger versions of the small windows u have in bathrooms where the whole window opens outwards...

alexgirl73 · 10-02-2007, 09:54 PM

I have 3 indoor only cats and they are all collared! Not so much for them escaping, I just need to have them with a bell on as to not be a trip hazard for me, especially when I'm using my walking stick!!

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