Bells on cats - kind to wildlife, but cruel to the cat ?

I love wildlife, but I think: 'How would I like a bell constantly ringing in my ears?'Bells on cats - kind to wildlife, but cruel to the cat ?
by putting bells on the cat, are you not going against nature anyhow by not allowing the cat to do what it does, which is hunt, allow the cat its freedom to do thisBells on cats - kind to wildlife, but cruel to the cat ?
All the belled cats I've seen seem to be perfectly normal, and not bothered by the bell. And actually I used to have one on my last Basset female (cos. I couldn't fine a traditional French hound bell) so I could hear where she was in the long grass etc - and where she was, so was her brother. Once we were down to the last two, it was difficult to always see where they were, and mine used to run silent on a trail. Didn't work once they were beyond a certain distance away of course.





Frankly I wish more cat owners would bell them to save all the bird kill.
When I first got my cats, that's what I thought too. I thought


It really would chase off any potential 'prey'.


(But you shouldn't have an outdoor cat anyway, in my opinion.)





My cats actually didn't mind their bell collars.


I have two cats. One of them doesn't have a bell, he just has a few metal tags that jingle around when he runs.


The other cat has a bell on his collar along with his tags, because he likes to follow everyone around, and sit right behind your heels when you're working in the kitchen. So it's good to be able to hear him coming so we don't trip on him, and we don't accidentally step on him.


He also likes to sneak-attack the other cat, (who is the biggest fraidy-cat ever!) so it's only fair that he knows when he's coming too.





The weirdest thing is, that they know when their collars aren't on, and they don't like it.


When I brush them, I take their collars off. My one cat will NOT leave me, or leave the room, until his collar is back on. If I ever forget to put it back on, he will find it, pick it up in his mouth, and drop it on my knee, and look up, like, ';Kay, put this back on.';


The other cat knows this too. Like, he'll shake his head, and he notices there's no jingle. So he looks around like something's missing, and stays in that one spot, until I put his collar back on.





It's pretty funny, haha. They're used to the bell, and they don't like NOT hearing it when they run around. =)
I, too, have seen a study somewhere that said it doesn't actually make a difference. We tried to bell ours once, and he simply sat down, thought about it, and worried at the collar with his paws until he'd got it off. Then he left it on the doorstep and walked smugly away . . .





We were so fascinated to watch the display of logical thinking that we never had the heart to try again.





Next door's little tortie has a bell and it's never stopped her taking gifts home. She an absolutely sweet little cat but also an absolute demon when it comes to wildlife!
it is a dinner bell for the coyotes. cat runs when he sees the coyote, coyote just follows the sound.





bell does not ring when chasing wildlife, cats hunt by stalking and pouncing. the bell might ring in the final seconds as the cat makes one last quick step or as she pounces, but then the cat, being a predator, just learns to adjust for the noise and runs faster, or stalks longer to get closer.





plus, cats hang themselves on bells.
Bells are useless. Cats quickly learn to walk so as to not move the bell. And they're also dangerous - since having a bell on means needing a collar which means - choking hazard. And yes - it's very annoying for a cat to have a bell ringing so close to its ears.





The best thing is to keep cats indoors where they belong. One cat can kill up to 1,000 birds and small animals every year plus cats end up run over by cars, eaten by coyotes, killed by loose dogs, picked up and sold to test labs, etc., etc., etc.





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I keep a bell collar on my two male housecats, because if I don't I won't know when they're stalking each other. They're out for blood when they do that. So me knowing where they are at all times and being able to prevent a fight (and the subsequent vet patch up) is worth a little aggravation to them in my opinion. And honestly, they don't seem to care.
my cats are indoor cats - Bella is quite active so the bell stops her getting trodden on when she lies around your feet and Pixie is a hider. She crawls into a small space and without the bell we'd look for hours. Her most recent is under the kitchen units. we have no idea how she got in. we had to pull the front base board off and pull her out but we couldnt find any other access
Outdoor cats should not have collars on! Cat could get snagged up %26amp; who would get it loose? Why take the chance? And as for bells, they would annoy me in the house. With keen hearing, a cat shouldn't have to listen to them either.
We've never put bells on any of our cats. Ours usually don't bring home much except mice and moles and such. I don't mind them catching moles at all, and I doubt that they would hear the bell until it's too late, any way.
I read a study once (sorry I can't reference it) that showed that cats who wear bells still catch as many birds/mice or whatever as cats who don't wear bells.. so it doesn't make a different in that respect.
Most animals just freeze when they hear noise anyway,so it might actually help the cat catch things! Yeah,I'd hate a bell around MY neck!
interesting question. I think that the cat learns to tune it out, but it does seem like it could get annoying.
I believe it to be cruel to Cats because it goes against their nature.
I do't think its that bad for them and in the long run it helps wildlife so (:
All of my cats have been belled. Never been a problem.
I'm kind of mixed on this.





I think it's okay for indoor cats to have bells on. If it's an outdoor cat, I think that it shouldn't have bells on because cats like to hunt. Whatever it's hunting may hear the bell and run away. Also, if the cat has a bell on outside, it makes them vulnerable to other animals in the neighborhood such as dogs.