New Cat

Lorri_L

Hi

I've never had a cat before and just adopted a 2 year old male tabby two weeks ago. We put a collar on him which he didn't like but we thought he would get used to it.
Last night he was curled up at the end of the couch and suddenly started making choking sounds and pawing at his face. He ran off and wouldnt let me go near him. I chased after him and could see that the collar was stuck in his mouth and blood was pouring out. This went on for about another two minutes while he scratched and bit at me. Eventually I had to pin him down while my boyfriend cut the collar off with a knife.
Hes OK now and his cut in his mouth is just where he bit his tongue trying to free his mouth. Problem is that I'm too scared to put another collar on him. I wont be letting him out for about another 6 weeks but what happens when I do? I cant let him out without one.

Philush

unless he has had one before he's not gonna like havin one now as you've seen,why does he need to have one?ive never done it,had cats for years, my sister in law has one in nearer the city which is left out during the day but it doesnt have one either,i never really saw the point in them

Lorri_L

When I adopted him the rescue place said that they picked up cats without collars so presumed it was standard to have them. Once hes fine without it, I have no problem leaving it at that.
Thanks very much

Philush

your better off,as you saw it'll just annoy him like,just get him into the routine of leaving his food in the same place each time and keep an eye on him first few times he's out,cos being an older cat it might want to wander back somewhere.you should be fine tho best of luck with it,any other q's u no where i be

ISDW

I never put collars on my cats anymore, is he microchipped? That way if he is ever picked up, they can bring him back to you. I was told by a lady working at the RSPCA in the UK that they don't recommend collars because they can get caught on things, like tree branches and choke the cats, or they get their front paws through them and then get stuck. There are 'breakaway' collars that you can get, that will open with enough pressure if the cat does get it caught on something, but as I say I don't put collars on mine anyway.

bigpinkelephant

Philush wrote: »

why does he need to have one?...i never really saw the point in them

Philush wrote: »

your better off,as you saw it'll just annoy him like,

ISDW wrote: »

I never put collars on my cats anymore...I was told by a lady working at the RSPCA in the UK that they don't recommend collars because they can get caught on things, like tree branches and choke the cats, or they get their front paws through them and then get stuck. There are 'breakaway' collars that you can get, that will open with enough pressure if the cat does get it caught on something, but as I say I don't put collars on mine anyway.

This is all REALLY bad advice!!!

Why would a cat NOT need a collar?
What happens if he gets lost and someone finds him and can't return him to you?

I have collars on all my cats. I got a call one night from someone, they knew my cat's name and described her to me and asked was she mine. They had read this information from her name tag after she was in a road accident. Unfortunately she didn't make it but without her collar I would not have known about it, unless I found her on the road myself the following morning.

Collars will not get caught on anything and the cat will not get its mouth/paws stuck in it unless yo haven't adjusted it properly.
The collar would want to be huge on the cat for this to happen. The collar should be snug enough so that you can fit 2 fingertips under it but that's all.

The Sweeper

My cats don't wear collars. They're microchipped.

The flip side is mine are inside-only or restricted external cat-run, so they don't need collars. If you keep them inside only or restricted outside, they can't hunt birds and mice, so they don't need a bell; they can't get hit by a car, so you don't need to worry about identifying your dead pet at the side of the road, and they won't go inexplicably missing so you don't need to worry about someone being able to return your pet to you because you won't have lost it.

bigpinkelephant

Minesajackdaniels wrote: »

If you keep them inside only or restricted outside...you don't need to worry about identifying your dead pet at the side of the road

REAL sensitive...

Why did you bother getting them microchipped if you have such a fantastic amazing perfect setup for them?

arybvtcw0eolkf

Buy one of the elasticated collar's, they won't catch or snag in anything, or rather if they do your cat will easily pull out of it.

Getting one with a bell will help stop your cat killing birds, mice and rats and bringing them to you as it'll be heard by its intended kill.

The Sweeper

bigpinkelephant wrote: »

REAL sensitive...

Why did you bother getting them microchipped if you have such a fantastic amazing perfect setup for them?

First, I microchipped them because they might escape and because my personal circumstances may change at some point in their life span and that change could cause them to end up in the pound (which could literally be over my dead body.)

Second, my "perfect set up" came about as a result of vets bills that ran quite literally into thousands of dollars because of one getting hit by a car, a second getting bitten by a snake (not a risk in Ireland, I know) and the same one with the snake also tearing her cruciate ligament when a log rolled over her foot when she was running up the wood pile.

I don't mean to be insensitive, but I've learned myself (the expensive way) that there's a mind-shift that needs to happen if you're a cat owner. We've always been taught that cats should be outside and they're more independent than dogs and they need people less and they should be allowed to hunt and roam and mark territory and fight with other cats.

Change the word 'cat' to the word 'dog'. You should allow your dog to roam free, because it's cruel to keep it indoors; it's a pack animal so it's natural for it to hook up with other dogs and a side effect of that can be worrying sheep; dogs have a natural hierarchy and should be allowed fight with other dogs to find their place in the pack ranking.

The result from any responsible pet owner would be '...are you effing kidding me?!' Yet we apply those same rules to cats without blinking.

If the OP's cat has been indoors to date and shows no ill effects from it, if he enjoys the comfort and safety of inside, if he hates his collar and uses his litter tray quite happily, then I say buy him a cat tree and a bunch of toys and keep him indoors.

Then she'll never have to worry about cars hitting him, dogs attacking him, finding him in the gutter, having nasty people either try shooting him with an air gun or catching him and torturing him, having a neighbour throw her cat's crap at her door (after they've collected it from their flower beds), having someone else poison him because they think cats are pests; having him bring home dead things - or worse, things that are only half dead - or having him just not come home one day and worrying about where he is while he's starving to death accidentally locked in a neighbour's shed while they've gone on holidays etc. etc. etc.