Please don’t put a bell on your cat.

Our work has shown that a bell poses too much risk for a cat.

Mu and I have been working together for 11 years. It is always our goal to find the missing cat, or find out what happened to that cat. A secondary, but important goal is to learn from each case so that we can provide better help to cats in the future. Recently, I have seen a pattern suggesting that a cat with a bell on his collar is at increased risk of attack by coyotes.

It just makes sense, if you think about it. The reason people put a bell on a cat is so that birds can hear the cat coming and avoid becoming prey. Also, some people put a bell on their cat so that they can locate their cat if they need to. Well, if humans and birds can locate a cat by the bell, then coyotes can, too. Over the past few months, Mu & I have found evidence that many cats were taken by coyotes, and what they had in common was that they had bells on their collars.

Of course, no one puts a bell on their cat’s collar with the intention of making them a target for coyotes. It probably doesn’t occur to people that it would be a risk. It hadn’t occurred to me until just recently, when I noticed the pattern. Now that I have seen the correlation, it obviously makes sense, and I’m surprised I didn’t notice sooner.

You should always take steps to keep your cat safe. I recommend that all cats be indoor only if possible. It has happened that an indoor only cat, wearing a collar with a bell, got out accidentally and was discovered by a coyote before his family even knew he had escaped. If you want to have a way of locating your cat, an Apple AirTag or a Tile tracker would be lightweight, and more effective than a bell.

If you can’t keep your cat indoors, and you have been putting a bell on your cat to protect the birds, then I’m afraid you will need to put your cat’s safety over that of the birds, unfortunately, and take the bell off of the collar. Maybe you can build a catio so that your adventurous cat can have the feeling of being outdoors without putting himself or the birds at risk. In any event, I strongly recommend that you do not put a bell, or noisy tags that jingle, on your cat. You can get a collar with your phone number embroidered on it.

Cats need the ability to remain silent for their safety, to avoid predators. I certainly understand the reasons people have been putting bells on cats’ collars. It has been done with good intentions. In light of what Mu & I have been finding, it appears that you can greatly improve your cat’s safety by not putting a bell on him. Mu & I prefer to find cats alive and well.