I should say put a collar and an ID tag on that cat. You remember the post we wrote about Willow, the Colorado cat that was lost for five years and ended up in New York City. Turns out she was identified because she had a micro chip, but according to some experts if she had a plain old collar and tag, she might have been found even earlier.

We're big fans of micro-chipping at PurinaCare. If you have pet insurance with us, some of our policies pay a benefit for micro-chipping. if you don't micro-chip you should consider a good old collar and tag according to this story I read in the NYT's Well Pets blog.

According to research done by animal welfare Vets a collar and tag are very effective tools for the safe return of a lost cat. The research further stated that more cats would be willing to wear a tag than owners think.

Apparently there is a misconception about cats, collars and tags. Many cat owners think that cats will injure themselves if they wear a collar. Some think that the cat won't tolerate a collar and others think that they don't need them if the cat is an indoor cat.

Tell that last one to Willow's owners. Willow was an indoor only cat, but a workman at the house left the door open and out she went.

That happens a lot more than people realize, especially over the holidays. I've done lot's of holiday safety posts and I always harp on this issue. if you have kids or family coming to visit spend a few minutes impressing on them the need to be careful with the pets. Cats are particularly sensitive to guests and outsiders and may see an open door as an invitation to leave the stressful holiday scene.

The researchers in this study found that once a collar and tag get on a pet they are likely to stay on the pet. They fitted 109 pets with collars and tags during visits to the shelter. Two months later 84% of the pets still had their collars and tags around their necks. This contrasted with only 14% of owners that put tags on their pets prior to the study.

Cats can be accustomed to collars and it should be something every kitten owner considers. Put a collar and tag on them early and give them time to get accustomed to them. Studies indicate that owners tend to be very sensitive to a cat's reaction to a collar. If they fidget or scratch at it, off it comes.

That's a bad idea according to many Vets. The risk of a cat getting lost without a collar is far greater than the risk of anything bad happening as a result of wearning a collar.

So, a word to the wise. Put a collar on that cat or kitten and keep it on. It might just save their life.