Busting the Cat Collar Myth
A very exciting study focusing on collar use and cats has just been published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA). The study was conducted by some big hitters in the field—Dr. Linda Lord, Dr. Brenda Griffin, the ASPCA’s own Dr. Margaret Slater, and Dr. Julie Levy. I am so excited about this study because it debunks the belief that many pet owners hold that cats cannot wear—and can even be hurt by—collars. These concerns can limit guardians from placing collars—and therefore simple personalized ID tags—on their cats.
The objective of the study was to determine the percentage of pet cats who were still wearing collars and had functioning microchips 6 months after they were placed on the cats.
Three different collars were used for the study—plastic buckle collars, breakaway plastic buckle safety collars, and elastic stretch safety collars. A total of 558 cats (and 338 owners) participated in the study. Each cat was randomly assigned one of the 3 collars. The collar, a microchip tag, and a microchip were all applied to the cat at the start of the study. Guardians were contacted after 1 week, then 1 month, and then monthly until the study’s end (6 months after the intervention).
Here is where it gets wicked exciting! Of the 538 cats enrolled in the study, 391 (72.7%) wore their collars through the completion of the study. 72.7%! Wowza!
The style that had the fewest reports of loss, forelimbs caught in collar, and mouth caught in collar? The simple buckle collar. The authors explore other collar issues, too—and the buckle collar most often comes out the winner. This is really important information as we are ultimately aiming for collaring and tagging of all cats who leave shelters. By choosing the collar that is least likely to be troublesome, and least likely to be lost, we will be truly decreasing risk by helping to ensure that cats can be quickly identified and reunited with their owners.
The authors had surveyed the cat guardians at the time of intervention about their expectations of how well their cat would tolerate the collar, and then asked post-intervention about how well the cat was tolerating the collar. They found that 56.3% of the guardians reported that their cat’s tolerance of the collar exceeded their expectations, with only 8% reporting that their cat’s tolerance was worse than they expected. Think about the education opportunities we may have by simply putting the cat collar on the cats before they leave the shelter!
I have only touched the surface of this exciting research—I suggest you grab a copy and read it through. Tell me what you find most interesting and how you would use this research to help cats in your community.
Tags: cat collars, ID ME, ID tags, JAVMA, microchipping, research
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Che Green Says:
Excellent research, thank you for sharing! It’s encouraging that so many collars remained on the cats. The critical question is how to overcome the perception barrier that cats will not tolerate collars, which may require some more qualitative work with adopters and owner/guardians.
I’ll be sure to post this study to http://www.HumaneSpot.org soon. Thanks, Emily!
Best,
Che
Laura G Says:
The study is fabulous – I read it like a good book!
I wonder if there are shelters that are collaring their cats while they are in the shelter? Many shelters collar and tag dogs while they await adoption – I’d be interested to hear from shelters that do the same for cats.
Tricia Says:
I am curious, and I haven’t purchased the full text yet, but how many of these cats were indoor only and how many were indoor / outdoor? I ask because I took in a stray and put a collar on him as well as a tag and a microchip. He would come home without his collar about once a month or better. He has now been transitioned to an indoor only kitty (we moved and it isn’t safe for him in our new home to be outside) and he never loses his collar anymore.
Emily Weiss Says:
Tricia –
First, well worth it to purchase the full text as there is some great info in there! 26.4% of the cats in the study were reported as being outdoors at least some of the time. While individual cats may be more or less likely to lose their collars, certain collars are less likely to come off -
Margaret Slater Says:
We had many comments from owners about how surprised they were to find their cats did fine with the collar. A few people also commented that they just didn’t want to deal with their cats’ scratching at the collar and took it off. But most people had no trouble at all!
The initial few days were the most crucial to make sure the collar fit correctly and to adjust it as needed to prevent problems.
Teresa Edsall Says:
I put a collar on an outdoor cat and discovered the neighbor down the street was taking it off. I’m still a fan of the break away collar even after this study. There are still human issues like collars put on kittens and never taken off so there neck grows into it, collars put on too loose so the cat gets her mouth caught in it and can’t get it out. I’m a fan of collars. My cats are indoor/outdoor and they all have collars. The tag with our address and phone # says I’m not a stray so please don’t “rescue” me.