Thread: Electronic collars and Maine Coons

I dont know about electric collars, I just don't let Gimger go outside. It is not hard to do, if you keep your doors closed. The only electric collars I have ever heard are for dogs that don't have fences around their yards. I bet MC fans will have much advice on this subject. All I can say is there is NO WAY I would ever put an "electric collar" on my precious baby. She will not even tolerate a cat collar, her tags are hanging on my bulletin board.

hehe yeah every time I tried to put a collar of Neevie she somehow managed to get out of it! Once the collar ended up around her head and stuck in her mouth! I decided it wasn't that important...

when she gets surprised or hurt, Neevie jumps up and down in a panic in all directions - I don't think she'd understand that she's supposed to jump in the other direction (where the collar doesn't hurt) and she'd end up on the other side of the electric fence with no way back in unless she bumps into it and reverse-jump-panics....

I live fairly close to a mororway, and in the countryside where there are hunters around... so same as Donna, my kitty doesn't go outside.

some people on the forum have made a cattio - a kind of room outside for the cats.... look it up, type cattio in the search browser :-)

Thanks! Yeah I've heard the cats can panic and throw themselves outside the barrier and make it worse.
I live beside a busy road too, in fact I could throw a penny from my front door into three lanes of traffic but keeping the cat indoors isn't as simple as that.
Our current cat Bella is only a few months old an we try to keep her inside but she makes a beeline for the door anytime it's open. Even running under our feet. My hallway is all open plan so there isn't a lock her in a room option unless I happen to know where she is when someone rings the bell.
Also I have a four year old who likes to play outside and come in and out. It's hard to know what to do.. Having doors and windows all closed is not really an option.

She'll be wearing a collar anyway whether she likes it or not!! Lol dog wardens in this area have no problem lifting a cat if it's not got a collar or tags, whether it's pedigree or not!

Thanks for your help, I might try looking for some alternative options. But my sister has had such success with hers. But she lives in a farm and the farmers would shoot the cat if it went near the sheep so she knows the shock is better than getting shot!
My husband isn't keen on the idea either but I'm wondering how quickly they learn to just not go near the beep. If it was a constant battle it wouldn't be worth it, but if they only had to endure it once or twice to be better off.. ?

This post made me as curious as a cat, I had to turn to "youtube" and investigate. It appears as though the cats jump and avoid the area. I also saw a "scatmat", which is placed in front of a door, interestingly enough it also shocks the cat. Granted I don't have a 4 year old going in and out of my doors, but I have two beagles that go in and out quite a bit. Still no worries, just let them out and shut the doors. I think MC cats would react the same, they are pretty quick to catch on.
"say what?"

The scatmat sounds interesting, the pads of their feet will be much less sensitive to pain than their necks!

The catios are very cute too! Although not very well suited to where I live. I live in a converted 17th century school and my neighbours would have a blue fit if I attached cages and doors to the windows. Also it wouldn't be suited to our weather!

Like I said, keeping all doors and windows closed isn't an option. Our son goes in and out as he pleases and would often leave the door open to bring stuff out or as part of his play. It wouldn't be very responsible, I don't think, to rely on just not letting the cat out without some deterrent or conditioning for the cat's own safety. I don't feel comfortable taking that risk.

A friend mentioned something about a collar that gives a strong vibration to the cats throat instead of a shock, as an alternative to the electronic collar. Although I can't find anything that doesn't involve someone coming to install barriers. And it mostly seems American!
Oh what a long search! Lol

when she was little, Neevie would try to run out as soon as we'd open the door - we started using the back door to go in and out of the house because it leads to a little corridor - so we're making it work like a submarine hatch system: we go out in the corridor, we close the door behind us, and only when she's safely locked in we open the outside door....
now, she doesn't really run to the door when we open it - she doesn't try to come out, and if by chance she somehow manages or we let her she doesn't like it very much - we try to do that when it rains, so she sees it's not very pleasant outside, when go run out the door you get wet....
we have however allowed her out this summer, thinking she would not want to go far - the first time she didn't like it, the second time she explored a bit farther, the time after she made a straight beeline to the road, we had a hard time catching her - and then for a few weeks after she tried to squeeze out the door every time we opened it. So she's not allowed out any more unless it's raining.

I have heard of people using collars for dogs, but not on cats?

I am not sure i agree with that, I manage to keep my boy inside (I have two outdoor moggys that come and go)

I would get the cat first and see how you go from there