[stu]

Hello.

As we let our three cats (all 13-year-old sisters) outside for the first time a few days ago, my wife and I decided to put their collars on (with ID etc).

Two of our three girls were fine, but Gemma (supposedly the "boss" of the three) really kicked up a fuss. She fidgeted and fussed and we eventually got the collar onto her. I checked all three, and none of the collars were on too tightly, so no problems there.

However, in our notes that the previous owner left for us, it turns out that all three used to wear flea collars, which I am not a big fan of, because I understand that they can cause irritation on the cat's skin/fur. Indeed, all three have slightly balding patches round their neck where you can tell their collars used to be.

The problem is that Gemma is now very grumpy, and sometimes when we try to stroke her, she backs off and disappears. At other times, when she is on the sofa, she lets us pet her, but more often than not, she runs off and hides in the same places she did when she first arrived. She had been so soppy before, and would always visit us for a cuddle...

Will she calm down in a few days, once she's got used to the collar? Or has 13 years of wearing a flea collar traumatised her? Hope you can help. :?

 

[LilMizTinker]

Why dont you think about getting the vet to put a microchip in?

 

[kittygirl04]

My cats never go outside--so I don't put a collar on them. To me it looks very uncomfortable. The fur under the collar gets mushed down--and it probably feels like when us girls wear ponytails for long periods of time--when you take them out--it feels so good but also kinda hurts at the same time! I know that my cats are afraid to go out, so I don't want them to be uncomfortable with a collar on.

 

[stu]

All three have been microchipped, but the collars have a little tag on them to say that the cats have been chipped, so if they get lost, hopefully some kind soul will take them to the vet to be scanned.

The one thing I have noticed on this forum is that the British are keen for their cats to go outside, whereas Americans tend to keep theirs indoors.

The thing that my wife (and myself, albeit to a lesser degree) loves about cats is that they can come and go as they please and are independent. I think they would only go outside if they wanted to, and it has been proven that a cat's natural territory is normally the size of about 3-4 gardens (that's a small English garden I'm talking about).

However, the good news is that Gemma is now being very soppy towards us, and even woke us up this morning by jumping up on the bed and purring very loudly. So I think it was only a temporary grudge!