Don't ask for whom the bell tolls.....

When I first got Imp, I got him a collar with a bell on it because I
have two parakeets and at the time a hamster.  Imp was slinking around
so freaked out for two hours, I took pity on him and took the bell off.

Mischief on the other hand, is named for a reason, so I kept her bell
on.  I got used to it pretty quickly.  But she still can manage to
sneak around without jingling it.  

Kristi

The reason I long ago stopped belling my cats is that (if
they were at all adept at hunting) they learned to move so
smoothly the bell never made a sound, until they pounced -
and by then it was too late for the wildlife!

.

Our cats seem to think (at least the younger ones do) that having a collar
with a bell on it is a mark of distinction and acknowledgement of servitude
by the hoomins.  Unfortunately, they learn all too quickly how to silence
that bell.  Penelope(RB) used to ring hers to get our attention.  Merlin
gets miffed at times because Mike's kitten, Qui Gun Kit, likes to come up to
him while he sleeps and ring his chimes.  It wakes Merlin up and Qui Gun has
to run for his little kitten hide.  Pine Cone jingles his when he wants us
to know that he is hungry, needs water, doesn't like the state of the litter
boxes, or wants some aspect of his lifestyle adjusted.  I think the cats
have trained us well.

Pam S.

It must be "time for a new collar" season. I just had to replace both the
cats' collars within the past couple of weeks. First Stanley, and then
Captain, outgrew the collars that they got when they came home from the
shelter.

We happened to have a spare collar in the house when Stanley's collar fell
apart, so he got that one. He didn't appear to notice the new collar toooo
much. Then Captain's collar became too small not long after that, and we
had to leave his old collar off for a few days until we could get to the
PetSmart and replace it.
So Captain was bell-free for a few days, thanks to that. His new collar
has a very sensitive-to-movement bell. Which, when we put it on him, he
kept trying to sniff.

The end result was Captain, with his chin to his chest, backing up and
backing up until he backed into the wall, in his attempt to sniff the new
collar and bell. LOL.

He's gotten over that now. And he no longer seems to notice the collar OR
the bell. Neither does Stanley.

One benefit of having two different brands of collar on them, however, is
that the bells sound different and I can tell which cat is jingling at any
given moment. :o)

Donna and the jingle kitties, Captain and Stanley

Once I transferred their respecitve ID tags to the new collars, they
were applied.  Fizz stomped around trying to rid himself of the
offensive sound, and Pippin just complained about the tardiness of
dinner.

I now have two ticked-off cats slinking around, trying not to jingle
their bells.  It's a good thing looks can't kill, or y'all would be
mourning my passing.

The question remains as to whether I'll be able to sleep through the
chorus of the bells tonight. It's been years since the boys were last
belled.

Good night
Caroline S.

==========================================
Spicey has always been belled. That way I don't run her over with my
chair. Also, I live alone and enjoy hearing her around my Apt.
Suz&Spicey

Well, it was our turn <again> today. Our cats both have bells, but Shoes
in particular always manages his "lose" his.. Sox doesn't seem to mind,
he has had his for ages. Anyway, we got another bell today and Shoes is
"not amused". But it amazes me that they can keep those bells silent
when they want to. :)
Cathy