Help with cat and collar

metaoblivia

I have a 5 year old female cat who mainly stays indoors. We live in an urban area, so I'm not keen to having her running around outside so much, and she really doesn't like the outside. However, she is curious and if a door is left open she'll walk out sometimes, and she also likes to sit on the window ledge, and one time the screen came loose and she fell out (we live on the first floor).
As a precaution, I got her a collar and tags, so that if she ever got out and got lost, she could be identified.
But she hates it. My main concern is that she bites at the tags and tries to pull them off, which causes the collar to rise up. Eventually the collar gets stuck in her mouth, and then she panics because she's caught in the collar. I don't want to risk leaving her alone with the collar on because if it gets stuck in her mouth, there's no way she can get it out on her own.
Should I just forget about having her wear a collar and tags since she's an indoor cat? Or is there another way to go about this?
Thanks.

Ruu_Old

Get her micro chipped anyway. One of my cats does the same thing and I've just stopped trying.

boomerang

You could buy her a nice comfy cat harness from the petshop, and take her out around the garden on that. Most cats take to it very well, in my experience. Just let her potter as she wishes, and if she goes to the end of the lead, gently call her back to you. You could put an ID tag on one of the rings on the cat harness, as a precaution.

Another idea would be to get her a small plastic ID tag, rather than the bigger metal ones, which are normally intended for dogs. These are lighter and less jangly. There is a company in the UK who make fabulous plastic tags - I swear by them. The smallest tag is the size of a one cent coin, but it'll still fit your phone numbers! They are so lightweight and small, I doubt your cat will even notice she's wearing one!

http://www.identitaguk.com/pettags/pc/viewcategories.asp?idaffiliate=2

I would also have her microchipped - and it's no harm to have the words "scan me" on the tag.

metaoblivia

Thank you for your suggestions! I thought about microchipping, but I know not every shelter has the technology for that. However a smaller, plastic tag and a microchip might be the best solution.

boomerang

Well I can definitely recommend the Identitags... all my foster cats and kittens wear them! Go for the extra-small one, which as I mentioned is the same size as a one cent coin, and weighs roughly the same, too!

Alfasudcrazy

I got mine micro chipped and abandoned the collars. I think collars on cats actually increase the danger to them. They can easily get snagged on something while they are jumping / climbing etc.

Take off the collar and leave her have a bit of freedom. Cats are surprisingly capable of minding themselves.

carwash_2006

Microchipping is not going to protect your cat from getting picked up by pest control if they are called out to "sort" somebodies cat pest problem. If she is managing to get the collar into her mouth then it is probably too loose. You can also get a collar that has a flap that clips shut that you can write your number on, then she wouldn't have dangly thinngs to grab at.

You are doing the right thing by keeping her in as much as you can. Cats may be quite good at looking after themselves, but considering the biggest dangers for cats outside are people, any friendly cat is at a high risk and will not necessarily get a chance to look after themselves. A cat wearing a collar will be seen as being owned and is possibly less likely to get targeted.

Caroline B

our cats are chipped, and have collars with that fasten with safety clips that snap open if snagged - I know because that's happened twice, one of my two has come home without her collar!!

the collars also have a bell on, which prevents birds being caught by them when out and about. the fido (www.fido.ie) tag is small enough not to bother the cats, and I attach that to the collar too, to show that she is chipped.

they really cannot get the collars off if they are tight enough, and there should not be a length for them to chew at anyway. just because it looks tight, remember, you only need a finger or twos space for it to be perfect and one of ours has longer hair that makes her look half strangled with the collar on!!

Lauragoesmad

boomerang wrote: »

You could buy her a nice comfy cat harness from the petshop, and take her out around the garden on that. Most cats take to it very well, in my experience.

My cat must not be most cats! She turned into an antichrist when I put a harness on her, although she doesn't mind her collar. I've tried many times, even putting the harness on her and trying to distract her with food straight after. Shes a bit odd anyway so I wasn't that surprised.

To the OP, I'd just get your cat micro-chipped anyway. I have mine done but I still like her to have a collar so that people know she is owned and not a stray. There are wierdo folk out there that think its ok to do nasty things to stray cats.

carwash_2006

I meant to say I would recommend getting the cat microchipped anyway, but just be aware that it isn't always enough on it's own. Microchipping also gives you a discount on your pet insurance.

Robot1

I use Boomerang tags for my cats[EMAIL="www.boomerangtags.com"] www.boomerangtags.com.[/EMAIL]

They are great, they don't dangle and can be fitted onto quick snap collars. We had a similar problem with our cat, he hated dangling tags. They are quite pricey though and our fella would lose at least two a month.