Elizabethan collar

An Australian Kelpie wearing an Elizabethan collar in order to help an eye infection to heal.

An Elizabethan collar, E-Collar, or pet cone, (sometimes humorously called a pet lamp-shade, pet radar dish or cone of shame) is a protective medical device worn by an animal, usually a cat or dog. Shaped like a truncated cone, its purpose is to prevent the animal from biting or licking at its body or scratching at its head or neck while wounds or injuries heal.^[1]

The device is generally attached to the pet's usual collar with strings or tabs passed through holes punched in the sides of the plastic. The neck of the collar should be short enough to let the animal eat and drink. Although most pets adjust to them quite well, others will not eat or drink with the collar in place and the collar is temporarily removed for meals.^[2]

While purpose-made collars can be purchased from veterinarians or pet stores, they can also be made from plastic and cardboard or by using plastic flowerpots, wastebaskets, buckets or lampshades. Modern collars might involve soft fabric trim along the edges to increase comfort and velcro surfaces for ease of attachment and removal.

The collars are named from the ruffs worn in Elizabethan times. They were invented in the early 1960's by Frank L. Johnson.^[3]

Types of collars

• 
  A soft fabric collar
• 
  An inflatable Elizabethan collar. These collars are designed to be more comfortable and allow pets easier access to food and water.
• 
  Horse "neck cradle"

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Elizabethan collars.

See also

• Dog collar
• Muzzle (device)
• Neck brace

References