Review on Black Necoichi Kimono Bow Tie Cat Collar by Mary Hawkins

I was delighted to purchase this collar for my new cat and the collar arrived exactly as advertised. The material of the collar was heavier than I expected and the band was exactly 1/2 inch wide. The width and thickness of the collar is just enough to irritate my cat a bit. It needs to be moved from time to time and the neck needs to be brushed if you don't want your cat's neck to have a hair loss line where the collar would be on your cat's neck, but I've encountered this problem with other collars as well. This collar will NOT fit. Sized for small cats with thin necks. My cat's neck is about 8 inches long and I found this collar to be too long. It was fully tightened and I could still comfortably fit 4 fingers between them. I caught him three times with the collar between his mouth and for the first two weeks his collar ripped off at least once a day. I would return the collar just for that, but luckily I have a handy friend who shortened the collar an inch and hasn't taken it off since (more than a week). The breakaway buckle isn't particularly strong, but now that my cat can't pinch his chin or foot, he seems able to deal with his fidgeting. This collar is special in that the bell is centered under the fly rather than on the side like many of its competitors. The bell sounds just like any other cat collar I've bought from Petsmart. I thought the bell would be detachable like some of the other Necoichi collars I was planning to purchase, but it is on a standard D-ring that attaches to a fabric ring that assembles the bow tie. You could remove it if you really wanted to, but you'll need pliers or a strong grip. I was also briefly disappointed that there was no separate ID tag ring, but I slipped his tag ring through the fabric strap underneath the bell's D-ring and it looked very elegant. The bow tie was stiff and well starched but not too wide so some cats might not mind as much as other bow tie collars. But if you have a less tolerant cat and/or she's not used to collars (like me) I would definitely start with something lighter and no bow tie. It should be noted that the bow tie is fixed to the collar and must not slip or come loose. Stiffness is completely lost when the collar gets wet, which happened after a messy collision with a water bowl, and my cat was able to get the loop through the webbing it slipped through after stepping out of the collar. I was able to put it back on fairly easily, but it's definitely flatter than when I first bought the collar. I had to pick up the bow after it fell at least 3 times, but again, after adjusting the collar and adding an extra ring to the fabric tie, the bow tie still stayed in place. Finale Watch out for bow collars: when the bow is not on the cat's chest, it easily transitions from masculine to feminine, especially with floral prints. Aesthetically, I liked that the buckle was next to the loop that hid its bulkiness and along with the bell and ID tag pushed the bow tie up to my cat's collarbone except when irritated and scratched. it.Overall a good collar. Very nice design but thicker than some and needs to be installed properly to minimize problems and damage.