Cats are among the oldest feline companions. People have kept cats for many years, both as pets and to keep rodents away. Owning a cat can be a joy to most homeowners. However, managing and handling the feline friend can be challenging, especially for new owners.
One of the things you might find yourself contemplating is whether or not your cat should wear a collar. Cat collars have become a thing over the last few years, although they’re not as popular as dog collars.
Despite its popularity, there are no rules that mandate your feline friend to wear a collar. The decision always comes to a personal choice. However, it’s important to understand that choosing a cat collar can be challenging, especially when it’s your first cat. Choosing the wrong cat collars may harm the cat and increase your monthly medical bills.
The following blog outlines what you need to know about cat collars. You’ll learn what to look for when choosing a cat collar, as well as the risks involved. Keep reading to learn more.
How To Choose A Cat Collar
As mentioned above, choosing a cat collar can be overwhelming, especially if it’s your first time owning a cat. Consider the following tips to simplify the process of choosing the right cat collar. They are as follows:
Easy Release Cat Collars
The main problem with breakaway collars is your cat can become irritated by them, which means they try to take them off when they’re not trapped, leading to lots of lost collars. Supakit easy-release cat collars are made from natural materials that your cat will love, meaning they won’t remove them on purpose, so you’ll end up with less lost collars.
‘Cat Collar from Supakit.co’
Its Purpose
This is one of the things you should look out for when choosing a cat collar. Each type of collar will serve a different purpose, including:
Identification Purposes
These collars help the owner track their cat if it goes missing. A tag with the owner’s information will be attached to the collar. Hence, it’ll be easier to communicate with you if someone comes across the cat. When using identification collars, it’s important to constantly update the information to ensure the tag has your current place of residence, contact information, and more.
Protect Wildlife
This is another purpose of cat collars. As cat owners, you may want to limit the quantity of wildlife your cat takes home. Although a cat collar will not entirely prevent this, it can play a huge role in reducing the number of hunted animals.
A cat wearing a collar with dangling items and bells has the potential to catch and kill smaller prey animals. Hence, your cat is less likely to eat wild birds and other small animals. Attaching dangling items to collars, on the other hand, can result in them becoming trapped, causing discomfort and injuries.
Parasite Protection,
This is another factor to consider before choosing a cat collar. You can purchase a collar containing chemicals such as permethrin to protect your cat against parasites and fleas. However, some of the chemicals might harm the cat. For this reason, it’s important to visit your local vet to develop an insight into alternative parasite prevention measures.
Collar Fit
This is another feature to look for in a cat collar. Most cat owners might think any size of collar might be ideal. However, this isn’t true, and it’s your responsibility to ensure your cat is comfortable. For this reason, take your time to consider the length and size of the collar. Getting a tight collar with a strong fastener could make it hard for the cat to breathe, which may lead to extreme health conditions.
A loose fit might also affect the effectiveness of the cat collar. As you might know, cats have the natural tendency to wander around, whether or not you can keep an eye on them. Hence, a cat with a loose fit might lose the collar or get trapped in the wild. However, you can attach a tracker to your collar, making it easier to find when it’s misplaced.
Collar Material
Collars can be made from several materials. Each of the materials might have a different level of comfort, which could affect their effectiveness. Additionally, it’s important to ensure the materials used are breathable and non-allergic to the cat. Also, it’s crucial to ensure the materials used are easy to clean, saving your cat from unhygienic issues such as pest infestation.
For many years, cat owners have used nylon collars because they’re easy to clean and breathable. Others might opt to purchase leather collars. Although they might look fancy, these leather collars are costly to maintain. Other materials you might consider include microfiber, polyester, cotton, and mesh.
It’s advisable, however, to ask for their certifications before you can purchase the collar. This will guarantee you get a product made from organic or eco-friendly materials, saving your cat and the environment from harmful and chemically-infused materials.
Are There Problems With Cat Collars
Although the collars might benefit your cat, there are several drawbacks a cat parent should consider. They include:
Safety Issues
As mentioned above, a cat collar might get stuck on objects. As the cat tries to break free, it might get injured, forcing you to seek costly medical attention. However, you can prevent this by getting a cat collar with a breakaway mechanism to make it easier to break free when trapped. Additionally, it’s important to choose the right collar fit for your cat.
It may Make A Cat Uncomfortable
This is another issue with cat collars. If a cat is unfamiliar with collars or doesn’t like them, it can get its mouth or paw stuck while trying to remove them. If it’s an indoor cat, you can easily help out, but for an outdoor friend, it can lead to accidents.
However, you can avoid this by properly training your cat to accept and wear a collar. Additionally, it’s important to take your time to learn the cat’s body language and avoid uncomfortable situations.
Wrapping Up
As mentioned above, humans have kept cats for many years. However, owning a cat can be a challenge, especially as a new owner, and you might find yourself contemplating whether or not it should wear a collar. If you want your cat to wear a collar, do your extensive research thoroughly to ensure you get the right one.
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