my cat is acting traumatized after we changed his collar

by korie
(belgium)

My cat Rex will be 3 years old in May. He's neutered since he was 6 months old. He's had the same collar since then but it has become frayed and old and his tag information is outdated. Thursday night we took his old collar off (I had to struggle quite a bit to get the old one open but I didn't choke or pull his fur while doing this) and put a new collar with the nex tag on him. He hasn't been the same since. First he ran around in short burst and then hid under a chair and stayed completely still. Then he stayed in a drawer all night, hiding. He hides his face and won't let me touch him or pet him. He is currently hiding in a downstairs storage room and he hasn't come out to eat. He's still using the litter box as far as I can tell but once he did urinate on the floor in the kitchen, which he has never done before. So far I've seen him eat one can of tuna and a few bites of canned catfood. since Thursday night. I have yet to see him drink any water.

I have no idea why this traumatized him so much or what to do about it. We could try putting the old collar back on, but it's close to falling apart and we will have to change it one day. I'm worried for his health but at the same time I know he has to get used to a new collar.

What should I do?

Answer by Kate
this sounds normal to me. My own cat would act wierd every time we changed there collar but as long as the collar is not hurting them then they will settle down with it in a few days. you just have to give them space and time.
Don't worry he will get used to it.