Cat wearing a collar - how long did it take for them to get used to wearing one?

[Anonymous]

I'm trying to get my cat to get used to wearing a collar. I don't think she's allergic, but keeps scratching at it with her feet to try and get it off. She does this every few minutes. Right now I'm having her wear it for a few hours at a time, and rewarding her when she's wearing it (treats, massages, etc).

Is it pointless? Or will she get used to it, and stop the scratching with her foot?

[Anonymous]

How old is the cat? She could get used to it but I gave up with my last cats. If she is an indoor cat and microchipped, she might not really need a collar.

[Anonymous]

Mine never got used to it and he had no problem getting it off no matter what we used (he has a small, sleek head and is very adept at pulling it off with his back legs). So I gave up.

But if this is helpful: I have put a harness on my cat sometimes for vet visits, which can be helpful for managing him in the exam room, as he is big and hates the vet and will attempt to run any chance he gets. A dog harness fits him perfectly (not even the smallest one -- he's a beefy cat) and while he doesn't love it, he can't get it off and it it give me or the vet or tech the option of using it to keep in place for an exam or shot. So if your cat doesn't take to a collar, you might look into getting a harness for situations where you feel some kind of collar is necessary.

[Anonymous]

Mine hated her collar. I took it off a couple of years ago and the look on her face. She was so relieved I never put it back on (except once, for a flight when we moved coasts)

[Anonymous]

My 4 wear collars with bells and are used to it. I started them when they were kittens. I take their collars off at night and put them back on in the morning. However one of them is allergic. When she was a kitten I put a regular nylon one in her and she freaked and scratched herself until bloody. I switched to an all natural cotton one (from Pettsie on Amazon) and no problems since.

[Anonymous]

Ours always got used to their flea collars fairly quickly, although one of them had a bad allergic reaction that required immediate collar removal.

Part of the problem is that, especially for outdoor cats but not just for them, tight collars are very dangerous for cats, so you have to leave them loose enough for the cat to escape.

[Anonymous]

I’ve had a half dozen cats and none of them ever objected to having a collar on. Weird.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm trying to get my cat to get used to wearing a collar. I don't think she's allergic, but keeps scratching at it with her feet to try and get it off. She does this every few minutes. Right now I'm having her wear it for a few hours at a time, and rewarding her when she's wearing it (treats, massages, etc).

Is it pointless? Or will she get used to it, and stop the scratching with her foot?

Mine never did

[Anonymous]

NP here. This is not meant to be snarky but can someone explain why a cat needs a collar? I just got a new cat and I’m debating whether to put one on her. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

One cat didn’t mind. One cat it took awhile.
I was glad to have the cats collared (always on) because one cat was an escape artist…. Her collar allowed our neighbor to get her back to us!

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm trying to get my cat to get used to wearing a collar. I don't think she's allergic, but keeps scratching at it with her feet to try and get it off. She does this every few minutes. Right now I'm having her wear it for a few hours at a time, and rewarding her when she's wearing it (treats, massages, etc).

Is it pointless? Or will she get used to it, and stop the scratching with her foot?

Mine never did.

[Anonymous]

I tried putting a collar on my cat 4 or 5 times when we first got him. I'd put it on, he'd run off, and then he'd saunter back in 5 mins later with collar. We eventually gave up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I tried putting a collar on my cat 4 or 5 times when we first got him. I'd put it on, he'd run off, and then he'd saunter back in 5 mins later with collar. We eventually gave up.

*without*

[Anonymous]

We have three cats and two wear collars. We got them when they were about a year old and they tried to run out the front door from time to time when we brought them home. I'd say it took about a week for them to get used to them, but we didn't put them on and off, just buckled them and left 'em. They are the easy snap off kind to avoid choking so occasionally they do accidentally remove them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP here. This is not meant to be snarky but can someone explain why a cat needs a collar? I just got a new cat and I’m debating whether to put one on her. Thanks.

If it's an indoor cat who doesn't try to get out, I don't know why you'd make them wear a collar. I've never put collars on my cat. Especially now that we can just microchip them.