Cat Size Survey

[CurlyCatz]

you should post some pics or examples sax , we'd love to see them on here even if its perhaps not quite to do with your research 

[saxamania]

thank you lynn and thanks for trying bobsmum. i need the measurement so you can still get 2 fingers behind it as if you were fitting a collar. if your cat already has a collar on you can just measure the circumference of this.

Hopefully my design will meet all requirements. I have lived with cats all my life and since i am an artist too i know every inch of a cats body because i sculpt them.

[CurlyCatz]

Hey sax for what its worth i have the following

1 @ 28cm (around 10 years old)
1 @ 25cm (around 13/14 years old)
1 @ 23cm (20 mnths old)

All the above measurements were taken for good collar fits.

You never know sax maybe you will come up with some new design that meets all requirements, well done on you for trying and i wish you well, if no one ever tried new things we would still be in the dark ages  .

SpecialRed i got to add that having grown up on a farm with many cats, worked along side vets since the age of 15 I can honestly say i never saw a cat collar injury, i did know of a couple to jar their mouths and come in "lodged" but that was it.  However having been a member of here and catchat before hand for over 1 1/2 year now i have seen and heard of a handful of serious terrible injurys & limb amputations and we've viewed the horrendous photos.  I did not realise myself how serious this was but i always say it doesnt matter how much you know you never stop learning and through being a member i can say i'd never put a normal elasticated collar on a cat again and would advise against them.  Of course I always made everyone aware of dog type collars where there was no give at all but the elastic ones can be just as dangerous.  I probably wouldnt like the idea of my cats going out without a collar so would go down the reflective kittysafe click lock route if they were outdoors.

[Ralph's mum (angie)]

Tried sorry, but i think he thought i was mad and bopped then bit me , try again after dont want to freak him

[Ela]

Sorry your thread has been hijacked, but as one who does not advocate collars I will pass on this. Cats Protection did a lot of research as to collar sizes and even a special one they had designed  that was supposed to be ultra safe caused problems and was withdrawn . They had it in  different sizes but soon realized that was not nearly enough. I would also expect there must be hundreds of different measurements down to a fraction of an inch.

Also i ask about the age of the cat because if they are under 1-2 years old the data will be inefficient since the cats are still growing.

I appreciate they are still growing and older cats sometimes loose weight but different breeds and even moggies vary enormously from birth almost so it would be impossible to get the correct size collar for every cat. You would need loads of different sizes for a perfect fit.

It will have thorough safety checks and have a safety clasp fitted so it would come off if the kitty got caught on anything of got its leg through it. The clasp will come apart when a certain pressure is exerted on it.

Unfortunately this would have been gone into by the manufacturers of the so called safety collar that are now available and many of them have not always realeased.

Sorry this is  not what you want to here.

[ccmacey]

Do you need the measurement close or loose around the neck?

I will try to post mine later   Do you need cats age aswell?

[Ralph's mum (angie)]

Just to warn you but many of us do not agree with cats in collars here, and even those who do would only ever use a quick release safety collar.

Im confused, who doesn't agree with cat collars??? A cat without a collar is a stray! Barry has a Diamond collar and he looks damn good in it!

Max has one as well but he looks like someone from the  village people when he wears it, so its not aloud 

[saxamania]

hey guys some sizes would be really useful. I need the sizes because having waterproof wires running through the length if the collar to distribute the weight evenly is making it very hard to make adjustable so it could only be adjustable a tiny bit so the collar would be manufactured in 3 or 4 different sizes. It will have thorough safety checks and have a safety clasp fitted so it would come off if the kitty got caught on anything of got its leg through it. The clasp will come apart when a certain pressure is exerted on it. The good thing would be if your cat lost it you can easily find it again with the tracking device.

The loc8tor is a good idea but its a radio transmitter I'm designing a gps data puller so it will give the location of the cat in realtime on a full colour map and would most probably have a range of over a few miles.

Also i ask about the age of the cat because if they are under 1-2 years old the data will be inefficient since the cats are still growing.

Please please please post some sizes i really need this for my research

[Ela]

quote]do believe that some people do go over-the-top on certain issues and try and push things on others.[/quote]

I don’t consider the advice  over the top, If you had to deal with the consequences of cats that have worn a collar and the suffering the cats have to endure I am sure you too would think we are giving sound advice. I understand perfectly why you have no idea.   I must also say that it  is   collars of all types and qualities that can and have caused the terrible injuries I have over the years dealt with. Yes even heavy (ish) diamond encrusted ones, well perhaps not diamonds, as then the collars would not have ended up in the dustbin. Then again covered in gung when the flesh has gone gangrenous perhaps it would.

[SpecialRed]

Im not getting personal Im answering posts and statements made by others, which is what Forums are for. Sh!tty collars made in china yes, but trust me under Barrys weight/strength it would definately snap I can assure you, so much so I can say I was suprised by how weak it was.

The person who told me to not advocate the wearing of them is also a hypocrite, as they have collars for there cats, so can you not see why I respond?? Its hard to voice an opinion on Purrs sometimes as the people are so varied, which I have found through experience. I do believe that some people do go over-the-top on certain issues and try and push things on others. If you dont want your cat to wear a collar dont.

What about the safety issue, my Black cat is impossible to see at night, but its collar has a reflective strip which makes him very noticable, surely thats a good thing.

For once Macey I agree with you!

[Ela]

For someone to tell me not to advocate the wearing of collars just annoys me.

All I can say is that until it happens to you personally  I hope it never does) or you work in rescue as many do on here it is impossible to imagine how you would feel when  cats with horrendous injuries come in that could so easily have been prevented. Even the so called safety collars do not always do what the should do. Sometimes we spend months nursing back a cat to health with terrible injuries due to a collar. I have no idea about percentages, all I know is they are needless injuries and could have been prevented.

Luckily his bling bling one is fine and in 18 months of owning this cat he has never lost his collar.

As you say Lucky. I am constantly told Oh! have have to buy another collar my cats has lost it again. People are always coming into our Charity shop asking for collars many mention I have to buy one almost every week. We don't actually sell collars and advise micro-chipping.

[ccmacey]

Hi i'm a design student and currently designing a cat tracking device i need to do a survey for my work. Could you all please take a piece of ribbon and measure the circumfrence of your cats neck and post the size in millimeters and the cats age please. I would be very greatful for your help.

many thanks

L.Watts

This is all this person has come on for and they are faced with this- everyone blooming bickering!

[Angiew]

SR elasticated collars are the ones that cause the problems as they don't always break and the elastic is usually enough to stretch the collar so the cat can get it caught in his jaw or under his arm.  Also have you not hear of cats being strangled by getting collars caught up in tree branches.

The only real safe ones are the buckles and even they should be tested to check they are not too stiff. The downside is that you do tend to loose them.

Please also try and not get too personal in your posts as I don't want this thread to decay into a flaming exercise. The people on here have a lot of experience with rescue and speak from experience.

Yes,  something to detect the chip would be brilliant but i was told this would not be practical as the chip would need to have a power source and they don't have , they are activated by the scanner at the moment. Even if a bettery small enough was invented that would last for life, I'm not sure if I'd want it implanted in any cat of mine.

[SpecialRed]

I know cats can injure themselves but knowing alot of people who own cats, I have never seen any injuries. As there are alot of people who obviously work in cat rescue centres then of course they are going to see more than there fair share, but what pecentages is it, I doubt its a massive problem. If it was then Im sure it would have been addressed and NO cats on this site would have them, but they do.

Barrys collar has an elastic bit which is held in by two small stiches and is the same make as his last one, which when It got tatty I decided to test it. Luckily his bling bling one is fine and in 18 months of owning this cat he has never lost his collar.

 But a safe collar is one that will come off easily so it's very possible that if the cat wanders off it will lose it's collar anyway.  

I dont agree, its no more likely than usual.

I can only suggest you speak to the people involved in rescue and the horrific collar injuries they have dealt with. Do a search and you find pictures from Paws Inn of exactly what can happen.

Like I said before, do we keep our cats inside just so they dont get run over??? You go speak to a paramedic and get him to show you pictures, but would you stop driving??? If you are going to say 'well by putting a collar on your increasing the chances of it happening' fair enough but by what percentage???. They are alot of dangers out there but Im not wrapping my cat in cotton wool and sacrificing his quality of life just because something may happen. For someone to tell me not to advocate the wearing of collars just annoys me. Can you tell!!

[Ela]

but then again some people just dont know about microchipping.

You are quite right but a start in the right direction is that thankfully more and more rescues are nowadays microchipping all kittens/cats before re-homing.

[ccmacey]

When I first put a collar on Ted he got it stuck round his jaw and it cut into his gums, I felt awful so it's been collars off since then.

I took Pippa (a stray) to the vets to be scanned, I would do this with any cat I thought was stray, but then again some people just dont know about microchipping.

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

My cats dont' wear collars but they are indoor cats.  I'm not keen on collars for a variety of reasons, but if my cats went outside they would probably wear a safety collar (break away type only) for id.  But a safe collar is one that will come off easily so it's very possible that if the cat wanders off it will lose it's collar anyway.  I prefer microchipping as a form of id.  Of course some people will not take what they think is a stray cat for scanning, but that's why I'd like to see vets scan all new pets brought to them.  

There's nothing wrong with wanting to avoid serious injuries and collars have been responsible for many an amputated leg, or worse.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

I can only suggest you speak to the people involved in rescue and the horrific collar injuries they have dealt with. Do a search and you find pictures from Paws Inn of exactly what can happen.

If Barry wears a safety collar, how many times has it quick released cos he has caught it on something or managed to get it off..................it must have cost you a fortune in diamonds!!

[SpecialRed]

I like this site but sometimes wonder how certain people on it get through daily life without having a breakdown. Saying dont put a collar on a cat as it might cause injury to it is like saying dont drive a car as they kill cats (probably more than collars). Barry is Microchipped but also has a collar. The main reason is to let someone know who he is etc if he ran away. Some people would not bother if the cat had no identity tag on it (as its sad to admit, there too busy with there lives), some people might decide to adothe cat as they think it has no owner, but if they knew it lived 5 mins down the round they would contact you.

I also think Barry looks pimping with a diamond studded collar (its a safety one, im not that ignorant)

[Mark]

The perfect device would be something that could track from the microchip. Maybe in the future? - I remember over 5 years ago saying that wouldn't it be good if there was a catflap that could read a microchip. One of my friends suggested patenting the idea but I laughed an dismissed it. Now there is the Petaporte 

One thing is the Loc8tor and also the collar that protects birds have dangerous buckle collars. So making microchips with a transmitter in is the only way to go IMO.

[ccmacey]

My cats dont wear collars and they are certainly not strays!

I dont see how this could amount to a general size, cats can be young and big, small and old, or vice versa, I dont think cats of the same age will all be around the same size. 

[Yvonne]

Good morning Saxmania

    to Purrs

I have to say from a previous comment (no good at the quote thing) microchipping is no guarantee that your cat will not get lost, my Gizmo disappeared off the face of the earth last year, gone without a trace.

I bought a tracking device off Ebay for £60, the same one is available from Pet Planet for £120, it is the Loc8tor tracker, I have only used it inside the house so far and have not tried it outside, I doubt the range is going to be brilliant.

Cats will never stop getting lost but if you can design a good tracker with a decent range then we have a better chance of finding them if they do get lost.

Very much look forward to updates about this.

[Desley (booktigger)]

SR, a lot of people on here have dealt with severe collar injuries, so dont advocate the use of them (although I do use them on my two, well, if I ever get round to putting Molly's back on).
Dolcetta - flea collars aren't worth the money, they are generally ineffective, and if you ever do have an issue with fleas, you are best off getting spot ons from the vet.

[dolcetta46]

Hobbes used to have a flea collar, but it was always tricky to decide how loose/tight it should be.  I didn't want him to be uncomfortable so I had it sort of loose, but he liked to chew on it and one time he's got his jaw stuck there and couldn't get out, I had to cut the collar with the scissors!!
Luckily here we don't have a flea problem and Oliver stays inside, so there is no need for flea collars...

[Stuart]

Im confused, who doesn't agree with cat collars??? A cat without a collar is a stray! Barry has a Diamond collar and he looks damn good in it!

Collar's can cause devastating injuries to Cat's (there is a post on Purr's with picture's about this  )
Most people seem to be opting for the Micro-chipping, as it's safer 

[SpecialRed]

Just to warn you but many of us do not agree with cats in collars here, and even those who do would only ever use a quick release safety collar.

Im confused, who doesn't agree with cat collars??? A cat without a collar is a stray! Barry has a Diamond collar and he looks damn good in it!

[Mark]

Kittycollars make theirs adjustable between 20 & 30cm so that must be the general range.

http://www.kittycollars.co.uk/reflective-cat-collars.htm

[pappilon]

I dont dare doing that to Phoebe , i still need my hands 

[Desley (booktigger)]

NEck size doesn't go off the age of the cat though.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Sounds good 

[saxamania]

A newly designed quick release clasp is fitted onto the collar. I would never design anything that could cause harm to the cat.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Just to warn you but many of us do not agree with cats in collars here, and even those who do would only ever use a quick release safety collar.

[saxamania]

Hi i'm a design student and currently designing a cat tracking device i need to do a survey for my work. Could you all please take a piece of ribbon and measure the circumfrence of your cats neck and post the size in millimeters and the cats age please. I would be very greatful for your help.

many thanks

L.Watts