The dangers of cat collars
We, as cat parents, are always on the lookout for safe and useful products to make our little one happy and our lives easier. One of the most common questions we ask ourselves is: What is the best cat collar?
The most important thing about collars is to be certain of what collars NOT to get. There are serious dangers related to cat collars: Whether they don't properly fit or their features do more harm than good, some collars impose a real threat to our cat's life.
One of the most common mistakes, which can happen with all collars below, is not to add an identifier on the collar. Most cats are explorers and free spirits, and if they get lost and a good Samaritan finds them, there will be no contact number to return our little ones home.
Buckle collar
This is the go-to choice for most cat owners, and the problems begin when the collar is not properly fit. When you put the collar on your cat, you have to make sure to fit JUST ONE TO TWO fingers comfortably between the collar and the neck, any more than that and your cat will get her jaw stuck on her collar while grooming or worse, be too tight and choke her. Also, she might get stuck while playing or exploring, resulting in long term damage in many cases.
Elastic collars
There are collars that are just an elastic piece with a bell, thus we stretch it and put it on our cat. It suits him like a glove and we simply leave him be.
The elastic collar looks fine until that dreadful moment when our cat starts grooming:
His tongue stretches the collar and gets stuck on his jaw!
If we are fortunate enough to be there when this happens, we proceed to fix the issue and calm our hearts down due to the huge scare we've been through. But, what if he was alone at home? Nobody could have helped him and we would have got home to find our poor kitty struggling to free himself from the collar, which could have caused a permanent damage on his jaw, if not worse.
Buckle collar with safety elastic
These collars were created with the sole purpose of allowing our cats to free themselves when they get stuck while playing or exploring.
Unfortunately, the elastic in the collar sometimes allow cats to get their front leg through it, causing severe damage.
This is Phoebe, a domestic short-haired tabby cat that got her front leg stuck in the collar for TWO WEEKS until a good Samaritan lured her with food and took her to the Wood Green Animal Shelter in North London, where veterinary surgeons removed the collar. She was taken care of and fully recovered from her injury. When recovered, she was given in adoption, since her owners didn't show up and there was no name tag in her collar, nor was she microchipped.
The best cat collar
The best collar option for cats is a quick release collar, which has all the features to keep our cat safe: First of all, it must have a name tag with our phone number or a way to communicate with us in case our little one gets lost. Second, it doesn't have elastic properties that might get our cat in even worse situations. Third, it has a quick release mechanism that snaps open when our cat gets stuck to set him free and can be opened with a quick press if we find our little one in trouble at home.
To keep your cat safe, use this 50% OFF code "SAFECAT" on these adorable quick release necklaces (sparkly, plane). This is an exclusive offer and can only be claimed with us. Limited to 100 users.