Cat collars with bells

I rescued a litter of kittens last December. We ended up keeping three! They
are about 10 months old now and have brought home a few birds and a mouse. We
decided to get them collars to distract the birds. Do they work? Our biggest
fear is that they are indoor/outdoor cats and the bell might allert neighbor
dogs as well. Is there any proof to either?

"vegasredhot" u27042@uwe wrote in message news:66be1218bdcdb@uwe...
I rescued a litter of kittens last December. We ended up keeping three!
They
are about 10 months old now and have brought home a few birds and a mouse.
We
decided to get them collars to distract the birds. Do they work? Our
biggest
fear is that they are indoor/outdoor cats and the bell might allert
neighbor
dogs as well. Is there any proof to either?


I have found cats hung by their own collars, dead on fences.

I have found cats hung by their own collars, dead on fences.


Even the break away type?

"vegasredhot" u27042@uwe wrote in message news:66be1218bdcdb@uwe...
I rescued a litter of kittens last December. We ended up keeping three!
They
are about 10 months old now and have brought home a few birds and a mouse.
We
decided to get them collars to distract the birds. Do they work? Our
biggest
fear is that they are indoor/outdoor cats and the bell might allert
neighbor
dogs as well. Is there any proof to either?


Do not put collars on your cats. They frequently become entangled -- some
have strangled on the collars. I would not even trust the breakaway
collars. Moreover, cats learn to walk carefully so that the bells soon are
not effective.

I don't want to stir up a hornet's nest here, but my recommendation is to
keep your cats indoors (especially if you live in the US). Your cats will
be much safer, and they will be equally as happy if you provide cat trees,
scratching posts, and plenty of toys.

MaryL

"vegasredhot" u27042@uwe wrote in message news:66be4cd9b8117@uwe...
I have found cats hung by their own collars, dead on fences.


Even the break away type?


No idea what type they were. I do know that if you allow your cat
to roam, you are lucky if he comes home at all, let alone with birds
or mice. If you love your cat, keep him in.

"vegasredhot" u27042@uwe wrote in message news:66be1218bdcdb@uwe...
I rescued a litter of kittens last December. We ended up keeping three!
They
are about 10 months old now and have brought home a few birds and a mouse.
We
decided to get them collars to distract the birds. Do they work? Our
biggest
fear is that they are indoor/outdoor cats and the bell might allert
neighbor
dogs as well. Is there any proof to either?


They don't work at all, it's an urban myth. Cat collars are basically an
un-necesary health risk to the cat which are ultimately promoted because
they make your cat look 'cute'. My 3 are in/outdoor cats and do what is
natural to them & hunt little things which they bring back home (Teal'c has
recently found a nest of frogs which he is slowly depleting). Anyone who
doesn't like this should buy a vegetarian pet rather than hinder their
'loved' one's natural instincts.
--

Niel H

On Sat, 23 Sep 2006 23:47:11 GMT, vegasredhot u27042@uwe wrote:


I have found cats hung by their own collars, dead on fences.


Even the break away type?

I've never seen a "break away" type stay on a cat for a whole day.

They really do become adept at learning how to walk and not ring those
bells. Those bells aren't effective for that long at all.

vegasredhot u27042@uwe wrote in message news:66be1218bdcdb@uwe...
[kitten in collars]
Do they work? Our biggest fear is that they are
indoor/outdoor cats and the bell might allert neighbor
dogs as well. Is there any proof to either?

The kittens will stay away from your neighbors' dogs. The smells
from the dogs marking each territory will trigger this.

I've used breakaway belled collars for the last fourteen years on
both my tabbies. Neither has hung himself nor has the bell alerted
any animals. (No collars or cats have been found hanging from any
fences in my neighborhood, either.) The bells do give each of my
tabbies something to gnaw upon, though... They love attacking the
bells on each other's collar -- even at fourteen yo.

The bells will alert you to when they climb counters for that
early-ay-yem pat of butter or explore the top shelf of your china
cabinet, though...

The Ranger

StephanieM wrote:
They really do become adept at learning how to walk and not ring those
bells. Those bells aren't effective for that long at all.

I read a study done in Australia, where many cats are indoor/outdoor
cats. The study found that belled cats brought home just as much prey
as did cats without bells. Conclusion was that either birds and mice do
not associate the ringing of a bell to mean a predator is about to jump
on them, or that the cats quickly learned how to leap on prey without
ringing the bells.
-yngver