Should We Hang Bells On Our Cats?

Images of cats with rattles around their necks have been circulating in popular belief for a long time. It is not uncommon to see photographs or paintings, or in story illustrations, cats with bells. However, the use of bells in cats is increasingly condemned. Here we’ll explain why you shouldn’t put a bell on your cat.

Literary Background

Many may be familiar with Lope de Vega’s fable that gave rise to this whole story of hanging bells on cats.

The fable tells the story of a group of rats that lived in a house and could not leave the den to look for food, because in the house also lived a cat, an excellent hunter that killed many rodents that dared to leave the den.

After many conversations and discussions, the rats concluded that in order to get out without being devoured by the cat, they must find a way to know where the cat was at all times.

Then a shrewd mouse came up with the idea of ​​putting a bell on the cat and locating it through the sound.

However, when it came time to hang the bell, no rat dared to try.

The moral of this story is that it’s easier said than done, but the fable has led to the use of bells on domestic cats for many years.

What are the benefits of the rattle?

First, let’s see what reasons you have for putting a bell on your cat.

The first is that owners like to use it as a locator  to find out where the cat is.

Cats are very secret animals, so the bell works like a pager or GPS, letting owners know where their cats are.

Another of the most common uses for a cat bell is, as in the fable, to inform potential prey (birds and/or mice) of the cat’s approach.

This way, the prey can escape and are not killed by the cats, whose owners are trying to feed them with kibble and want to prevent other foods from entering their cats’ diet.

What are the disadvantages of the rattle?

The bell can be very cute on a cat, but it has many drawbacks to it. The first is noise.

The rattle is not only repetitive and irritating to the owner, it can also be harmful to the cat’s health.

When the bell is close to the pinna, the cat is under constant stimuli, which will make it lose hearing acuity or even become deaf, if the bell is big and sounds louder.

Also, the bell can change the cat’s mood.

Cats are quiet and secretive animals but are easily startled by noise. The continuous sound can irritate the cat and cause stress.

Not to mention the bell is uncomfortable. Many cats try to remove or bite you. Some even learn to hold it in their mouths to keep it from making a sound.

Also, as it is an unnatural ornament, the cat cannot scratch or hunt in peace without the sound of the bell accompanying it.

What are the options for collars for cats?

There are many options for collars for cats, starting with anything that doesn’t make noise.

If you want your cat to wear a collar, that’s fine, but he may find it uncomfortable.

Collars can identify you, serve as an antiparasitic, be aesthetic, or carry an electronic chip, but they don’t have to contain a bell.

Just make sure you don’t get too tight around the cat’s neck and that it doesn’t get tangled up in anything.

In addition, technology has advanced tremendously and there should be cat collars with a locator that can be traced from the cell phone.

And if there isn’t, it’s time for someone to invent them. Anyway, if you feel more secure seeing your cat with the bell, you can put it on for just a few minutes a day.

Then he won’t mind and you’ll have the security of seeing him with a bell. Everyone happy.