Cat collar Houdini's

[Catcrazed]

I can't get my indoor/outdoor kitties to wear collars. I am tired of looking outside for the collars for days. I also dislike having to get replacement tags and license stickers. I worry about choking with leather collars. I have tried harnesses. I have tried everything! I can't keep the little devils in, and worry about them not having collars on. HELP!

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-Our Lady of Housecats

[Logan]

Catcrazed,
I have the exact same problem with my Butter. Mimi will keep hers on. But, Butter has lost two. I buy the ones that come off easily, so I guess I get what I deserve. But he is a real tree climber and I don't dare give him one that could hang him. But I have learned one thing about him. He's so happy here, that he doesn't venture far away from my yard. He's always watching for me to come to the door and let him inside!

[Maresche]

Talk to your vet about microchipping your cat. The microchip is about the same size as a grain of dry rice that is inserted under the cat's skin, usually in the fatty area between the shoulder blades. On this chip is stored the cat's name, address and basic vet info (vaccinations, etc.) I believe most vet and shelters now have scanners that will pick up the info on the chip, so if kitty is lost he will hopefully returned to you.
Of course this isn't entirely fool proof. Not all shelters have scanners and if he isn't scanned the chip is basically useless. Same may happen if he is taken in by someone who thinks he is a stray. Call your local shelter(s) and vets to see if they have these scanners. If most of them do, I'd say go for it.
I don't know how much it costs to have the cat chipped but you vet should be able to give you a quote.

[Catcrazed]

Thanks! I still wish he would keep a collar on so he won't have to go through going to the pound to get scaned. (Or do they have hand-held scanners?)

[Logan]

I am having all of my pets microchipped as they return to the vet for their annual visits. For me, it is running around $50/animal. Honey, my Golden Retriever, was the first. I still like to have their id on them though, and will continue to purchase the cat collars and tags for Butter when he loses them. But, we don't have to have a "license" here in the back woods, and once the rabies tag is gone, its gone, until the next year. Maybe I should order 3 or 4 tags at one time, then he'll probably never lose another.

Logan

[AvaJoy]

Better to suffer the loss of a few safety collars/tags than to find your cat hanging lifeless from a tree limb, hung by his own (non-safety) collar. The microchip (and earring ID, another possibility) are good ideas, but if a neighbor finds your cat without visible ID you may not be notified that your lost cat has been found. The neighbor could just assume it is a stray because there is no collar, and kindly either just feed it outside, or make it his own indoor cat.

Seems to me that outdoor cats should wear both safety collar/tag along with implanted ID to be on the most thorough side in case kitty wanders too far from home. There is an inexpensive tag kit sold at PetSmart for I believe under $2.00. You simply write info. on disc then bake for a few minutes in the oven and it expands to normal round tag size ~ nifty!

[Catcrazed]

I got my kitties licensed for this year and the one who I had a collar for is still wearing his!

[Catcrazed]

All are taged now and after protest are wearing them.