# Do your cats wear a collar?



## crstroik (Aug 20, 2011)

Happy Friday Everyone!

As I am waiting endlessly for the micro-chip backorder issue at my vet to be resolved I am wondering about putting a collar on Fred. Currently he does not wear one. He is an indoor only cat. During the work day he stays in my office with the door closed where he naps on "his" serta perfect office chair (he is a spoiled prince after all). When I am home he has access to the entire house.

I would of course get the safety collar, but am wondering if it is worth it. I have a feeling if he escaped somehow the collar is likely to come off anyway.

Do you guys put a collar on your indoor cats?


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## Kobster (Feb 1, 2007)

Mine wear them. They are all microchipped as well, but I just feel like a cat without a collar just seems like a stray. They are the break-away kind, but I feel its just an extra measure of protection.


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## Straysmommy (Dec 23, 2010)

Prince has a lovely collar but it itches so I don't make him wear it. Another reason is that I have enemies in the area (stray-cat haters) and if I marked Prince with a collar, they'd know which one to harm to get at me for managing a feral colony.

I'm unclear as to why you'd need to collar an indoor-only cat, though?


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## Susan (Mar 29, 2010)

My girls don't wear collars, although they're both micro-chipped. Where I live is like being in the country. There are virtually no people around, but lots of animals (raccoons, foxes, etc.). If my girls ever got out accidentally, they're much more likely to encounter an animal than a person, and a collar wouldn't help them.


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## littlesushi (Jun 8, 2011)

Our kittens wear beastie bands with boomerang tags. They are indoors only, but just in case they got out they have our contact info and the collars indicate they have owners. I am a bit in the minority here but our kittens are not microchipped because I am concerned about inflammation at the microchip site.


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## morse (May 15, 2011)

Yes. Mostly because his collar has skulls on it, so the dog knows how tough he is.


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## ptomas (Aug 22, 2011)

My male has one becuase he has tried to sneak out front door of apt before when pizza guy came. I tried to grab him and ended up getting locked out in the hall with no shoes, no cell phone, holding a cat in one hand and pizza in the other. I put a collar on in case he gets out when someone comes in when I am not home( maintenance guys, exterminators,etc). 

The collar has a tag with his name, my phone # and reward. It is a break a way collar so would come off easy, but as others have mentioned, in the event of of him getting loose, it makes him look like less of a stray, and people will check a collar before microchip.

If I take him out on a leash, I take that collar off and use a harness.


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## dweamgoil (Feb 3, 2010)

All my 4 cats have collars and microchips. In case they ever get out, I would hope someone will call the number on the tag. We live in a very urban area and there are lots of strays so if there is no collar, no one would bother with any of them. I feel not all pet owners take their cats to Vets on a regular basis so the odds that they will be scanned if found by someone else may be small. They would have a better chance if they were picked up by AC&C.


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## crstroik (Aug 20, 2011)

Thank you everyone for the responses. I did in fact order a tag and collar today- I think the points about him being mistaken for a stray should he get out were really good. I got him a Lucky pet tag as they actually lie flat to the collar so I'm hoping he will be less irritated by that than one with a bell and a tag that dangles.


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## Marshel (Dec 22, 2010)

I live in a very rural area. Both my cats are indoor/outdoor. Always in at night. Both of my cats wear collars with ID tags.
Microchipping is not prevelent in all areas nor do people know about it. When my first cat showed up at my door I was completely ingnorant of microchipping and took him in. If he would have had a collar with and ID tag, I would have known he was already loved by someone. Would of never thought to take him somewhere to get check for a chip. To back my statement up. When I asked my vet about microchipping she said, "Of all the cats I have microchipped only one had been returned." That cat escaped while the owners were wintering in Florida and we are in Ohio.
I would collar an indoor cat even if microchipped just in case of escape. Of coarse it would have to be a breakaway collar. My one cat has shed several collars.
Another reason is, If they are out at night, maybe the refelective collar would alert some coonhunter that the cat is a pet when their stupid dog trees a cat.


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## Alpaca (Dec 21, 2009)

My two are both microchipped and strictly indoors so they have no collars. We also have double doors on all the entry doors in the house. I also don't trust those breakaway collars.


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## Lenkolas (Jan 18, 2011)

Alpaca said:


> My two are both microchipped and strictly indoors so they have no collars. We also have double doors on all the entry doors in the house. *I also don't trust those breakaway collars*.


Tell me about it :? . No collars for my cats either. Not after what happened to Ice.


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## Cats&Plants (Aug 20, 2011)

My four don't wear collars. They are microchipped and there is zero chance of them getting out. I do have harnesses for them to go out for walks, but none of them really like them, or like going outside for that matter.


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## Milky's Mammy (Oct 17, 2011)

Milky has a collar but we only put it on him when we go out as he is an indoor only cat. He is microchipped already but he is unlikely to be able to escape from the apt as the only way out is the back stairs (where he'd need to get through 2 fire escape doors) or the lift, and I doubt he knows how to press the buttons! When we do take him out, he is in a carrier until we reach our destination, and it is usually indoors also (there's not many outdoor places we can take him in Hong Kong as everywhere's far too busy and dangerous).


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

Every single one of my cats wears a collar with ID at all times. They are well behaved and almost never go out but there have been times when they have escaped and there have been times when the collar/ID brought them quickly home.


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## spotty cats (Sep 23, 2011)

No collars here, just not worth the risk. Far too many horror stories on break-aways not breaking, jaws/legs getting stuck or worse cats dying from collar injuries.

Mine are all microchipped.


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