Cat collar - yay or nay?

aonb

My kitten is not allowed outdoors until she is neutered (next month hopefully) Im freaking at the thoughts of her going out into the world on her own!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I will have her chipped, for all the good it will do - I dont think the average person who finds a cat would bother going to a vet to have it checked for a chip. I was thinking to put a collar on her, with my phone number on. Now it looks like that is not a great idea, from the pros/cons debate on this thread. I feel its worth the chance with a quick-release collar to identify her as an owned (and very loved!) cat. We are very rural - when she goes outdoors, she is on her own to wander/stray/hunt - WHAT HAPPENS IF SHE CANT FIND HER WAY HOME - aaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrhhhhhhhhhhhggggggggggghhhhhh!
I swear I wasnt this bothered about my child leaving home to go to college

The kitten is mad to get outdoors - naturally - I will let her go, when she is neutered - and think will get some of the quick-release collars, with phone number on, to identify her as an owned cat, to cover her getting lost (gulp) - and hope for the best. Do cats have a good homing instinct??

Capercaille

aonb wrote: »

My kitten is not allowed outdoors until she is neutered (next month hopefully) Im freaking at the thoughts of her going out into the world on her own!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I will have her chipped, for all the good it will do - I dont think the average person who finds a cat would bother going to a vet to have it checked for a chip. I was thinking to put a collar on her, with my phone number on. Now it looks like that is not a great idea, from the pros/cons debate on this thread. I feel its worth the chance with a quick-release collar to identify her as an owned (and very loved!) cat. We are very rural - when she goes outdoors, she is on her own to wander/stray/hunt - WHAT HAPPENS IF SHE CANT FIND HER WAY HOME - aaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrhhhhhhhhhhhggggggggggghhhhhh!
I swear I wasnt this bothered about my child leaving home to go to college

The kitten is mad to get outdoors - naturally - I will let her go, when she is neutered - and think will get some of the quick-release collars, with phone number on, to identify her as an owned cat, to cover her getting lost (gulp) - and hope for the best. Do cats have a good homing instinct??

The kitten will be cautious at first when you let her out first. She won't go far. Gradually they build up their confidence and go a bit further. Generally neutered cats will roam less than intact males/females. Cats aren't stupid and will return back to their homeplace. Inform your neighbors that you have a cat and they might see it wandering around. Farmers/Gunclub members have a habit of seeing cats are vermin and might shoot the cat.

Mountainsandh

aonb wrote: »

My kitten is not allowed outdoors until she is neutered (next month hopefully) Im freaking at the thoughts of her going out into the world on her own!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I will have her chipped, for all the good it will do - I dont think the average person who finds a cat would bother going to a vet to have it checked for a chip. I was thinking to put a collar on her, with my phone number on. Now it looks like that is not a great idea, from the pros/cons debate on this thread. I feel its worth the chance with a quick-release collar to identify her as an owned (and very loved!) cat. We are very rural - when she goes outdoors, she is on her own to wander/stray/hunt - WHAT HAPPENS IF SHE CANT FIND HER WAY HOME - aaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrhhhhhhhhhhhggggggggggghhhhhh!
I swear I wasnt this bothered about my child leaving home to go to college

The kitten is mad to get outdoors - naturally - I will let her go, when she is neutered - and think will get some of the quick-release collars, with phone number on, to identify her as an owned cat, to cover her getting lost (gulp) - and hope for the best. Do cats have a good homing instinct??

I'm very rural and had the same fears, but I made a point of always calling my cat back after a session outside, you know, not just leaving him out all day, and so he rarely goes very far or stays out very long. He goes out often but for short stretches.
He's 11 now, and we've had our share of injuries, one attack cost him one of his nine lives for sure, but I couldn't have kept him as a house cat.
His territory is close and pretty obvious. One thing though, if you go out for walks, make sure to have him inside so he doesn't follow you. Mine loves coming on walks like a dog (no lead), but the thing is, if we get close to the limit of his territory, he'll stick up a scared tail and "cry" like a baby, but follow me regardless. Once i understood that I stopped going further, because after a while he had extended his territory to the new stretch !
So now if he's around, i never go farther than a certain point, within 0.5km. If I want to go further I leave him indoors.
Lots of farmers and hunters in the area, never had a problem. Cat doesn't go out at night, or for a short toilet break the odd time, now he's older he comes back in quickly but as a younger cat he was never let out after nightfall. That's really a golden rule imo.

If you observe his behaviour outside closely, you will probably identify the invisible boundaries of his territory (once he has a starter one). If he looks nervous, walks really slow while sniffing all around, etc, chances are he's sussing out new ground. It takes a few goes before that is assimilated to his perimeter, and so on... Maybe if you pick him up from the exploration areas in the early days and bring him back to the "safe" area (like his Mum would), you might be able to restrict it to a smaller perimeter.

olivepeach

Years ago, I had two cats who got rounded up together with the local strays by the Cats Protection League, and because they weren't wearing collars there was nothing I could do to get them back. For that reason I've always put a collar on my cats .

pawrick

If you are considering putting a collar on your cat do so as soon as practical in order to get him used to wearing it. Both my cats have snap collars but are fully indoor cats and both are spayed. It is my plan to build a cat enclosure in the garden but i've gone past the point that either of them are interested in getting out so not sure if that would be a good idea or not. In my area there are 3 animal charities and if a cat is found there is a good chance that they would be checked for a chip.

As regards cats hunting birds and other wildlife there is little that can be done to avoid it completely with outdoor cats but it can be limited. How far you want to go depends on you such as a bell, keeping your cat in doors at certain times of the day when birds are more active etc. There is no 100% right way of handling this and people will have different very strong opinions. I would come in on the side of protecting our endangered wildlife as much as practical for example.

the beer revolu

There is a lot of talk about cat collars and the dangers of them getting caught on trees etc. and strangling cats.
Is this a genuine risk or a much talked about fear?
Has anyone here actually lost a cat this way?
(and I don't mean knowing somebody whose brother's cat died like that).
I know I have never reliably heard of it happening - just as I have never heard of a child smother themselves with a plastic bag (but every plastic bag has a warning printed on it).

We tried putting a collar on our ginger male cat when he was younger. He refused to adapt to it at all and I found him (like another poster in this thread) with his front paw trapped inside the collar, very distressed and another time wit the collar stuck in his mouth, pulling his jaw open. Gave up on the collar after that!

Graces7

boomerang wrote: »

Go for the quick release collars, they're usually only €2-€3 and buy a few at a time so your cat is never without one. At the moment I can get the Rogz ones (really good brand) for €1.49 in our local discount shop, Mr. Price.

And you can get a stack of ID tags from ebay seller CNATTAGS for half nothing.

Even this is beyond my slender means. And for me no to collars. I tried once with a cat who was a keen hunter and one day he was lying clearly in pain. Trying to get the collar off he had got one front leg through and then got stuck and had an abcess. Others he had lost.. Deeply rural here and my two will not go near anyone. I would love to get a collar on my semi feral a I have a feeling he is moonlightling but would risk my hands getting it on. My three are great tree climbers and I would be scared for them if collared.

Lucyfur

One of my cats won't wear a collar, which is fine. She's tiny and loves the outdoors so I'd be worried about her getting stuck. The other is the opposite. She's very not tiny and hates the outdoors. I bought her some lovely collars and she sat like a princess with her sparkles. Til I found her in the attic with her back leg stuck under the collar, wearing an expression that screamed "I'M TOTALLY MEANT TO BE LIKE THIS. IT'S CAT YOGA. STOP LAUGHING"

So no. No more collars here!!

Graces7

pawrick wrote: »

If you are considering putting a collar on your cat do so as soon as practical in order to get him used to wearing it. Both my cats have snap collars but are fully indoor cats and both are spayed. It is my plan to build a cat enclosure in the garden but i've gone past the point that either of them are interested in getting out so not sure if that would be a good idea or not. In my area there are 3 animal charities and if a cat is found there is a good chance that they would be checked for a chip.

As regards cats hunting birds and other wildlife there is little that can be done to avoid it completely with outdoor cats but it can be limited. How far you want to go depends on you such as a bell, keeping your cat in doors at certain times of the day when birds are more active etc. There is no 100% right way of handling this and people will have different very strong opinions. I would come in on the side of protecting our endangered wildlife as much as practical for example.

Poor cats... scapegoated and accused....

Graces7

Lucyfur wrote: »

One of my cats won't wear a collar, which is fine. She's tiny and loves the outdoors so I'd be worried about her getting stuck. The other is the opposite. She's very not tiny and hates the outdoors. I bought her some lovely collars and she sat like a princess with her sparkles. Til I found her in the attic with her back leg stuck under the collar, wearing an expression that screamed "I'M TOTALLY MEANT TO BE LIKE THIS. IT'S CAT YOGA. STOP LAUGHING"

So no. No more collars here!!

Mine had his front leg stuck.. different approach!

Capercaille

Lucyfur wrote: »

One of my cats won't wear a collar, which is fine. She's tiny and loves the outdoors so I'd be worried about her getting stuck. The other is the opposite. She's very not tiny and hates the outdoors. I bought her some lovely collars and she sat like a princess with her sparkles. Til I found her in the attic with her back leg stuck under the collar, wearing an expression that screamed "I'M TOTALLY MEANT TO BE LIKE THIS. IT'S CAT YOGA. STOP LAUGHING"

So no. No more collars here!!

Try a quick release collar.

AlanS181824

Definite yes!

Capercaille

Graces7 wrote: »

Poor cats... scapegoated and accused....

Domestic cats kill wildlife, which is fact. Some of those species in Ireland are threatened. As pawrick correctly pointed out doing a few simple things can decrease the predation considerably

pawrick wrote: »

As regards cats hunting birds and other wildlife there is little that can be done to avoid it completely with outdoor cats but it can be limited. How far you want to go depends on you such as a bell, keeping your cat in doors at certain times of the day when birds are more active etc. There is no 100% right way of handling this and people will have different very strong opinions. I would come in on the side of protecting our endangered wildlife as much as practical for example.

boomerang

Pawrick my two cats are indoors-only too, and a friend of mine built a small "catio" enclosure for them that they can access through the living room windows. It's added to their lives massively! They love to sit out and watch the birds at the feeding station opposite and to soak up a bit of sun. I have a chair in there so we can all sit out together. Don't worry that it might cause problems, it's been a god-send for me! I'll put up pics if you like.

(ETA: Both my cats wear quick-release safety collars, ID tags, and are microchipped. Can't be too careful!)

Capercaille

boomerang wrote: »

Pawrick my two cats are indoors-only too, and a friend of mine built a small "catio" enclosure for them that they can access through the living room windows. It's added to their lives massively! They love to sit out and watch the birds at the feeding station opposite and to soak up a bit of sun. I have a chair in there so we can all sit out together. Don't worry that it might cause problems, it's been a god-send for me! I'll put up pics if you like.

(ETA: Both my cats wear quick-release safety collars, ID tags, and are microchipped. Can't be too careful!)

Put up the photos:)

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Graces7 wrote: »

Poor cats... scapegoated and accused....

Oh come on! You know rightly that cats kill birds and small mammals. You also know that many bird species are struggling. A small effort - costing next to nothing - can greatly improve the situation. Scapegoated? No...despite the melodramatic delivery. Accused? Not any longer, as conviction was secured years ago.

Pumpkinseeds

Amani Late Celery wrote: »

Oh come on! You know rightly that cats kill birds and small mammals. You also know that many bird species are struggling. A small effort - costing next to nothing - can greatly improve the situation. Scapegoated? No...despite the melodramatic delivery. Accused? Not any longer, as conviction was secured years ago.

Even the RSPB has been forced to acknowledge that intensive farming and the continuing urbanisation of rural areas has the most negative and destructive impact on bird life, as well as wild life, so I'm afraid you're gonna have to lay the blame elsewhere instead of blaming cats. HUMANS are what's decimating the species, not the cats.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Pumpkinseeds wrote: »

Even the RSPB has been forced to acknowledge that intensive farming and the continuing urbanisation of rural areas has the most negative and destructive impact on bird life, as well as wild life, so I'm afraid you're gonna have to lay the blame elsewhere instead of blaming cats. HUMANS are what's decimating the species, not the cats.

Just to be clear. I never said cats were the only cause of mortality in birds. But they are A factor whether we want to admit it or not. And a factor that we can have some input into easing.

Capercaille

Pumpkinseeds wrote: »

Even the RSPB has been forced to acknowledge that intensive farming and the continuing urbanisation of rural areas has the most negative and destructive impact on bird life, as well as wild life, so I'm afraid you're gonna have to lay the blame elsewhere instead of blaming cats. HUMANS are what's decimating the species, not the cats.

Cats do cause declines in certain bird species in Ireland. It is unethical do let your cat kill at will, especially when one can do a few simple things to reduce that predation.

Legs getting stuck in collars - yes, I've heard of this happening and it does make me anxious! I took her collar off her, but the housemates put another one on her. I will go get some quick release collars. I have the collar on her loose enough now that she could pull out of it if she was trapped. Doesn't help on her getting her legs stuck in it though. If it was my decision alone, she wouldn't be wearing it anymore.

Graces7

Pumpkinseeds wrote: »

Even the RSPB has been forced to acknowledge that intensive farming and the continuing urbanisation of rural areas has the most negative and destructive impact on bird life, as well as wild life, so I'm afraid you're gonna have to lay the blame elsewhere instead of blaming cats. HUMANS are what's decimating the species, not the cats.

For this balance, thank you. But there are those here who will always blame the cats....most birds have too much sense to get caught by cats and cats do wonders with vermin control so mine are out when they want to be and not a rat in sight. NB rats kill birds and destroy eggs . end of argument for me!!!!

Graces7

Capercaille wrote: »

Cats do cause declines in certain bird species in Ireland. It is unethical do let your cat kill at will, especially when one can do a few simple things to reduce that predation.

Unethical accusations do not impress and nor does the kind of emotive language used here with its underlayer of emotional blackmail... pause to let the cat out

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Graces7 wrote: »

Unethical accusations do not impress and nor does the kind of emotive language used here with its underlayer of emotional blackmail... pause to let the cat out

Certainly let the cat out but just take a simple precaution or two. If you read the posts you'll see that nobody is putting sole responsibility for bird mortality on cats. Far from it. Nobody even hinted at anything that could be construed as emotional blackmail. Just suggestions that a perfectly safe, extremely cheap aid is available. If we all take the little steps necessary we can help our small bird population. We can provide habitat, food, and a safer environment for them without falling out over it. It's not a pro cat anti cat discussion. It's just about whether we can all help in some way.

Capercaille

Graces7 wrote: »

For this balance, thank you. But there are those here who will always blame the cats....most birds have too much sense to get caught by cats and cats do wonders with vermin control so mine are out when they want to be and not a rat in sight. NB rats kill birds and destroy eggs . end of argument for me!!!!

It's the birds fault so for being so stupid.

Graces7 wrote: »

Unethical accusations do not impress and nor does the kind of emotive language used here with its underlayer of emotional blackmail... pause to let the cat out

I do let the cat out. Only during daylight hours and never at dawn/dusk (most predation occurs). He has 4 large bells on his quick release collar to warn any wildlife. He's castrated as well

DBB

Graces7 wrote: »

Unethical accusations do not impress and nor does the kind of emotive language used here with its underlayer of emotional blackmail... pause to let the cat out

There is only one poster in this thread using emotive language.
Due to this thread thundering down the tracks to a train wreck, I'm closing it now.
Thanks,
DBB