Collars - When do I give up?

[maccat]

yeah thanks marla, i took the bell off as he associates that noise with play!

xxx

[Hannikat]

Thanks Marla. I've put them in a drawer for a while now until they are bigger. Bella still watches it sometimes 

[Marla]

Breakaway collars are designed for kittens/cats 6 months and older. For your cat's safety and comfort, it's important to wait he is 6 months old and the collar fits properly. The guideline is that you should be able to fit only 2 fingers (flat) between the collar and the neck.

If the cat is younger/smaller, he may not have the weight/strength required to pull the clasp open in an emergency. Also, a loose collar will just annoy him.

When your cat is old enough to wear the collar, you may want to try removing the bell as it's often that they don't like.

Best regards,

Marla
Kitty Collars

[Jennifer]

Please bear in mind that I'm a dog-person, not a cat-person, so I'm giving an adapted version of the advice I'd give for dogs!

Could you try putting the collar on him and then dishing out some tuna (or something else that he goes mad for, or even just meal times if he's a food-loving cat?) The food might distract him from the collar for a couple of minutes. Obviously if he's ignoring the food completely, just take it off (maybe try leaving it near his food bowl so he gets to see it) but if it works and he puts up with it in favor of eating the fish, leave it on until he's finished and then take it off before he has chance to freak out about it!

It would work on a particularly distressed puppy, and since it's a behavioural trick and not a species-specific one it could work in this case too (depending on how much he likes his food!!)

[maccat]

Well I bought ours collars last week (4 months old). They are a bit young but I thought I'd try putting collars on for a few mins every so often to get them used to it. They both got themselves into a right state. Izzy got it stuck in her mouth! It took me ages to get them out from behind the couch so i could take them off..........putting them away until they are older now.....felt rather mean

this is similar to frankie.  loved the saftey release collar as it was easy to take off when it got in his mouth.  I have taken to wearing the collar around my wrist to see if he can get used to seeing it.  our french builders think its a hospital tag - 

i am going to wait another 4 weeks until he is just under 6 months and will try again.  until then he will just have to stay in his dog cage when going outside (which is getting him used to the road next to us)

he is chipped but the collar is for people to recognise he is an owned cat and not shoot at him - which some farmers and hunters could do.

oh well onwards and upwards

[Topsy Turvey]

Tried on and off with Summer and Sasha (bridge babe) when I got them eight years ago.  Was madness!

Tried with Smartie and Skye when I got them two years ago - same result.  Gave up after second attempt.  All three are house/garden cats only though and are chipped.

[Hannikat]

Well I bought ours collars last week (4 months old). They are a bit young but I thought I'd try putting collars on for a few mins every so often to get them used to it. They both got themselves into a right state. Izzy got it stuck in her mouth! It took me ages to get them out from behind the couch so i could take them off..........putting them away until they are older now.....felt rather mean

[maccat]

O.K we decided to buy Frankie (our rescued feral kitten of 3 weeks old now nearly 5 months old) a collar as we are currently in rural france and it's more for his own protection and for identification - we are in the countryside where the locals hunt frequently.  I got the kittycollars in the UK sent out and they have his name and our phone number on.  I have tried to put his collar on but he is just not happy.  After 15 minutes he realises its on and then rolls around and around meowing.  I can't bare it so take it off him.

Can anyone share any experiences?  Why can't the cat realise its for his own protection!!

Helen x