Any tips for cat identication?

Bubs99

Hi,

We have a cat who's just over a year old. We buy him safety collars with bells on them so people will know he's not a feral (we have many of them near us) and so we can hear him and ofcourse for the birds.

The problem is he loses them often! A vet gave me a brand new reflective safety ROGZ cat collar for free a few days ago, I came home Euler (cats name) had lost his black one so I put on his new ROGZ one yesterday...guess what?...he came home and that one is gone too.

Also, we have even gotten tags engraved and they cost but they obviously vanished with the collars also.

So...here's my question...does anyone have any other option or idea for cat identification? We don't have him microchipped yet but when we bring him for his annual booster in 2 weeks, I'll ask the vet about the microchip.

I don't know if many people think of cats with microchips and only dogs.

My boyfriend is sick of buying the safety collars and Euler losing them (they cost 6euro each in maxi-zoo or petmania) but I think it's for the best. Any tips and advice appreciated.

SillyMangoX

Ive completely given up on cat collars, its an impossible task! There was.one day my old cat went off wearing his collar, came home without it, went off the next day and came back with it on! Was very weird. Im not sure about this but I wonder would it be worth getting some sort of tracker device so if the cat loses the collar it could be found again? Only other alternative is a buckle collar but in my opinion they are way too dangerous for cats

Sigma Force

Microchipping is really the only way, many vets and rescues etc. will check a cat for a chip if it strays their way but some people are still not that aware or it just doesn't dawn on them to check for a chip when they find a cat but still it is a secure way of ensuring your cat has identification. If you check rescue websites and sites like maxi zoo and some vets etc. sometimes they have microchipping for near half the price of the vets but ensure that the chip is correctly registered with Fido and other sites otherwise it's pointless..some vets will register it but sometimes they just don't do it right, get the colour wrong or a number wrong so it's best to double check it's all in order yourself.

Best thing to do for the cats welfare is to confine the cat to your garden, there's lots of ways to do it and lots of websites with tips on how to cat proof fence all kinds of gardens.

Bubs99

He'd go mad if I closed up the garden. it's practically impossible for where we live anyway. I'm in a rented house with an open garden and a low wall, we live down a lane with many other kind neighbours. Also, another small flat is in our garden which our landlords relative lives in.

There's a large field and lake also outside our house. It'd be way to awkward unfortunately.

He adores roaming the field hunting for mice and going through the ditches and also teasing our neighbours dogs high on the walls.

I'll get him microchipped for definite by our vet, I'll ask when I'm with him in 2 weeks. About the collar's, I'd only ever get the safety ones. I found one of my dogs hanging dead from our gate when I was small and I never want to experience that again...EVER!

Maybe I'll order a load of them on ebay for cheaper than the maxi zoo cost. The cheap ones come from Hong Kong though which are'nt the best quality from what I've noticed.

kylith

I don't know is there anywhere doing cats, but freeze marking or tattooing could be an option.

Bubs99

I think I've heard of tattooing but I have never heard of freeze marking.

kylith

Freeze marking is usually done on livestock, but is becoming more common for pets in the US since it's a permanent and indelible mark.

In freeze marking super cooled 'branding iron' is held against the skin. For animals with dark hair the application will kill the pigment in the hair making it grow back white, for animals with white hair the 'iron' is left on a little longer and the follicle is killed and no hair grows back. It's pretty much painless since the 'iron' is so cold it numbs the skin.

I think with animal tattoos they're generally done with some form of tattooing stamp so they're done in one go.

Pumpkinseeds

Our cats are microchipped and it does give peace of mind. We tried all sorts of collars on our cat, he managed to 'lose' all of them and the attached ID tags. We even tried these safety collars from America called 'Beastie bands'. At first I thought they were great as they have all sorts of patterns that are hi viz and the collars are velcro so there were no hard bits on them.

One night he was on the bed with us washing himself, the next minute his paw was stuck under the collar, it didn't release like it was supposed to do. I dread to think what would have happened if he got stuck on something outside, or what would have happened if we'd been out.

Needless to say we don't use collars any more

Sigma Force

You can get removeable cat runs e.g. cilldara and the like but they are pricey but last a lifetime and can be used for dogs, cats, rabbits and have a reasonably good resalt value because they last so long and don't rust.
Some rescues when neutering cats get the vets to put a nick in their ear so they know which ones are neutered I don't know if that would help but if he went missing a nick in the ear (ideally only if he's already neutered otherwise it might confuse things if a rescue has been doing TNR in your area) would be an identifying mark although the tatoo option could be one..athough not sure where they'd tatoo a cat because it would have to be visable inside of ear is kinda hard to notice, I presume it would involve an anesthetic so maybe not worth the risk unless he has to under going another operation for some reason.

Zapperzy

I can't help much on the collar situation except to say if you live in a more urban area micrchipping of cats is a lot more common therefore it's more likely that if someone were to find your cat they'd think to check for a chip. I buy my tags off here http://www.identitag.co.uk/productcart/pc/viewCategories.asp?idCategory=5 you could bulk buy a couple of the small plastic ones, they are very lightweight and ideal for cats.

Irish Stones

I had the same problem with a cat that I have in my garden. He arrived from who knows where, he was starving, I fed him, he stayed since.
I put several safety collars on him, with tags as well, just to be sure that nobody else could think he was a stray cat, or, in the case of problems they could contact me, but he always lost them. Until I found this amazing collar that can be calibrated on the weight of your cat
http://www.cat-life.ch/de/

The website is in German, French or Italian, they are in Switzerland. I bought one in July and it's still on the cat.
Hope it can help!

Bubs99

Hi Irish Stones,

That's a great idea, to go by the cats weight. I'm the same, just worried people will see him as one of the ferals, (although he is the only ginger, the ferals are all black or black and white).

I have'nt replaced his lost one yet, I'm following all you Boardsies tips and researching and finding deals etc. I just need to translate this site now, I'll get my boyfriend to have a look and change it for me. I'm not that good with computers, I bet it's just a simple click somewhere, yeah?! LOL!

Thank you everyone for your advice.

meow

Have a look on Amazon and see can you get anything or even any ideas from there?