Maureen wrote: > It is not true that cats hang themselves from having a collar. I used to > volunteer with the humane society and it's a myth. Get a stretchy collar and > a name tag and for God's sake keep the cat in a safe place until you find out > who did it.
Sorry, but I beg to differ on this one, and I'm speaking from personal experience. Maybe a cat can't hang themselves, but collars can be dangerous. Several years ago, I had put a flea collar on my cat, which I'd done since he was old enough to wear one. It was designed with a "quick release" clasp, in case of trouble, and also had elastic on part of the band, so it would stretch over his head. One night my cat hadn't appeared since the morning, which was most unusual for him. At around 10pm, he came in, looking like he was choking, and covered in dried mud. He'd obviously got the collar caught on something inside a drain, and had been stuck there, probably most of the day. Not only had the elastic on the collar not stretched enough, but the "quick release" clasp hadn't released either. Sam had managed to get the collar up over his chin from underneath, but it had gotten stuck on his canines, and in the process of getting loose from wherever he'd been trapped, he'd managed to tear open both sides of his mouth. Luckily no permanent damage was done. It took three baths to get rid of the mud, and we took a trip to the vet first thing next morning for some antibiotics (and to get his mouth checked - luckily it didn't need stitches). He recovered in a week or two. But I will NEVER put a collar on him again, and advise everyone I know against them as well - which is the main reason I'm sending this to the list (although Joni is a cat person, so I know she wouldn't mind)! Hell ___________________________________ "To have great poets, there must be great audiences too." - Walt Whitman Hell's Home Page - NEW & IMPROVED! http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~hell/index.html
