I posted a sad little poster on Saturday asking if anyone had seen a young black cat with a red collar anywhere around our village. You might think it was good to have this distinguishing feature on the little guy. After all, there are oodles of black cats, but how many sport a brightly colored leather accessory? However, if the cat is not inside the house ALL the time, a collar can be lethal. It can get caught on bushes and branches-not always letting the animal go easily. I myself almost lost my Abyssinian, Missy, permanently when she got her front foot caught in her collar--don't ask.....Back in the day, we used to put flea collars on all our cats and let them out. it took her five days to get back to the house. It is no longer necessary to do such a thing since all vets recommend the drops which are placed on the back of the neck and work very well to rid the cat of fleas and ticks. I hope there are few of these posters this Spring as we all are very much aware of the large coyote population in our area. It's tempting to let our animals out for "fresh air", but I think we need to be thinking in terms of a little gazebo or screened in area to keep them safe and sound.
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While my daughter was in college, her cats lived with me. Once of them, wearing a flea collar, escaped. About three months later, she returned with the collar around her neck and one front leg, so it had been chafing in her armpit, obviously for a long time. She must have gotten it caught on something and tried desperately to get out, finally succeeding but in great pain, dehydrated, and starving. I felt awful, and took her immediately to a vet, who wanted to put her down. Instead, I asked for medication and took her home. I gav her the pills, and washed her raw wound daily with hydrogen peroxide (following the vet's advice). She recovered completely, thank God, and eventually went back to my daughter. So I agree: no collars on cats if they go out by themselves...
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