Bulgarian Kittens Relaxing Wednesday, 5 June 2013  |  Admin

Three beautiful cat models, Zena, Zara and Tessa relaxing and waiting patiently for their harness to arrive which is being specially made for them in a smaller size as Zena is a 6 month old kitten from Bulgaria

We hope to follow the modelling career of these up and coming stars with more photos coming soon of them parading along the cat walk in their harness.

I wonder what these kittens are saying? I think its purrrr 

Cool cats, don your shades Saturday, 1 June 2013  |  Admin

Here Comes Summer: cool cats, don your shades!

Cool cotton cat collars for lazy lounging around on balmy evenings, having a nap on a sunny window sill or taking a stroll out around the neighbourhood - looking just sooo cool with those shades hanging around the neck

Don't let your cat get hot under the collar this summer - pure cotton cat collars are soft, comfy and cool to wear in hot weather

How to Choose a Safe Cat Collar Thursday, 30 May 2013  |  Admin

What Type of Safety Cat Collar are Available?

There are traditionally two main methods of providing safety in a cat collar to suit the materials used to manufacture the collars

• Breakaway buckle or quick release buckle
• Elastic

If the material is not too thick and is flexible then the collar can accommodate a tri-glide buckle which allows the collar to be lengthened or shortened to fit the cat. This can then be combined with a breakaway buckle to open and close and for safety as the it does not need to be used to adjust the length of the collar.

However, with stiffer materials like leather the tri-glide adjuster won't work - the collar would be too stiff to slip and adjust the length by this means.  In this case an ordinary buckle needs to be employed to adjust the length and so the safety feature needs to come from elastic. Some cat collars are fully elasticated whilst others have an elastic joint or band at one end. 

What's New in Cat Safety? Belt and Braces from Bobby and Ancol

There is an interesting third supplementary method we have seen employed in some collars and this is the slip buckle - it is a buckle which doesn't have a pin and so can slip open if pulled on hard, and yet at the same time it is capable of adjusting the collar length.

This slip buckle is used as an additional safety feature alongside elastic to increase the safety release power of the collar.

The leather cat collars by Bobby have the slip buckle and the elastic part as do the velvet cat collars from Ancol

Which Type of Collar to Choose? 

It is generally thought that the breakaway buckle is the safest option. However, not all cats are born equal and some owners find that their cat can remove themselves from these collars too easily and lose them quickly.

So unfortunately there is no hard and fast rule but more a matter of trial and error with your particular cat to find the style which suits his or her individual behaviour best.

Correct Fitting of Cat Collar for Safety is Very Important 

Adjusting the collar length properly is very important. It should not be too tight causing discomfort to your cat. However a too loose fitting cat collar can be unsafe as the cat may be able to get its jaw or leg under the collar with resulting injury.

The correct fitting is to allow 1 to 2 fingers comfortably between the collar and the cats neck.

 A Golden Rule

Never use a dog collar (sometimes called a pet collar) on a cat.

• Dog collars are designed to be safe for dogs so that they can not escape from them while on the lead.  
• Cat collars are designed to be safe for cats so that they can escape from them if they get caught up on something.

Two totally opposite collar requirements for dogs and cats because they are two different species who behave very differently!

National Identity Cat Tags Tuesday, 21 May 2013  |  Admin

French, German and Italian Cat Tags

Red Dingo have just launched 3 new enamel flag ID tags for the French, German and Italian cats to show off their national identity. 

These are in addition to the UK, USA, Australian, Canadian and Swiss tags which they introduced earlier.

We also stock some national cat collars for a real national pride look which can be viewed by clicking here