Regardless of whether you have an indoor or outdoor cat, you want to be sure they can be identified if they get themselves into a tricky situation or find themselves lost. And let’s face it – it happens! In order to make this process easy, and keep your cat safe, your cat will need to get used to wearing a collar.
Benefits of Collar Wearing:
Cats who wear a collar signal to other humans that this cat has a family, and when paired with a tag from Purr. Meow. Woof. can make the process of finding you in a tricky situation much easier.
Other benefits of collar wearing include warning other people any potential medical or dietary requirements if these are added to the tag, making the likelihood of someone feeding your cat something they can’t eat reduced, potentially saving in medical bills
It also reduces the chances of your cat being “adopted” by a well-wishing neighbour. Or outright stolen by a not-so-well-wishing person.
A further benefit to collar wearing includes the bell which comes standard on every Purr. Meow. Woof. cat or kitten collar – this can alert you when and where your cat is, especially for a dual indoor/outdoor cat when you call them inside at night, but also for an indoor cat who is excellent at playing hide and seek. A bell also reduces the risk of your cat catching and bringing in birds and rodents to eat.
We will go through our own experience with collar training our three cats, so you can start this process with yours.
Choosing the right collar:
We only stock breakaway safety cat collars. This type of collar comes off when pulled on with force, including if your cat gets stuck for example in a tree, or a fence, and prevent tragedy from occurring. The collar will stay on in normal situations, such as usual play and sleep and movement.
Besides that, there are other factors to consider, including: colour, size, pattern, and reflective qualities.
Reflective:
We recommend reflective qualities, especially for outdoor/indoor cats that live rurally or on/near a main suburban road. This causes the collar to have a flash-like quality night when light from cars is shone onto it, allowing drivers to be able to safely stop or manoeuvre their vehicle out of the way of your cat.
Sizing:
With regards to size, we stock adult and kitten sized collars. Kitten size is for kittens and smaller cats with necks sized up to 17cm in diameter, and cat size is for cats with necks from 17cm in diameter.
It is important to purchase the right size, as this will reduce the risk of your cat being able to slip the collar off themselves, or cause injury because they get their paw or leg stuck underneath.
Colour/Pattern:
As for colour and pattern, this is really a personal choice, and we have choices galore! We stock over 145 colours and patterns, and all of them can be fashioned into kitten collars by our expert team of chinchillas (we pay them generously with love and hugs).
Choosing the right tag:
There are many different options when it comes to tags and you will find that cats can use a tag as an advantage to help remove the collar they are wearing.
If this is the issue in your case then stick to our 25mm tags (found here) which have no pointing or sharp sides which means less chance of snagging or getting caught allowing an easy release for your kitty.
We also have a new tag called the Collar ID. This tag attaches to any of our cat collars without the traditional hanging down you get from standard tags which means no chance of getting caught, making sound or getting food on them. They're also stainless for long life. Check them out here.
Introducing the collar to your feline friend:
We recommend you choose a time to introduce the collar when your cat or kitten is happy and calm. You could try allowing them to sniff and play with the collar before putting it on, or you can try scent transferring their own scent from their sleeping place onto the collar to make the process more comfortable
After your cat has had time to sniff, play, and investigate, we recommend the following steps:
- Attach the collar around your cats neck.
- Make sure it is properly fitting – please see the image below for our recommendation:
We allow one finger-width under the collar. This gives a snug fit without it being too tight; it will stay around their neck without them being able to slip (or even bite/chew) it off, but allows for the breakaway safety clasp to do its job in the event of them being caught in a choking situation. Cat collars and tags should never hang loose or as medallions; they should always be tight to the neck with the one finger gap, this also ensures the collar is less likely to be hooked by your kitty when scratching or grooming preventing a short life of the collar.
- Allow your cat to get used to the collar for a few minutes before taking it off.
- Repeat as necessary until they are comfortable. This may involve removing the bell and tag, so they get used to the collar without the extra noises occurring under their chin.
- We encourage positive reinforcements for this process – treats and pats and chin scratches go down well.
Purr. Meow. Woof. is your one stop shop for Cat and Kitten collars & a huge range of Laser Engraved Pet ID Tags all made and sent from Christchurch NZ.
Want to know if you require a cat or kitten size? See more here
If you have any further questions please leave a comment here or email hello@pmw.nz, we are only to happy to help you and your purr friend