# Got breakaway collars and ID for the gang



## kristi (Sep 19, 2003)

I've never bothered b/c the odds of them getting out AND not getting hit by a car AND someone else caring enough to look at their tags and call us seems quite small to me...But still. So did it today. The tags are printed with their name, our number, and "Reward." They're adjusting pretty well to the collars.

Xander:











Frodo:










Lemur:










Daisy, scary as ever:


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## Aonir (Aug 18, 2003)

My kitties are getting IDs for xmas I hope. With as much as my Oreo attempts to escape, it'd be a good idea!


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## Zalensia (Aug 25, 2003)

i think every cat shouldnt be without a collar, if they do every get out for someone who finds your cat, its an instant thing to say "im owned by someone" even tho there is microchips ppl dont always think about that if they consider taking it in....
although there are always going to be the people who see a cat, take a fancy to it and take it  :evil:


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## Lori (Jun 8, 2003)

Kristi, your cats look so cute with their collars!!  
I wish Velvet would wear a collar. We bought her one and have tried it several times over the years. She goes absolutely nuts trying to get it off and I am always afraid she will harm herself. She is strictly indoors and no longer makes any effort to get out. So I figure the risk of her getting out isn't worth stressing her out with the collar.


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## kitkat (Sep 22, 2003)

Your kitties look georgeous with their new collars, and great job with getting a different color for each kitty!


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## faile (Sep 14, 2003)

i just got my new tag for cujo today! all it says is: cujo, i have a microchip. i move so often it wouldn't make sense to put our address or number on it. but i can keep the microchip updated! now, hopefully, if he gets out and someone is kind enough to look at his tag, they will know about microchips!


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## tanyuh (Jun 7, 2003)

kristie, Xander is looking AMAZING!! He's SO CUTE how he stands with his left arm in front of him. What a brave guy!


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## kristi (Sep 19, 2003)

Hey, thanks, Tanyuh! He does look so much better now (less Frankenstein-y) since his hair has started growing in. He bunny-hops around happily enough...


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## Padunk (Oct 20, 2003)

Very nice!

I kinda think cats look even better with collars on.


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## kristi (Sep 19, 2003)

Well, Xanny got his collar in his mouth and got stuck and it wouldn't breakaway like it's supposed to. I guess b/c he's not big and strong enough? Or I guess b/c it got over his mouth and once inside didn't have enough pressure to break the clasp? Well, we got it off him and I will wait until he's a little bigger to put it back on. It was already as tight as it would adjust. Sigh. I hate to think of him getting stuck like that one day when we're not here.


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## faile (Sep 14, 2003)

kristi- when i first put cujo's collar on him, he did the same thing and got his jaw stuck in it. it was the funniest and saddest thing i'd ever seen. it didn't snap apart for him, either, i think probably with the angle he can't get good pressure, but it also takes some effort on my part to open it. i tightened it a little, now it's fine. i think they're designed to break if say, a cat was jumping and got his collar snagged. the force of the jump/fall would open it, but you don't want them to open too easily, or id tags are useless! i guess you'll just have to wait!! but if he grows at all like cujo does, you won't have to wait long.


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## Zalensia (Aug 25, 2003)

when i first put collars on my cats they went nuts, got thier mouths stuck in it trying to get it off, rubbing against the floor, trying to pull it off, doing thier best anyway!
what i did was start them off with putting it on when i was around, incase they got thier mouth stuck in it, when i went to bed or out they got took off, until i could put it on and they didnt bother to fight them, now i leave them on all the time.


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## queen of the nile (Aug 16, 2003)

Oh, that's really unfortunate if they are only supposed to break away if they are snagged on something. I remember a cat that got his paw stuck between his neck and the collar (not a breakaway). By the time the owner found him (he was an indoor/outdoor cat), the arm muscle, skin and tendons had ripped down to the elbow. They didn't have the $500 to fix it, so he had to be put down.  I was hoping that could have been prevented with a breakaway... Just another reason to keep your cats inside!


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## kristi (Sep 19, 2003)

queen of the nile, that is terrible about the cat who got its arm stuck in its collar! I don't believe that would happen with a breakaway though. Frodo has already broken away his twice before we got it tight enough that he can't get his foot or mouth in it. Plus, there were 2 outdoor stray cats we put breakaways on (we simply couldn't bring them in b/c our house is full, but we try to take at least basic care of them). Anyway, their breakaways were gone within a week, so they certainly breakaway on grown ones.

Anyway, what I mean to say is, I think a breakaway is perfectly safe if adjusted properly. I'll just wait till Xander's bigger to put his back on. Even Xander may have gotten loose on his own eventually, but I certainly wasn't going to wait around and see!


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## shlanon (Oct 16, 2003)

Kristi, my fiance taught me a trick when we were trying to put a breakaway collar on Stormy and she was too little for the collar to fit. 
Take the collar (smallest size you can get) and a paperclip and candle. Take the paperclip (a large one) and bend it out straight. Light the candle and place the end of the paperclip in the flame and let it get really hot. Then take the end of the paperclip and shove it into the collar where you want a new hole to be (best for someone else to hold it while you do this). The paperclip is so hot that it burns a perfect hole straight through the fabric of the collar! This way you can add as many new holes as you want to make it fit tighter.


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## shlanon (Oct 16, 2003)

Sorry, double post


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## kristi (Sep 19, 2003)

That's a good suggestion, shlanon, but wouldn't work on the kind I got--they're the slidey kind. But that's ok. I'm sure in another month, Xander will be big enough to wear it!


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## maymariya (Sep 27, 2003)

aww, Lemur has the exact same collar as my kitty! Except the id tag's different, cause my kitty's is a slip on one.


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