Do Cat Collars Need Bells?

The problem with bells is that they carry more risks than benefits for most cats. And unless your cat spends a lot of time outdoors, it doesn’t need a bell at all.

Bells keep wildlife safe from cats, but they also can affect a cat’s health and, sometimes, even inflict death. Whether to attach a bell to your cat’s collar is up to you, but you should be aware of the pitfalls.

Fortunately, a bell on a collar isn’t the only way to keep your cat from hunting birds and rodents outdoors.

Bells Warn Wildlife a Cat Is Approaching

The primary purpose of bells on cat collars isn’t a stylish look. Bells are necessary for indoor cats walking outdoors to warn wildlife that a predator is approaching.

The ringing of a bell draws the attention of birds, mice, and other potential hunting targets to the sound source, making them notice the cat and get away, saving their life.

Preserving wildlife is undoubtedly important, but bells are crucial not solely for the bird and small mammal’s sake. Although cats don’t always eat animals they hunt, every kill is a potential meal.

The risks of hunting wildlife for cats are numerous, including contracting diseases and getting poisoned. Some health conditions can be fatal or passed on to you and your family.

One of the diseases a cat can get from eating rodents is hantavirus. Hantavirus is a lung disease that causes difficulty breathing, fever, lethargy, and body aches and is fatal if untreated. Hantavirus can spread to humans.

Another risk is leptospirosis, a bacterial infection that affects the liver, kidneys, nervous system, eyes, and reproductive organs. The infection can also spread to humans.

If a cat gets bitten by a rat in self-defense, it can get a rat-bite fever similar to bubonic plague. Other risks include salmonella, E. coli, rabies, and parasites. Parasites are the most likely problem with hunting wildlife.

Rabies is extremely dangerous to animals and humans and has a high mortality rate. It affects the central nervous system and causes abnormal behavior.

Plus, small bones are a choking hazard. Cats can also die from eating a poisoned rodent. A simple bell on the collar can prevent all these horrible consequences.

Studies show that bells can reduce wildlife predation by cats by more than half. However, other studies show that cats can adapt to bells over time and change their hunting behavior to prevent them from ringing.

Bells can also benefit cats living in multi-cat households and suffering from bullying. A bell on a bully’s neck warns other felines that it’s approaching and helps them get away.

On the other hand, some scholars suggest that bells can also make a cat a target for other predators such as coyotes and wolves. A bell makes your cat more noticeable, which isn’t always good.

However, it’s best to keep your cat at home if you live in an area with many large predators.

Bells Help Owners Find Their Cats

Another benefit of bell collars for cats is that the ringing helps the owner locate their cat if it gets lost or stuck in a tight space.

Usually, a cat can meow to communicate with the owner, but scared kitties might not be able to vocalize. Furthermore, some cats don’t have a voice due to a disability.

If your cat often walks outdoors, a bell can save its life. Although vets recommend indoor cats walking outdoors to wear quick-release collars, the mechanism doesn’t always work.

A bell can also help you find your cat in your home, particularly if your cat is very curious and your home has many tight, hard-to-reach places.

Owners of disabled cats find bells helpful because they let them know when their cats are nearby, preventing them from stepping or sitting on their pets.

Bells May Annoy Cats

The benefits of bell collars for cats are undisputed, but they also have drawbacks. Perhaps, the most apparent one is that constant bell ringing can get annoying – both for the cat and its owner.

Occasional frustration may not have lasting consequences, but regular stress can lead to nervous system problems. The cat can develop chronic anxiety or become irritated and aggressive.

Many cats attempt to take the bell off using their paws and jumping around and can injure themselves. Cats are naturally quiet-loving animals and prefer to be stealthy, so ringing can have a severe effect on their mood.

A once calm and content feline can become permanently nervous and uncomfortable, so bell collars often aren’t worth it. It’s important to note that each cat’s stress resistance differs, so some cats might not care about bells.

Bells Aren’t Good for Cat Hearing

Another potential drawback of bell collars for cats is the effect of noise on their hearing. Bell ringing isn’t solely annoying but can be detrimental to feline hearing because it produces constant stimuli.

If a cat’s ears are exposed to constant stimuli and cannot rest, the cat’s hearing will eventually worsen. In cases where the bell is too noisy, or the cat wears it for too long, it can lead to deafness.

Some studies show that bells have no effect on cat hearing because they produce a sound of around 50 decibels, which is below what a cat can hear in normal circumstances. For comparison, an average dishwasher produces a volume of 80 decibels.

However, a bell hangs from a cat’s neck, very close to the ears, so we still need more research to determine whether bells can affect cat hearing.

Imagine constantly walking with a bell necklace – even if your hearing won’t be impacted, your brain would likely become desensitized to that frequency range to stay sane.

Bells Are a Choking Hazard

Because bells are annoying and some cats might try to chew them off, they are a choking hazard. Even if your cat doesn’t care about the bell, another cat can bite it off during a play or fight.

Unfortunately, choking can quickly lead to death, and if the cat chokes outdoors away from the owner, it has low odds of survival.

Often, owners fail to distinguish between choking, coughing, and gaging hairballs and don’t provide their pets with timely help. A choking cat usually has trouble breathing, excessive salivation, drooling, and anxiety or panic.

For this reason, you shouldn’t buy the cheapest collar if you decide that a bell is necessary. The bell should be attached properly to prevent a cat from biting it off.

Bells Can Get Caught in a Tight Space

Although a bell on the collar can help owners locate a cat stuck in a tight space, it can also be the cause a cat is stuck.

The bell can get caught in a tight space, either indoors or outdoors. For example, it can get stuck in a wooden floor crevice or fence.

Modern cat collars have a breakaway mechanism that releases when pressure is applied. If a cat attempts to run away, the collar should allow it to escape.

However, not every bell collar has such a mechanism, and sometimes, it simply doesn’t work. The risk of the breakaway mechanism not working is especially high with kittens because they are too light.

Bell Alternatives

Cat bell collars do have advantages, but the risks outweigh them. By having your cat wear a bell collar, you put it at choking risk and impose constant stress.

Of course, some cats are perfectly calm about bells, but they can still be caught up in a tight space. Fortunately, there are alternatives to cat bell collars that won’t harm your pet.

One of such alternatives is bird bibs or cat bibs. A bib is essentially a piece of colorful fabric that attaches to the cat’s collar and prevents it from being stealthy.

Cats can skillfully blend with the environment, but not if they have a rainbow-colored frill on their neck. Birds instantly notice the predator and fly away. Research shows that bibs significantly reduce bird kills.

Cat bibs come in various designs, so you can pick one to your and your cat’s preference, whether striped, dotted, or with a floral pattern. Most importantly, bird bibs are safe for cats.

The soft fabric doesn’t inflict pressure on your cat’s neck. Plus, bibs don’t make a sound and won’t annoy your cat or affect its hearing. They also don’t have any details that could be caught up in a tight space.

Because cat bibs are smooth and don’t have tiny elements, your cat won’t choke on them. You can find bibs in many pet stores or online, and they are usually cheap – most bibs cost under $10.

Bibs don’t even need to be worn together with a collar unless the collar serves identification purposes. Some bibs have reflective panels to keep your cat safe at night.

Another way to reduce wildlife hunting is to feed your cat a healthy diet rich in animal protein and spend enough time playing with it.

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