When to put a collar on a cat?

Our cats figured out how to remove the collars so quickly it was ridiculous. We went through a number of them, but eventually gave up. We got the youngest cat microchipped, though.

No real reason to put a collar on an indoor cat. If you must put a collar on him use the break-away kind. Cat collars with bells are more for outdoor cats; the ring alerts small animals to their presence, therby minimizing chance kitty will make a kill.

The thing is he is an indoor cat, but I’ve only had him for two days & am not really sure if he’ll try to get out or not, so I’d rather him have some kind of identification if he tries to go outside, i have it loose enough to slide over his head, is that safe enough?

It doesn’t really matter when you put it on them, although they adjust more easily if you start when they are young. You absolutely must use a break away collar, even if you have the collar on loosely – cats and kittens strangle themselves to death on a regular basis. Be careful not to have the collar too loose, they will sometimes get their lower jaw or even a front leg trapped.

If the cat is going to be an indoor cat…I’d avoid a collar all together. A cat will always be naturally curious as to what’s going on outside, but whenever mine gets close to the door, I shoo him away so he then naturally doesn’t try to get out when I enter or exit my apartment.

Do what hearkat has done, get the microchip if you’re concerned about the cat getting out.

I disagree with the opinions not to put a collar on an indoor cat. Each of my indoor cats has gotten outside at least once, and I see dozens of posters at the vet of lost cats with microchips.

@Andrew:
Do you think those “Lost” cats with microchips would be “Found” if they had collars? Sad but true… they are most likely roadkill, so neither a collar or microchip would help.

Our cars are outdoor cats; as they all have been for my whole life. They figured out how to snap off the breakaway collars within a day. Even the one we have chipped I tried to train to wear a collar from when she was a very young kitten, and she got out of them too.

Whatis the reason for putting on them only when they are older. I think it is better for them to get used with the collar when they are young.

I have three cats—all completely indoors—all previously feral cats in the wild.

The oldest (now 2.5 years), we found when she was 1. We immediately got a collar for her, and she still wears it (she hasn’t grown much). I like having my phone number around her neck so that, if for whatever reason, she escaped one day, no matter what person found her would be able to call me. (Not all non-animal people know about microchips.)

The two other cats are kittens that we saved from a dumpster just a few months ago. They are still small and growing, so we’re going to wait until they’re around 8–9 months until we get the collars for them so that they will be big enough for the collars to stay on.

@hearkat: No, but I also don’t see the reasoning behind putting a collar on an outdoor cat but not an indoor one. I also think that many people are naive about microchips.

Also, I, for one, would never in a million years approach a lost cat outside that didn’t have a collar.

I never approach ANY cats… I invite them to approach me.

I understand that it is easier for people to contact the owner if the information is right there on the tag. I was just saying that my cats didn’t tolerate collars, so that was why we chose to microchip the little one.

Living in suburbia, I rarely encounter an animal that looks lost. Even the feral cats near my job are fat and happy because people from the office feed them. One woman will try to trap them and have them spayed/neutered, or to have the kittens adopted.

Non-animal people may not know about microchips… but if they are non-animal people, they are not likely to concern themselves with strays anyway, or they’d contact animal control who would check for a chip.

I would only put a collar on your kitten if she ends up being and outdoor cat. If you have a cat that has zero interest in going outside then you don’t really need a collar. If you do put a collar on your kitty, PLEASE make sure it is a breakaway (Safety) collar. A breakaway collar ensures that if your cat gets caught on something if will not end up strangling itself because the colar breaks apart. You can find them at your local pet store. If you are not sure if it is a breakaway collar just ask someone who works there.

There really isn’t a certain age for putting them on, but the younger they are, the better, so that they can adjust to them. If I were to try to put them on my cats now, they would hate me forever, and I really should have put them on them when they were younger, because they go outside a lot of the time. I only have one chipped, but going to get the others done too.
Hope this helps, good luck to you and the kitty.