Cat expert shares three reasons you shouldn’t put a collar on your pet

Many cat owners choose to collar their pet – it can be a useful tool if they’re lost and beneficial to wildlife via an attached bell, warning prey they’re close by.

However, a cat behavioural expert has advised against the idea, outlining three reasons she avoids doing so. Amanda Campion, who has 30 years of experience in caring for our feline friends, took to TikTok to share her important advice.

“I’ve got three reasons why colalring your cat may not be a good idea,” she began in a video. “It may be controversial and you may collar your cat already, but have you thought about why?”

Outdated

In her first point, Amanda expressed her belief that collars have become “outdated” and are no longer required. “There’s no need to collar your cat – you should be microchipping them instead because that is the law,” she explained.

She added that generally today, if your cat gets lost it’s finder will take it to a vet or rescue centre who can identify it’s owner simply by scanning the chip. “Let’s face it, cats can lose collars anyway and then there would be no way of identifying who they belong to [without a chip].”

Hazardous

Next, Amanda warned of the health risk collars pose cats. “I know of cats that have been strangled and been caught on branches and trees by a collar that has been poorly-fitted or hasn’t had a safety release,” she revealed.

Bells

Whilst we’ve already touched on the benefits of the bell, Amanda there is a downside for the cat itself. “It’s aversive to a cat’s sensitive hearing,” she explained. “You might say, ‘But what about the wildlife?’ and I understand the cause of predation and the reason you may be concerned about prey species.”

However, Amanda points out that if that’s the case and your cat likes to venture outdoors, you can always put an “Elizabethan ruffle collar” on it, which she describes as “really high coloured” and will help alert the prey to the cat’s presence.

Agreeing with the advice, one cat owner penned in response: “My cat’s an indoor but would never collar, he’s microchipped, I dread to imagine what could happen if he got caught on something.”

A second person warned: “I put a collar on my four month old, he got it trapped in his mouth despite it being tight enough. I found him lying still, eyes wide open and he’d soiled himself. Thankfully he came round, never again.”

A third TikTok user shared their stance: “I put collars on mine when I let them out. Their names and my number is on them. Indoors they are collar-free. They are quick-release collars. Both were chipped at the same time of neutering/spaying.”

Whilst a fourth shared their bad experience: “One of mine came limping down the garden path, he’d got his claw stuck in the bell. I don’t collar anymore, I’ve now got a real snugglepuss and she’s far more nice to snuggle up to collar-free.”

According to vet charity PDSA, using a collar might not be the best way to protect your pet. They don’t legally need to wear them, and the wrong kind of collar can cause problems – including rubbing against their skin of getting them stuck.