(NWR) I need some advice about my cat. Someone keeps taking his collar. >:(

I don't want to deny him going outside, but I hate that people keep taking his collars off. It's just very frustrating. I little part of me is scared that someone will steal him away from us. Here is Shadow.

Maybe you could get him one of the microchips. It's embedded under the skin and it doesn't hurt them at all. I used to work for a vet and this has helped so many people. Unfortunately there are some people who just don't care about collars and they will do anything to get them off. With a chip it will permanently hold all your info without getting lost. And if he gets taken by someone else, if they try to take him to a vet they can scan the chip and it will have your info and you can get him back.

Microchips are good...as long as the person who finds a cat takes them to a vet or a shelter to check it.

Wish I had an answer for you. My cats do not go outside.

He has a chip already. It's still gets me angry that someone would have such little regard for his personal property. I'm just getting really frustrated with it.

Are you sure someone is taking them off? I used to have a cat and she found a way to everyone we tried off.

That is upsetting. You are right. Your cat does need that information on a collar. I don't know how you'd catch these people though. Do you have toys and cat trees to occupy the cat indoors? You may want to go outside with your cat next time just to see where the cat does go.

I had to buy a toy dog sized collar for mine. He's microchipped and the local animal control know to check the strays for chips. I spent 20 dollars or so on cat collars but he would always come back without it. Mine's a little houdini though so I know he was taking them off himself. I would recommend a microchip and check to make sure the animal control checks them. That's really all you can do if the collar is being taken off by someone. Good luck.

I would not assume he's not getting them off himself, no matter how hard they are supposed to be to remove--cats are tricky that way. He may just hate wearing it, or it's possible that he's wiggling out of them because he's getting caught on things.

Honestly, there are a lot of reasons that cats should be indoor-only, but if you are going to let them outside, they are safer WITHOUT a collar. They're not very likely to get picked up by animal control (and if they did, a microchip would be the safest bet for their return), and they ARE likely to get caught on things and possibly choked if they're wearing a collar.

I had a cat that kept loosing his collar and the only way I could get it to stay on was to make a chainmaille collar with his tags. I used Stainless steel rings so that they couldn't break. They are a B**** to cut through too. It took me a while to actually make it because of how hard the rings are but I tell ya, he never lost that sucker. Only thing with fabric collars is that they can be torn, cut and you can't really tell if someone cuts it off.

Did you look around your area to see if he's taking it off? You might actually find it. Or spy out the window :p

First of all I wanted to commend you for getting your cat micro-chipped! I agree that I wouldn't discount the fact that your cat may be the cause of the missing collar. With outdoor cats, quick release collars are important. Cats often get themselves into precarious positions and without a quick release collar could end up, quite literally, hanging/ strangling themselves or trapping themselves and dieing a slow and painful death. Also, I wanted to urge you not to use flea collars as they are no good. Flea collars don't work. (check your cats rump and belly, I promise you'll still find fleas.) They simply deliver concentrated poison to your cat which may kill it or slowly drive it insane. You would be best served to get some flea and tick medicine for your vet. I do also do not recommend Biospot, Hearts, or Seargants as they are cheap medicines that also have a high potential to simply not work at all or kill your pet!

Your vet may be the best person to talk to regarding the collar and flea medicine issue.

I don't mean to sound like a b*tch here, but... does your town not have a leash law where all animals have to be on a tie out or leash?? Its really for the best interest of the animal so that they are less likely to get stolen and also then they have less of a chance of getting hit by a car. If I were you, I would get a dog tie out (a light weight one will do) and hook your cat onto that so it has to stay in your yard. This will prevent whoever it is from getting the collar off of him, and it will also show you if maybe he is getting it off himself. When we moved into town, we had to put my cat onto my dogs tie-out that way he wouldn't run away and get hit on the highway near us.... it was really the best option since he really wanted to be outside.

Most likely the cat is taking it off. there really is no kind of collar that cant be taken off. both of my cats would not stand for a collar, and i would even watch them try to take them off and succeed. finally i just left them off. they were chipped.

A dog tie-out or cat leash may not be a bad idea, as long as you are supervising. They may still be able to get caught up in it. Also, keep in mind, cats are small enough for hawks to carry off. Leaving it out unsupervised might make easy bait for a hawk or other animal.

@ cew2 - I could be wrong, but I don't think that leash laws apply to cats. Mostly because cats can really hurt themselves on leashes... and that they don't typically go around chasing and/or potentially biting folks.

@ Spanish Bride - Chances are that your cat is wriggling out of his collar by himself. My cat was forever losing his collars. I found them in a stash in a corner of the basement when I moved with him once. After spending countless dollars on collars, I just got him chipped and gave up.

My current cats are strictly house cats so don't wear collars, but I have had a couple of cats in the past who have refused to wear collars and have gotten them off. Since your cat was a stray, he probably was not used to collars and hates them so does everything he can to get them off.

Well the thing is, there's a law that said you have to have a collar on your cat or they can be taken away from animal control. They have a cat population problem. They were even talking about making it legal to shoot the cat if it does not have a collar because there is so many of them. Regardless, he still needs a collar. He is chipped to, but it still makes me upset that they have been taking it from him. I feel better now though.

Well, I can see that you a;lready have a microchip, but honestlt there's really nothing you can do unless you decide to make him an indoor cat. I know you may feel bad, but honestly that's the safest place for a cat to be. I use to work at an animal hospital and the indoor cats normally had lees problems than outdoor ones. Plus, you won't have to worry about someone trying to keep him.

I agree with Brandi. All my cats are indoor cats--I realize it's a difficult transition to make with an animal that's already used to going outside, but indoor cats live a lot longer and have far fewer health problems (ranging from "caught a kitty bug" to "got eaten by a fox"). They're really not good for local ecosystems either--they're not native predators.