Tagging Your Kitty

Nationally, only about 2% of all lost cats are ever reunited with their owners. 

A 1996 study found that the second most common reason people’s relationship with their pet ended was that the cat “disappeared and never came home”.

Cat lovers are notoriously resistant to putting collars on their cats. Some just get tired of replacing the ones their cats keep slipping off; other people are convinced their roaming darlings will get caught on a tree branch by their collars and hang themselves.

Both groups are taking chances with their pets' lives. Cat collars are inexpensive insurance against loss, and as for the danger of being collared, shelter officials sadly admit to putting down scores of obviously lost cats because they cannot match them to their owners -- but never to finding cat skeletons in trees.

It's all about the importance of playing the odds. If you let your cat roam, give him a ticket home with ID. Even if your cat won't make it home again because he's been hit by a car or other calamity -- an all-to-common end to roaming cats -- you'll at least have the peace of mind of knowing his fate. That kind of news is never welcome, but it's always better than being left wondering and waiting.

Cat collars are made of lightweight material and designed to "give" enough to let your cat wriggle free should the collar ever catch on something. Don't get a puppy collar by mistake: Dog collars are meant to prevent escapes, and cat collars are made to allow them. The fit should be snug, but not uncomfortably so.

Once you've got the right collar, order a tag. ID tags come in high-impact plastic in a variety of colors and shapes or in metal, also in many varieties, such as circles, cat's heads, reflectors and so on. Since cat tags are small, don't bother with putting your cat's name on it, since he won't answer anyway unless he feels like it. Instead, use the space for a couple of extra phone numbers so someone who finds your cat can locate you or a friend, neighbor or relative day or night. If you're concerned about dangling tags, look for those that attach flat to the collar.

Some communities require free-roaming cats to be licensed as a way to offset the costs of handling strays and to ensure compliance with local rabies-vaccination requirements. To find out if your community is one of these with licensing requirements for cats, call your local animal-control agency. In response to concern about dangling tags, some agencies issue tags that slip over collars, while a few offer the option of tiny ear tags.

Microchips are a form of ID that has come on strong in recent years, but they work best as a complement to tags, not a replacement for them. The microchip is permanent identification no bigger than a grain of rice, which your veterinarian imbeds under the skin over your pet's shoulder blades using a large needle. The chip, encased in a nonreactive glass casing, contains a unique identifying number that can be read by a scanner, kind of like those in the grocery store.

Remember, though, that most lost pets are found not by shelter staffers but by neighbors, and neighbors don't have microchip scanners in their collection of home appliances. Which is why although I highly recommend a microchip for permanent ID of your pet, I also advise you to be sure a collar and tag is on him at all times, too.

Cat Connection carries several tags to meet you and your cats needs. Engraved tags can be ordered or you can purchase Fastags to take home and make yourself-fun and easy!

Beastie Band Collar with Brass Slide On I.D. Tag are carried in our store!

Also, check out Buddy Tags or FasTags Pest ID's, which we also carry in our store!