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My cat is lethargic and won't eat with his new collar. Is this normal?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Male | neutered | 13 lbs

My cat was a stray that was living in my back yard after I started feeding him he quietened down and has become super friendly. Today I put a collar on him with a bell to stop him from catching any more birds but now he is very lethargic, moving slow and low to the ground and doesn’t want to eat much apart from a few treats I have given him. Should I leave it on him so he can get used to it?

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on October 8th, 2017

How lovely of you to look after Puds! Cats can be real funny about collars, but it's good that you putting one on him to keep him from killing birds. It will take time for him to get used to it, so I would leave it on for five minutes at first, and then daily increase the amount of time he wears it until he is comfortable wearing it al the time. Definitely give him treats when he wears it to show it's a good thing. I hope this helps :-)

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