Warning: cats & collars - Pet forum for dogs cats and humans

t.pettet · #1 June 14th, 2007, 09:44 PM

This a.m. saw a small black cat hobbling along at the end of my garden. She'd walk a few feet, sit down and this continued till she was out of sight, maybe 20 yards. Anyway, went out and called 'kitty, kitty' and over she hobbles. I thought she had a broken leg until I picked her up and there was this tight black collar that she had managed to get her left leg through so that her head and neck was pulled down to her left shoulder. She's very young (under a year I think) very tiny with enormous green eyes. The fur was rubbed off around her neck and under her left leg so it looks like she's been in this predicament for awhile. She ate 2 bowls of canned food, drank water until I thought she'd blow up and went fast asleep on my bed. She's obviously been raised with dogs, put up her tail and purred around them. What a sweetie. If I find her owners they are in for a lecture and ahalf.

SableCollie · #2 June 14th, 2007, 09:49 PM

Yes, you have to be very careful of that! We had a cat that ended up with a gaping wound in him armpit because he got his leg slipped through his collar as a kitten, and the owner just left it like that, and as he grew the collar cut into his skin! Unfortunately this happens a lot with the collars with elastic in them, which is supposed to be a safety feature...the collars with breakaway buckles are probably safer, and of course making sure the collar is not too loose helps!

So if the owners don't claim her, are you going to keep her?

t.pettet · #3 June 14th, 2007, 10:05 PM

I called AC, the humane society and asked around the neighbourhood so hopefully will find her owners but if not I will probably adopt her. Nothing seems to faize her, not even 4 small dogs all trying to lick her fact at once!

hazelrunpack · #4 June 14th, 2007, 10:14 PM

She sounds like a little Honey, t.pettet.

I don't suppose we could twist your arm to post of pic of her with her pals the dogs, could we?

t.pettet · #5 June 14th, 2007, 10:17 PM

Sorry, never did get a digital.

hazelrunpack · #6 June 14th, 2007, 10:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by t.pettet

Sorry, never did get a digital.

Me, neither... Got me a 35mm and a scanner

And a week's delay on the processing! sigh...

krdahmer · #7 June 14th, 2007, 10:27 PM

OH that is so sad.... poor baby, good thing you were there! A lot of people are uneducated when it comes to their pets, I too made that mistake. With Windy, we had gotten her a flea collar when she was about 5 months old and I came home from work one day to find her sitting by the door drooling and frantic with the collar caught in her mouth ( she could have been that way for hours!

). The sides of her mouth took a few days to get better and I have never felt like such an ass. :sad: Well I learned my lesson, my cats only wear the safety break away kind of collar now and same for the harnesses, I get the ones that snap under a certain amount of pressure. I really hope it was just a case of her owners not knowing better. I assume the collar did not have tags then? (really don't get the point of making a cat wear one without the tag...)
Hope it all turns out well for you and kitty.

rainbow · #8 June 15th, 2007, 12:49 AM

Sure glad you were able to rescue her from her predicament.

clm · #9 June 15th, 2007, 05:32 AM

I don't like to see a collar on any cat. There's no need for them and they're dangerous if the cat gets it snagged on a branch in a tree too.

Cindy

chico2 · #10 June 15th, 2007, 07:19 AM

Thank's for rescuing this little girl and I hope she stays with you

My cats have breakaway collars with id-tags,but only when they are outside with us,always supervised.
The collars come off inside.
The same could be said for little dogs left alone in backyards.
A couple of years back I heard my neighbors Cocker(Bailey)whining in her yard and she was stuck with a branch in her collar,the owners were working and I shudder to think what could have happened to her,stuck in the hot sun all day,had we not noticed.

krdahmer · #11 June 15th, 2007, 08:14 AM

My cats wear their collars 24/7.... in case of emergency, fire/etc. The breakaway collars just snap open if they get caught on something or get their feet in them. I find them around the house sometimes, proving that they work well. I don't see the problem there, and collars and tags are very important, they tell others your pet has a home and how to contact that home should they be found or God forbid hurt. IMO they should actually be the law just like for dogs, especially for outdoor cats.

t.pettet · #12 June 15th, 2007, 09:32 PM

Miss Kitty is in heat, persistently shoving her butt at the dogs, crying and desperately wants to get back outside. Am going to take her in the car and ask as many neighbourhood kids that I can if anyone recognizes her and then post found cat notices up all over the place. Somebody owns this little girl! although they don't seem to be actively looking for her.

CyberKitten · #13 June 15th, 2007, 09:43 PM

I too have breakaway collars that are off prob more than on but the cats are used to them and I and the cat sitter watch them carefully so there is little chance of a problem but still, I always worry - I worry about everything when it comes to my babies!! They do go outside on a leash set (trying to think of the right name but it has been a looooooooong day!) - but they do not care for the outdoors that much anyway. They sometimes do not mind their stroller if they have a blanket - esp the spyhnx cats - YY is the adventurous ones who climbs trees and likes the beach, lol (I don;t thin kBeau is too fond of trees - I helped him on a very low branch once and he looked at me and the camera (Recall the pict?) as if to say "You want me to what?" So that is it for him and treees unless he follows YY which I doubt.

chico2 · #14 June 16th, 2007, 07:06 AM

TPettet,sorry to hear kitty is in heat,but I hope you'll be able t keep her inside

The owners,did not care enough to have her spayed,so I doubt you'll hear from anybody.:sad:
I know what I would do

,having her spayed and keeping her,but I don't suppose that's to be encouraged

clm · #15 June 16th, 2007, 03:10 PM

I must be a bad person too Chico2, cause that's what I would be doing.

Cindy

CyberKitten · #16 June 16th, 2007, 05:03 PM

Oh dear!! I hope you find her people - I wonder if they are searching too! Did you call any vets offices to see if they know of anyone missing a pet or check the pages for lost pets? It is worrisome if she is pregnant though - makes one wonder if they left her somewhere, Gawd!!! I hope it'll have a good outcome - tho to me, a good outcome would mean having her spayed asap!

Good luck!! And thank you for caring for her!

t.pettet · #17 June 17th, 2007, 09:53 PM

Miss Kitty is home. Got a call yesterday from her owners after they'd seen one of the found cat posters and they wanted to come over and get her but I said she was now with AC and I took their phone # called AC who came and got her and took her to her family. The reason I did this is because she has alot more clout than I do re: spaying, collar warning etc. and trying to educate these people. Apparently the kids (9 & 7) put this collar on her and the parents hadn't realized! They also thought she was too young to go into heat (she's 9 mos.) so were lectured and AC told them she would check back in 5 days to see that they've made a vet appointment, she also gave the kids a lesson on which type of cat collars are best etc. etc., what to do if any of their pets end up lost again. There are 2 German Shepherds at the residence that are in good shape and nice socialized dogs. Good ending and everyone is alot wiser about the proper care of cats.