The dangers of cats wearing unsuitable collars are graphically illustrated by the story of Fudge, an entire tom stray.

Fudge was being fed by a kind stranger who called in her local Cats Protection branch when she noticed that his front leg was caught in the collar. She was unable to touch Fudge or to catch him and it took hours of patience for Kath Cooney of Cats Protection to finally trap him and take him for treatment. When Fudge was examined the full horrific extent of his injuries became apparent. The collar had cut deeply into his body and the wound was filled with pus and dirt. Kath believes that if he had not received regular food he would have been too weak to fight off flies, which could have resulted in even worse infection or fly strike.

The collar was cut off and Fudge was given a long course of antibiotics. Although the wound finally healed well, it took many weeks of care and attention from Kath and the vet. Thankfully, Fudge’s story has a happy ending as he was neutered and then rehomed with a caring family who adore him. He is now "happy, playful, purring and contented" according to Kath, who was keen for his story to be featured so that all cat owners are aware of the potential problems of cat collars.

Fudge’s story is a salutary warning to all cat owners. In an ideal world, cats would not wear collars but it is clear that in some cases this is simply not practical. Sometimes collars are required for a cat to operate a cat flap, or for visual identification purposes (in addition to a microchip). But putting a collar onto a cat purely for ornamental purposes or for flea control is something that should be considered very carefully as there are few merits and a number of potential hazards.