Cat collars

[Juba]

I had an outside cat for a couple of years when I was a teenager that at some point had a collar with a bell. There was a very large wooded area enclosed by a chain link fence across from my house which apparently was one of the favorite hunting grounds of my cat. His collar got caught on one of the prongs of the fence at the bottom and he was rescued by a relative in the neighborhood. I don't know that the bell made any difference in his hunting success plus I read many years later that the bell is useless - birds aren't conditioned to hear a bell as something connected to a predator, that is something a human would think. Probably the only way to keep the local birds safe is to keep your cats inside.

I was about to make a post regarding the dangers of cat collars when I read your post. I have heard stories of cats being strangled to death by a collar that got caught on something. There are some collars with elastic segments for just such a situation, but I do not know how successful these collars are. I do not collar my cats and so do not have experience with those types.

Hi folks,

Agree with Fire Shadow, if you are planing to get your feline a collar always take one with elastic part close to the buckle or buy even more expensive one but IMO the safest one, whole made of elastic material, it's cat's life preserver. It's even ugly to remember but Tommy 1 my first cat got almost hanged on the tree in front of my house but thanks to elasticity of the collar his head simply slipped out of the collar and he jumped back from the tree without a problem, I run out from the house in order to save Tommy 1 but until the time I reach the tree Tommy 1 was already playing with his siblings. All my cats (had them 5 until now) had combined out door indoor lives, they sleep and eat and mostly playing in the house but whenever the want to go out they are allowed to go. I have sparrow nest on my balcony (although my present cat Tommy 3 is pretty interested in all commotion in the nest he leaves sparrows allone), Except we noticed he doesn't approve loud calling of the chicks and usually walk in house when they start with the concert. As well we noticed mouse running away from him because his bell was chiming, I have no clue if he'll manage to adjust to the bell collar in order to start with new silent tactics, will let you know. Last observation; bell collarr had no affect on snakes, 2 weeks ago we had venomous snake called "poskok" (the most dangerous snake in Europe) on our doorway, my cat made couple of pretty noisy jumps betore he catch snake with claws on the snake's tale. I admire my husband's reflexes because he moved our cat away from the snake before real danger. I know snakes are pretty sensible on audio vibration and they use whole body as listening device, but snake did not react on cat at all, although commotion and bell noise. So, for this particular case I must vote down bell collar against cat pray, for the rest thumbs up.

PS: My cats all lived between 14 and 17 years except 2 of them who got poisoned by mouse poison placed insanely in front garden of my neighbors. My parent cat is 20 years old and got combined in door out door life and his best playmate is young Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, I don't know how crucial is in door - out door policy for cats long life expectation but I believe it's combination of everything: food, playing, mischiefs, out and indoor life, friends and family. I guess 2D life is not less complex than our in 3D just patterns are different according to densities :)

 

[truth seeker]

Do you mean that the cats figure out a way to catch birds with the bell on? Meaning they become even quieter. Or that the birds are still not quick enough to get away?

Yes, they would move so slow that the bell wouldn't ring, get close enough, and then move like lightning before the birds could fly away.

It is sad. I rescued quite a few birds/chipmunks when the cats would bring them in the house, but many didn't make it.

I have two indoor cats now, so I don't have this problem. I know how hard it is though to deny cats the pleasure of going out when they are used to it.

Thanks for explaining Rhiannon. It's amazing how they make adjustments.

 

[Starlight]

Hi all,

We have three female cats that roam freely in and out of the house.

We have experienced carnage at our front door more than we can take... birds, lizards, mouse, moles, a variety of insects and never once did we ever praised the cats for any of the "gifts", but it keeps coming!

The funny thing with cats is, they are super mischievous! Like the cats are "not allowed" on the yard table in front of the house, yet we can see from inside the house, that one of them will be on the table. The minute that we open the door, she will immediately scramble down! If she does not "know", why then she scrambles down? Hmmm.....

 

[alphonse]

Ultimately, outdoor cats live shorter lives - but - perhaps they live better 'cat' lives? I don't know. My feline friend lived a very long life and was a silent (and often not so silent) witness to my life, through good and bad. She played a lot - got out a lot - traveled a lot - made mischief a lot and was never in danger - though I can't know if this life served her better than an outdoor life, I can know that she was very well taken care of and loved and, considering her behavior, I find it hard to fathom that this was lost on her.

This reminds me of Beatrice, a Tortoiseshell cat, who like Anart said above, was a silent witness to my life too. We were kind of left together when I split up from a girlfriend, who had bought her, and Beatrice (the cat) and I lived together for 21 years,. She was always kind and gentle with the four children, and loved my wife, but we never really got on. We shared several houses like grumpy flat mates thrown together and just learned to tolerate each other. She was an active indoor/outdoor cat and in her 20th year seemed to devlop a kind of altzheimers, always coming in as soon as she went out and vice versa, forgetting she had "just eaten" and asking for more. I couldn't belive how much I missed her when she died though.

That is where Lulu - of this original post came in, another Tortie, from a rescue centre, with her brother Pele.
They are great with humans, and Lulu is great with the dog too.

My wife disagrees, but I think Lulu is the innocent party here, and that it is in fact Pele the male, that catches most of the prey, although she was caught pretty red handed this time.

Many mornings I come downstairs to carnage, I once found a mouse, a squirrel tale and a utility room fulll of pigeon feathers -
It looked like the final scene of some hideous all "animal cast" Tarantion film.

Back to the original question about the bell collars though:

Yes, they would move so slow that the bell wouldn't ring, get close enough, and then move like lightning before the birds could fly away.

If Rhiannon is correct, that might even make them more efficient hunters, if they are going slower and stricking faster.
I wonder if keeping them very well fed makes a differance? or if the instinct to hunt overrides everything else.

I think I am guilty of double standards too, because whilst I hate it when they kill annimals, especially (more rarely birds) I
don't really want mice running around the house either.

Tricky one

al

 

[combsbt]

Well, if you do a search on the life span of outdoor cats versus indoor cats, you'll get estimates on outdoor cats ranging from 18 months to 5 years.

For some reason I think this statistic is off. I had an outdoor cat and several indoor cats growing up, and the outdoor cat outlived all of them (she lived to be 18 years old). I just can't see the life span of a cat being cut to 5 years max just because it is outside. Maybe this stat takes into consideration the added danger of cars and such. That same outdoor cat was hit by a car at one point and she came home with the skin on her jaw hanging off, after a trip to the vet and a couple of stitches she was fine (she was a tough cat for sure).

 

[Al Today]

I love cats, dogs, birds and whatnot. I can't explain but my dogs have had a dog license maybe only a time or two. Like when I was somehow cornered into purchasing one, like a mandate from a cranky veterinarian... Living out in the country, I thought dog licenses were pretty much a waste of money and just part of the matrix. Question that has been in my mind as long as I can remember is why do cats not have cat license tags or whatnot? I bet some city, town, or area somewhere has attempted to require cat license by law, but nope. I don't haveta get my cats license tags.

Perhaps I've been living too far off the grid for I know of no cat license tag laws.
BTW, some kitties can be vicious just like dogs. I've had a few "attack"' cats in my time I tell ya...
Get 'em Puffy.!.!.!

 

[Gonzo]

Well, believe it or not, it happened here. Cat licenses are now mandated by bylaw here. Really ridiculous and an obvious tax grab for indoor cats. Soon we'll need a pipe fitter's license just to pass wind. Actually, I guess all pet licenses are a tax grab.

Heh, I just had a flash from Monty Python where the guy walks in and wants a fish license...for his pet fish, Eric.

Gonzo

 

[Pierre]

Yes, they would move so slow that the bell wouldn't ring, get close enough, and then move like lightning before the birds could fly away.

Maybe a solution would be a flashing led collar a bit like this one:

 

[shellycheval]

Using collars on cats presents its own particular problems. The safest cat collars are the ones that break away if it is caught on something, but they also tend to get lost if the cat learns to scratch it off. Collars that are too loose will allow the cat's lower jaw to become trapped when they try to lick it, which usually causes panic, while collars that are too tight, of course, cause trouble swallowing and are uncomfortable. I once found a cat that had gotten its front leg through the collar and it cut into the muscle of the "armpit" area and had to have medical attention to heal the resulting infection. Some people I know learn when the birds in their area are nesting and keep their cats confined during those few weeks of the year. There is no completely satisfying solution here--life on 3D Earth is "nasty, brutish and short" for most entities of all species. Good luck.
shelycheval

 

[RyanX]

My cat brings in his prey all the time. It really gets annoying after awhile having to save so many traumatized animals. A few days ago it was a small bird. Before that there was a long line of baby rabbits and then the occasional mouse. Some of them are not always alive when he brings them in. I have woke up in the morning to blood and guts all over the floor of my living room. Not a pretty sight - especially when the kids wake up before me! :(

I do like that he keeps the rabbit population down in the yard for the garden, but I don't like the mess he makes from it. I have seen other cats in the neighborhood, so maybe it wouldn't matter if he was outside or not. He does get into fights with the stray cats on occasion, but these cats usually don't stay too long in the neighborhood.

I tried making my cat an indoor cat for the first couple years of his life. He was miserable and attacked the children on several occasions. I was just about to give him away when I decided to try letting him outside. I was living in an apartment complex and had just moved into a house, so it was now possible to let him outside unlike at the apartments. His behavior started to improve to where he was no longer attacking the children and was much friendlier around other people. I think he has too much alley cat in his blood from his father from what I understand.

I might consider getting him a bell collar if I can find one that is highly recommended. Money is tight right now and his prime hunting season is just about over, so I think I might hold off for another year. Thanks for the tip though, I never would have considered the idea of a bell collar.

 

[slowone]

Dear All,

Thank you for the many varied stories and suggestions I thought I'd give an update.

I have bitten the bullet so to speak and purchased two Safety Buckle Cat collars with quick release mechanism in case the cats get caught.

I don't think keeping them in is necessarily an option for them as they were rescue cats who were born outside and although they love being indoors they also pine to go out.

I will however try a change in diet for them to see if more meaty food helps.

The blurb on the packaging of the collars gives the statistic from the RSPB here in the UK that a cat wearing a bell collar will kill 41% fewer birds and 34% mammals. So who knows maybe it will work overall.

I'll let you know if the kill count goes down. :)

 

[alphonse]

A quick update on this type of collar....Lulu came home without hers, my guess is it snagged on something and she wriggled free.

I'm not conviced of the effectiveness of the bell collars though.
A couple of weeks ago our burglar alarm went of at 5am, (which is fairly unpleasant anyway)

I went downstairs to find that one of the cats had brought home a huge, live Magpie in through the cat flap.
It must have been a real struggle, but once the poor bird was in, it kept flying in to the doors of the utility room trying to get out and set the alarm off. The noise the bird was making was terrible and a second bird was right out side squawking like mad too.

It was all quite unpleasant in that not-quite awake state - but I was relieved that it was a bird that set off the alarm and that the bird was OK.

I managed to throw a towel over the poor frightened Magpie, and very quickly released it in to the garden, where it flew off with it's mate - but it's back to the drawing board with the cat collars

al

 

[Gonzo]

Well, they are by no means perfect. In fact, they probably have a small effect, but something is better than nothing when one considers the damage to urban song bird populations. It would be great if someone were to actually invent something more effective, but I haven't seen anything yet.

Maybe a collar outfitted with an MP3 player and small speakers blaring heavy metal, or at least a predator call like an eagle or something.

I've seen anti-bark collars for dogs that release a bit of citronella each time a dog barks (dogs hate that smell) as an alternative to electric shock collars. If only inventors put similar ingenuity toward protecting birds from cats.

Gonzo