Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

We just got the Sentry Calming Collars a few days ago, so the jury is still out exactly how well they work, but I wanted to share how I adapted them for my own use in case it will help someone else. Background: We have two 12 yr old altered littermates, one male and one female. No real issues with either one, except occasional peeing and pooping outside the litterbox. About 2 weeks ago we added a third kitty, a 3 month old neutered male. The 12 yr olds hate him and are quite stressed out, even with a gradual introduction of the new kitten. In researching strategies for adding a new member to a cat family, I came across calming collars, Feliway diffusers and calming chews. First tried the Feliway, but because of so many negative reviews regarding it being a fire hazard, I used one reviewer's tip of putting reed fragrance diffuser sticks into the refill bottle and just letting it sit out, rather than using it in the plug-in diffuser. Because it is fragrance free, I have no idea if the cats are aware of it and didn’t really notice any difference. I was hoping for instant success, which didn’t happen. Almost immediately, I decided to order the Sentry Calming Collars. Again, because of so many negative reviews mainly because cats are getting injured while getting their bottom jaw caught on them, I was really interested in the suggestions some of the other reviewers gave on how they adapted the collars to make them safely useable. I do want to note that several years ago one of our cats got her bottom jaw caught on a standard breakaway collar and the same thing happened, it did not break open and she panicked and could have easily been badly hurt if I hadn’t been home at the time to rescue her. I will never again make the mistake of having the collar too loose, thinking one finger width is just too tight. Cats do not really like wearing collars and will do whatever they can to get them off, and they can wriggle those tiny jaws in the smallest gap. Since the cats now have “bikini” collars – they are a lot like friendship bracelets with a breakaway feature, which I ordered on Amazon - I had to think of an option that would work with these type of thin collars. Here is what I did: I cut a scrap of polyester knit fabric (for strong wear) 4 ½” by 2 3/8”, and made them based on the same method as you’d make an “envelope” pillow cover (you can Google it for step by step). I then hand sewed two snaps on the long open edge, and hand sewed ½” plastic carbone rings on the short ends. The rings may not be necessary, but I already had them on hand and was hoping they would prevent the pouch from twisting. Next I cut a section of the Sentry Calming Collar to fit into the pouch (I can cut 4 equal length sections from one collar), snapped it closed, and then I slid the rings onto the ends of the collar (see pic). I then put the collars on the cats and readjusted the size so they wouldn’t be too tight with the added bulk of the pouch. When I was satisfied with the sizing, I took the collars back off the cats and hand stitched (whip stitch) the pouch to the collar. The breakaway feature is not affected at all, the pouch can easily be unsnapped to replace the section of Sentry Calming Collar and they are nice and soft and don’t irritate the cat as much as a hard collar would. You can see in the pic the collars do get scratched at and a bit snagged, so I will probably have to restitch the pouch to the collar at some of the point - didn't have the right color of an upholstery thread on hand. But do they work to calm the cats? The first day, after all that work to make two little pouches, they didn’t seem to make one bit of difference. I wasn’t sure if they were just not going to work for my cats or if the fabric acted as a barrier, or if it will just take a while to see any results. The second day they did seem to be slightly more tolerant of the kitten, and today seems to be even a little better. So, no instant change, but I am happy with a little better each day. As far as the scent, it is very pleasant and not overwhelming at all. Not sure if we got lucky or if other reviewers are super sensitive, but nothing offensive about the smell at all. Fingers crossed that it just keeps getting better. I also ordered the calming chews, but haven’t gotten them yet. I don’t want to take any chances any one of the cats will become stressed to the point of marking/spraying all over the house. Update 7-3-2015: I believe the collars are helping relieve the stress of the new kitten in the household. No instant bonding, but a definite differance in the older cats' tolerance toward the kitten, snd no litterbox problems. They will play with him some, I've seen some nose rubbing, and they'll now allow him to eat in his own dish right next to them -- far cry from the pre-collar days. Also, the little pouches I made are working out well and don't seem to bother the cats at all. We did order the calming treats, but they won't eat them (they are very picky about treats). So yes, I would definitely recommend the calming collars with sone type of safety modification -- there are a few besides my own that you can find within the reviews of this product.