My cat, the nudist

Factual Questions
1

Per the thread title, this summer, my cat has decided that he must be skyclad.

I put a collar on him, with his tag and bell and stuff. A few days later, up to a couple of weeks, he comes sauntering into the house, the collar gone. I go buy a new one and have a new tag made. And a while later, that one’s gone too.

I’ve gone through several collars over the last couple of months. Actually, to be strictly accurate, a couple of them have gotten re-used; since the tag has my address on it, I’ll occasionally come home and find the collar on my porch, as some neighbor or other has discovered it in their yard and returned it.

Point is, the cat, for whatever reason, has resolved not to wear it for very long. It’s probably my imagination, but he even seems to have a bit of a swagger when he returns to the house collarless: “Look at me! I’m naked. Woo hoo!”

It’s not that the collar is too tight or constricting. I use the two-finger rule, and I talked to the vet about it to make sure. She shrugged; apparently when some cats discover the breakaway safety feature, they make up their minds to shed the collar at the earliest opportunity.

Anyone else have any experience with this, any explanation for the behavior, and any solutions for the problem? He’s microchipped, so I’m not worried about his being unidentifiable, but the collar is an added clue that he’s a people-cat, so I’d prefer, if possible, that he have one.

What’s the deal?
(Oh, and no hijacks about the irresponsibility of outdoor cats, please. We intended for him to be indoor only but when we came home one day and saw that he’d figured out how to pry open the kitchen window we gave up on what was obviously a lost cause. I’ve had these discussions already so I won’t respond to any attempts to sidetrack the thread.)

2

Our oldest cat is not fond of collars either. Every time we’ve put one on her it has ended up in her litter box a few hours later. I told Mrs Geek that she’s expressing her opinion about the collar (it’s as worthless as poo!). She’s an indoor cat, so it’s not such a big deal for her to go without a collar.

I don’t have an explanation or a solution for you, sorry. We just gave up trying to keep a collar on her.

3

Your cat is smarter than you.
(Contrary to popular opinion, cats do not go “meow.”
Cats say, “MeNow, MeNow.”)

4

he’s trading the collars for 'nip on the streets

btw - don’t you know, when you start a cat thread you MUST post pictures?

5

heh. We took the collar off our pug last night for her “shearing” (actually just a good brushing, but an adult pug can produce so much hair that it looks like we’ve just sheared a sheep). She gets very excited when we take her collar off, and she looks so funny running around “naked.” When time comes to put the collar back on, she again gets very excited, sniffing it and wagging and running in little circles. Such a silly pugbeast.

6

Is it just neck collars you’ve been using? If so, try looking at other models. H-collars and figure-8 collars fit under both the neck and the forelimbs, so they’re harder to slip out of. (They’re not impossible to slip out of, though, especially if they’re safety collars, which is good in case the collar snags on something and the animal needs to get free.)

7

Cats hate collars. I have never been able to keep a collar on any of the cats I’ve taken care of. If he is microchipped I wouldn’t worry about a collar since anyone who would do him harm is going to do it no matter what. (Sorry to be bleak, but that’s what I think.)

Also, pictures, yes.

8

We used to have a cat that was pretty wild when we got her, and never was a very affectionate cat except when she was hungry and nipped you on the ankle.

When we first got her we once put a collar on her and she went apeshit crazy, jumping and rolling around all over the place and growling. So we took the collar off and didn’t try that again.

9

Mine won’t wear collars. If I put one on them, the do the “rolling around on the floor scratching frantically at their neck I’m choking” bit. I use a harness if one is going outside with me.

10

I second Will Repair’s comments. You have no chance, he’s already outwitted you at every opportunity.

11

Our girls love their collars. They had them since we got them, and they have saved my life more than once. Well, the little bells on them have. The only bit of trouble we had was when we got them new collars for Christmas. Havoc apparantly didn’t like the new color, so she got rid of it in the middle of the night. We woke up to find her collarless, with the old one laying beside her. We bowed to the inevitable and she wears it to this day.

12

I vote harness, too. Small dog harness, if possible. Mine can get out of hers only when it is attached to a leash and she faces me, shrugs, and backs away. If there isn’t a leash, it stays on.

13

sidetrack: how often do you brush them and produce that much hair?

14

My cats hate collars too. They’ll remove them- what’s worse, soemtiems in their struggle to remove them, they’ll hurt themselves- like jam their lower jaw under the collar as they try and chew it. Don’t put collars on cats, is my solution. Have them Microchipped.

15

I have a specific brand of cat collar that I like a lot: Beastie Bands. They are very lightweight and made of soft, stretchy foam, closed with velcro, so if they ever get hung on something they should be easier getting out of. On the downside, they are easier for kitty to get off and lose, and they are hard to find. You have to look up your nearest retailer on their website.

16

If the boy is being that bad, you should go ahead and directly register the chip with the company.

When we had it put in we assumed that the collar would stay on and that the chip would be a backup. So right now (if you haven’t changed it) any attempt at identification would go through the vet. That could be a problem nights/weekends.

If the chip is his primary ID, it’s probably best if they can reach you directly. Or me as a secondary contact - my cell phone stays on.

17

Oh - and here’s a picture of the fuzzy black land shark:

http://students.washington.edu/kvan/

(please, no comments on the very, very weak web site …)

18

Phah! That ain’t* nothin’!* My eldest dog Bean sheds in copious amounts year-round. Every time I brushed her, I got enough hair to warmly encase another dog. I use the vaccum cleaner hose on her now, and every time I do it, I have to empty the canister afterwards. (Her skin is perfectly healthy and she eats a great diet. She just has a super-thick coat and has to shed it year-round. She’s part Norweigian Elkhound.)

Whenever she shakes, white hair floats through the air like snow and some wise-ass will suggest that I should brush her to get rid of it and give me a skeptical look if I say I just did it. She sometimes leaves “drifts” in her wake, and under every piece of furniture I own, you will find an impressively large tumbleweed-like “Bean bunny.”

Oh, God, if only I could find a commercial use for that stuff! (Insulation for low-income housing, perhaps? Filler for cheap souvineer plush toys?) We’d be as rich as astronauts!

19

I once saw a book on how to learn to spin yarn from pet hair. I wish I had bought it - with 8 cats I could have a thriving industry! Every time I bring out the brush I am rewarded with enough hair to crochet another cat!

20

Well here’s your chance. The thought of knitting something from pet hair really disgusts me for some reason, although I have no problem owning and petting my dog.