I'm hearing conflicting advice on this from others who are not rver's.
Are ID tags required by law in various states? Do you use them?
Because of the problem we are having keeping a collar on our cat, others have told me outright that a collar is a hazard, I shouldn't use one, and that I should go with a microchip.
However, that advice did not come from other rv'ers, so I want your opinions.
We have an indoor only cat who will be traveling with us full time.
So far we have yet to find a collar which she cannot paw up under her chin and get caught in her mouth (looks like she's wearing a bridle when it happens). It probably make swallowing difficult, and there is a risk of her choking to death if we failed to notice.
I have tried two different BreakAway collars. Neither break away when she does this.
She has the neck-less build of a guinea pig. A cute short kitten like face, and then a round pudgy body. No neck in between. So she is a bit difficult to collar.
It's possible I'm not fitting the collar tightly enough. I'm not sure how tight is too tight.
It's possible there is another kind of collar that would solve this problem, but I need advice on where to find that.
My main question though is whether I should pursue the collar, or just go with the microchip as others have suggested.
My feeling is that while a collar might be a hazard, not wearing a collar is also a hazard on the road. A shelter could find a microchip, but nobody else could. So, that means the ONLY way we would get her back if she ran away, would be if someone took her to the shelter. Based on my experience finding stray pets, those who wear an id tag go home quickly. Those that do not, might be adopted on site, or turned back out, or taken to a shelter (which is very distressing to the pet, on top of being lost).
As rv'ers do the laws require it, and do you feel it's a necessity?
What about a harness? I would say microchip for sure. Even if she wore a collar, there is a chance it could slip off while outside & the microchip would be a back up.
2005 F350 CC, PSD, FX4, Toreador Red/Silver
2006 Cougar 309EFS with campers mom, dad 16 yr. old son 18 yr. old daughter
Diesel R.I.P. Lady lab mix 16 R.I.P Daisy beagle/collie Misty shepard/husky
Camper's Have Smore Fun 11.5 Rallies
sleepovers 3
I can't comment on the "laws". I will say we use a harness with an ID tag that has my cell phone number on it - plus we have them microchiped. We also carry proof of current rabies, etc.
Wayne
Bernice
Two - 04 Maltese (Victoria & Albert)
06 Newmar DSDP 4028
04 Honda Element Toad
For those that use a harness, is it on your cat 24/7? We have a cat that won't keep a collar on and I worry about her not having a tag. She is chipped but her tag is in the drawer.
Bonnie and Chris
2004 Teton Reliance Grand
2000 Volvo 610
Barklee - 3/20/96-6/24/11 at the bridge
Jack - 7 year old Border Collie
Lucy and Kaley - the resident furballs
We camp with friends who bring their cat. Harness is on 24/7 while camping with id tags that have their cell #'s on it. Also a temp label tag is put on with campsite #. (he is a very active cat). The harness is fitted fairly snug. Also they have a bell on his harness, so if he does dash out the door, they can hear where he is!
Definitely go with a good quality harness and tags to back up the chip. We spent two months on the road last summer with our cat and she wore the harness w/tags "most" of the time. In the later evenings we took it off since we would not be going in and out of the door. We put it back on in the mornings though. We had her rabies tag and a custom ID tag (name, address, phone, cell phone, etc) on the harness.
2005 F-150, Factory Tow Package
2006 Keystone Z271 Zeppelin II
Bill, Pixie, Honeybun the rescue and our DOTL cat Pita
What some "law" says on a pet's wearing an ID tag couldn't concern me less; common sense says that *all* pets should wear them, *and* be chipped as extra insurance. I've "rescued" a lot of loose-running, lost, got-out-of-the-yard-or-RV dogs (and a couple of cats); it's heartbreaking not to be able to find an owner because the animal is not tagged with pertinent information and/or chipped.
My dog and cat are chipped and wear collars with tags; the cat's is elasticized, and the collar pulls off if he gets his head wedged somewhere! Each animal's tag contains the essential "at home or on the road" information of owner's name, address, (landline and cell) phone numbers, PLUS the RV's license number/state and a brief RV description. (The dog's walking harness also has a tag with the same information.) When I'm traveling, the cat wears his collar and harness, each with its tag, all the time; he's a slippery little sucker! And, as at home, the cat goes out only on a leash.
Don't think that there's no way that the animal will get loose; cats especially are very creative (and fast!) about escaping, and can slip out when the screen door or a window opens even a crack, and even tagged, they may be lost forever. (I know of one person who lost her untagged, unchipped cat because [her brain apparently went into neutral and] she left the cab windows down a few inches when she parked and went into a restaurant!) Even old, sleep-all-the-time cats can disappear in a heartbeat with sufficient motivation, like fear.
Tagging and chipping greatly increases the odds of recovering the animal if it escapes or otherwise gets lost.
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Keiki used to do the same thing (sticking her paw through her collar and half hanging herself). I just tightened her collar. She seems to be able to breathe OK. If you can get one finger comfortably between cat and collar, that should be tight enough not to get her paw in there. It's a breakaway (it works). She got caught on something under the couch one day and left the collar there. My girls are escape artists. They also are chipped and collared with tags. I get their tags at: http://www.boomerangtags.com/. They are printed on both sides. One side has the cat's name, my name and cell number. The other side has the RV Identification (Winnebago Motorhome and license number). Fortunately, when my girls have escaped in a strange place, they don't go anywhere. They go under the RV on either side of mine and then come home after a short period. I've learned not to try to catch them. It just sends them farther away. I go out and watch them to make sure they're not getting into trouble but I don't hassle them. One morning I was on my way to breakfast and two of them bolted. I just told them I was going anyway. When I got back 30 minutes later, they were sitting on the step waiting for me.
I cannot imagine NOT both tagging my cats and chipping them. And, if they want any food etc from me they WILL cooperate and wear their harnesses. Period!
Tough love works for animals as well as children and husbands.
And, it is nice to be able to keep some track of them when the tags jingle on their harnesses.
Nancy. Lucky the Tuxedo Cat & D.B. Cooper (aka DustBunny)
1994 19' Hi-Lo FunLite towed by 2004 GMC Sonoma
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