Those dreaded veterinary collars that dogs and cats hate to wear have gotten a makeover, it seems. The one we’re familiar with is a flat semi-circle of plastic that wraps around and creates an open cone with your pet’s head inside it.

It seems pretty disorienting to wear one, and in the brief attempts we’ve made to follow our vet’s orders and encase one of our cats, it leads to collisions with furniture and serious difficulty maneuvering around otherwise familiar spaces.

Actually, in all the years and generations of cats, we have collected an awful lot of those cones, not one of which has stayed on one of our cats for more than an hour or so. Usually just for show as we leave the vet’s office. Sometimes we carry it out, blatantly lying and saying that we’ll put it on when we get the cat home. Fat chance.

Mr. Murphy, one of our favorite morning dogs in Kaaawa, has been struggling with one of those traditional cones for weeks to keep him from chewing various parts of his body.

Enter ProCollar.

When we got to Murphy’s house today, there was Murphy. But the old plastic collar was gone, replaced with what looks like one of those pillows that frequent flyers use on planes.

This may not be new, but it’s the first time I’ve seen one loose in the wild.

This product looks like a winner. It was obviously much more comfortable to wear, and much less disorienting, but it appeared to be relatively effective. And Murphy’s spirits seemed much improved.

We just hope that these are available in sizes appropriate for fat indoor cats the next time we have a medical need.