How To Choose The Right Cat Collar

So you want to dress up your kitty with a cool cat collar; how do you choose? What do you need to consider before you buy a cat collar? There’s more to choosing a collar than just picking from the wide array of designs, styles, and sizes available. There are some important issues to consider when it comes to your cat’s health, safety, and general wellbeing.

Why a Cat Collar?

There are several reasons why you might choose to have your cat wear a collar. It’s often all about identification. Even the most contented indoor cat may slip outdoors to explore, become lost during a move, or run off if frightened. You’re more likely to get your kitty back if they have identification. Cat collars can also serve as a warning to potential prey.
Because of the massive impact cat hunting is having on birds in this country, this isn’t a bad idea. A collar with a bell can help warn a potential meal when it’s time to take flight. Still other owners choose to have their cats wear a collar for purely ornamental reasons — though this is strongly discouraged by the American Humane Society.

Sizing a Collar

So now you’ve decided that you want your cat to wear a collar, but how do you fit it properly? As a general rule, you’ll want to be able to slip two fingers easily between the collar and your cat’s throat when the collar is fastened. A collar should never be so tight as to impede movement, eating, drinking, breathing or any normal feline activity—nor should it be so loose that your pet could slip out of it or trap a paw between the collar and its body. If you’re choosing a collar for a kitten, remember to check and adjust the collar frequently (weekly is recommended) as your pet grows. If you’re not going to check the collar that often, don’t collar your cat. Check with your vet, too.

Cat Collar Safety Concerns

Cats are by nature both athletic and curious, and they can get themselves into some pretty unusual jams if left unattended. Because a collar can quickly become a strangling hazard if caught on a fence or other object, you absolutely MUST use  a “breakaway” collar.  The breakaway design allows a cat to escape from a situation where the collar has become ensnared. Yes, I’ve seen instances where cats have died from being hung by their collars.

And I really mean it about sizing collars. I cannot tell you the number of young cats I saw as a vet tech with “embedded” collars — meaning they kept growing but the collar didn’t, and it cut a path through their fur and skin down to the muscle and bone. This is a horrible, horrible injury that happens all too frequently and requires surgery to fix (a light note on this dark topic: after the surgery, cats look a bit like a frankenstein because it looks like their heads have been sewn on, since the stitches go around the entire neck).

New Tech

These days technology seems to touch every aspect of our lives. Cat collars are no different. Some owners choose a collar that is fitted with a chip that can be scanned at virtually any vet’s office or rescue organization if your pet is found lost. An alternative to the subcutaneous chip, the collar chip requires no medical procedure — however, an embedded chip won’t be lost, break off, or disappear, so chipping your cat isn’t a bad idea.

Another form of smart technology is the “electronic key” that allows your pet to open a cat door. The idea is pretty simple. When a coded chip in your cat’s collar passes near the cat door, a sensor “reads” the key and unlocks the door—allowing your pet to come inside, while keeping out any unwanted guests like raccoons and possums.

Flea Collars

Should your cat wear a flea collar? For years flea collars were fairly ineffective and often too toxic for cats to wear (cats are very sensitive to many flea treatments). Recently, however, I was surprised when my vet recommended the new Seresto Collars for my cats, and eagerly bought them because even though my cats are indoor we couldn’t get rid of the dang fleas. So if you struggle with fleas, you might find these helpful. They last for the entire flea season (eight months).

So do my cats wear collars? Nope. Frankly, I’ve found keeping a cat wearing a collar is nearly impossible. They always get them off, so I don’t bother (we use topical flea treatment instead of those flea collars). But if your cats can tolerate them, go for it. Just remember to choose a breakaway cat collar and to keep it loose!