Cat flaps
 

Ok thinking about getting one of those cat flaps which come with a radio collar (?) so other cats can't enter the house.

Anyone have any experience of these?
Also, someone mentioned cats can get caught on things and choke with collars?
I hadn't heard anything about that although when ours was a kitten she always managed to get hers off so we gave up eventually.

no experience with cat flaps (ours are strictly indoors)

However with the collars - yes, this is a very real safety risk. You can usually find collars that have a break-away section to prevent kitty from being hurt if the collar gets caught on something - check your local pet store.

Re break away, wouldn't that mean if it wants the thing off which she probably would do she can get it off with say, a paw easily?

Which'd mean she couldn't get back in through the flap of course :).
And we would have to buy new radio collars.

Obviously I wouldn't want her to get hurt. :(

Kitties don't like collars. I wouldn't waste my time, money (or blood) on it. We tried that w/ our kitties and it was a disaster

Cat doors do work well though. Definitely worth the investment.

But we want to make sure to prevent another cat from getting in.

Get a dog.

Cats walk themselves.
Dogs lick their balls 24/7.
And they bark.
And they won't fit through cat flaps.
But thanks. :p

I would also look into microchipping. I have had many "stray" cats come in that have lost their collar-most collars can be taken off by the cat themself (my cats are an expert at this!) or if they sustain some sort of trauma, they can fall off. We now check for microchips on all of our incoming strays and our local pound is doing the same. Check and see if your local animal shelter/pound checks for microchips. AVID microchips are recommended, not the kind that are sold by Vet smart. The ones that are sold by Vetsmart (also known as Banfield) cannot be read by most scanners. Three of my cats are microchipped and even though they are indoor only, one of them likes to escape to the outside once in awhile so I feel much better knowing he is microchipped (I've tried to keep a collar on him but he manages to get it off every time).

By no means am I saying that you should not use collars-if your cat will keep it on then have him/her wear one. The safety collars are easier to get off (thats what they are designed for). I personally have not had a cat come in that choked from a collar getting stuck on something but it probably could happen-thopugh IMO rare.

I do recommend some type of identification if your cat goes outside b/c if they get lost/injured and are brought into my clinic I will be more likely to treat and go all out knowing the cat has an owner and then of course try and contact you or the chip company. I have seen many sweet reunions that may not have happened if the cat or dog was not wearing a collar or had a microchip.

Ignore Cats, Dogs and Wives!:)

Forget Gold fish and tanks!:)

This radio station is going off of the Air!:D

and you dont think cats make noise or lick themselves? My current cat and my sister's cat meow all the freakin time. Despite fresh water, full food bowls, and constant attention.

I used to have a male cat prior to my current female cat that loved to wait till we had a room full of people over, come in and lay int eh middle of the floor of that room and lift his leg and proceed to lick himself for all the world to see. Cats do it too........ And if there are dogs out there like my dog..........or other dogs(depending on breed) they can fit through a cat door, and if on a chase, will do their best to get through that cat door......

My cats have breakaway collars. They have been wearing them since they were kittens...never had a problem with them

One has a red collar and the other has hot pink

Well, instead of cat collars, how about the harness? Cats have a much harder time getting out of those and if they manage to hang themselves with one then they are darn talented.

what the hell are microchips?

Microchips are identification tags imbedded under the skin of your pet. They're used to identify the animal if (like people have been talking about in this thread) they get lost and end up at the animal shelter without a collar. The chip has contact info on it, so they have a way of letting the owner know that their pet is at the shelter. It's like having the same information you would have on a pet's collar, only attached permanently to the pet.

sounds cruel and unusual...