Hello to the group!  I have 8 cats that are "toss aways".  I take care of
them now.  Unfortunately, they must be outdoors, but they have a large
garage, with heated beds in winter, for shelter.  (No cars get to use the
garage and we live in California, so they aren't too hard done by.)   I
never put collars on my cats because of a bad experience many years ago.  I
put a hard, non-break-away collar on my very first cat and about 3 weeks
later, she ran away.  I looked for her for 6 weeks.  Finally, a neighbor
found her near death: the collar had become looped around her shoulder, in a
figure-8, and she could hardly swallow.  Two weeks in the vet hospital, and
she survived.  I felt like a criminal.  I haven't made that mistake again.
My problem is, I have a friend who has a new kitten, and she put a hard,
non-break-away collar on the poor baby.  Can anyone direct me to some
literature or website that will politely explain why that's a bad idea for
an outdoor cat?  Thanks in advance for your help.