Sad news

[JohnRoss]

With regard to the sister of the two boy kittens we recently adopted we received this tragic news this morning from the rescue centre:  

Une triste nouvelle, la soeur de vos deux chatons a été trouvée étranglé par le collier que la dame lui avait mis... Le collier s'est pris dans une poignée de porte ou fenêtre. Ce genre d'accident est fréquent ! Je vous signale le fait car beaucoup de gens persistent à mettre un collier en pensant que ça n'arrive qu'aux autres.

There really is no need for a collar on a cat as they should be chipped or tattooed for identification and frontlined for fleas. If people must have a collar it should be of the elasticated expanding type so this sort of accident is less likely to happen though it is still possible. We would have taken her as well had she not been promised to another! Tragic............................JR

[mint]

Oh, JR, this is sad news indeed. 

I am very naughty with collars and never put them on my cats or my dog.  But then, the cats didn't wander far from home and the dog never goes anywhere (not even into the back garden) without one of us. 

As she is a working cocker spaniel, she always keeps us in sight when we are out. (I have been assured that this is a habit of her breed)

Tragic for this poor cat and doesn't bear thinking about.[:(]

[Lou]

This is sad as it's so easily prevented.....

We have collars on our cats but use only those with a "boucle de securité", you can buy them in Intermarché (and probably other places)and we have also bought them online from www.kittycollars.co.uk (no association just satisifed customer) The collars have a special clip which releases when a certain amount of pressure is applied, eg if the collar gets caught in a tree

We have had so many cats 'disappear' despite being chipped - our thinking is that with a collar it's a visible sign that the cat is not a stray, plus we have our phone number on them too and now also a "locator" device www.loc8tor.co.uk (ditto re disclaimer as satisfied customer)

Overkill? yes probably but it does give us some peace of mind - we've had 6 cats vanish without a trace in the 4 and a half years we've been in France.

The other advantage of the locator is that we can find the collars when our adventurous tree-climbing kitties leave them behind on a night out.......!!

[Jo]

Having seen the results when a cat has been caught by their collar in a tree I have never fitted a collar on any of mine, all chipped for ID. How very sad[:(]

[Gardener]

I think a collar and bell is a must for cats to give an early warning to birds .There are as has been mentioned , collars with a snap release mechanism that don't cost very much more than ordinary collars and it does let people know that they are owned and not feral.

[mint]

To be honest, I can't help thinking that the sound of the bell could be a source of continual irritation to the cat!

Do you remember those dreadful charm bracelets that people used to wear in the 60s?  They clink and they clank and, I don't know about the owners, but I always find bling-bling jewellery horribly irritating.

Sorry, gone off subject a bit as we are talking about cat's collars and bells but perhaps the cat cannot stand the noise either?

Anyway, I do think that, generally speaking, it's not difficult to tell a feral cat from a tame one.  Wish you could have seen my beautiful, sleek, babies but, they are in their graves and (as Wordsworth might have said)....oh, the difference to me! [:(]

[Christine Animal]

That is very sad.  You can never be too careful.  Pups can also climb about, up on chairs, and get collars caught on radiator knobs, etc.

Another thing is electric wires.  Always unplug anything not in use.  The wires are so easily chewed and it does happen.  Not only dogs, we had a cat who chewed electric and telephone wires!

 

[JohnRoss]

Yes electric cables have been a worry to us as the kittens were into sampling anything with their mouths for the first few weeks. We always unplug anything not in use that they could chew with the exception of the Humax box as that needs to be powered up all the time. For the time being at night and when we are out they are in a "safe" room where they cannot chew anything that matters. Of late they seem to have lost interest in chewing or playing with cables but it is a worry. They have yet to be done at 6 months so one can only hope that they calm down a bit after that. When it was cold at night we kept them warm with a panel heater with the cable protected with gain which would take some chewing through! Another trick is to tape cables with masking tape to the floor for such things as live distribution boards that have a number of items plugged in like the TV, DVD Player etc as they then tend to ignore it. The individual appliance cables are still a risk though.

If anyone wants kittens I know of three 6 or 7 week old black and white ones born to a feral mother who is being cared for as an outside cat by a friend of ours living near to St Maixent L'Ecole. The mother will be speyed soon and continue to be cared for by our friend but the kittens when old enough will really need to be taken on by someone before they start adding to the unwanted cat population. So if you want a kitten they will be available. I don't rate their chances of survival for long if left to become feral themselves but then I am no expert. Sex is unknown and colours are varing degrees of black and white. Mum let us get near enough to see them and, to use an American expression, like most kittens they are really cute!...................JR

[JohnRoss]

On the subject of collars again this American site makes quite a good case for a cat having one: http://www.myhealthycat.com/cat-collars.html  I am not convinced for our house cats but demonstrating a cat is owned may help in some situations though a tattoo would do as much providing you can get close enough. Most people would not be carrying a chip reader. The stray that adopted us was wearing a collar, no ID, of the rigid plastic type, probably herbal anti-parasite, but despite all our efforts no owner was found so we think that she had been kicked out from somewhere local and if they had seen our posters with a photo they were keeping quiet! The vet was not impressed by the collar and condemned it as dangerous as he cut it off..................................JR

[Christine Animal]

I think they are saying that meaning a cat should have an identity if lost as they don't chip them over there.  Their only means of putting an identity is on a collar.  My firend has a beloved Bearded Collie bought from a breeder and she has no identity!

Here people don't walk around with a chip reader, but if they end up with rescuers or other authorities, they should be checked for a chip or tattoo.

 

Edit:  Sorry take back what I said, they do say to wear a collar even if they are microchipped.   [:$]

 

[WJT]

[quote user="JohnRoss"]

With regard to the sister of the two boy kittens we recently adopted we received this tragic news this morning from the rescue centre:  

Une triste nouvelle, la soeur de vos deux chatons a été trouvée étranglé par le collier que la dame lui avait mis... Le collier s'est pris dans une poignée de porte ou fenêtre. Ce genre d'accident est fréquent ! Je vous signale le fait car beaucoup de gens persistent à mettre un collier en pensant que ça n'arrive qu'aux autres.

There really is no need for a collar on a cat as they should be chipped or tattooed for identification and frontlined for fleas. If people must have a collar it should be of the elasticated expanding type so this sort of accident is less likely to happen though it is still possible. We would have taken her as well had she not been promised to another! Tragic............................JR

[/quote]

That is truly is tragic, I am so sorry.[:(]

Regarding the breakaway collars, I would imagine that one other good reason to have one is for the hunters. At least this way it would identify one as a family pet.