It may be that your cat has found somewhere else they feel safe and secure. Maybe a neighbor has been showering them with attention, or feeding them bowls of mouth-watering food. It could be because there has been major upheaval at home – a new baby, a new pet, even a change of diet.
If your cat is gone for more than 12 hours or overnight, it's time to take action. Don't panic. Follow the tips in this article to bring your cat home safely.
Indoor or outdoor cats can be found outside under decks, on rooves, under parked cars, in tall trees, dense bushes or in drains. Most cats, when feeling overwhelmed or lost, will hide instead of run. They can spend long periods of time in one area moving from hiding spot to hiding spot.
A retrospective case series was conducted where self-selected participants whose cat had gone missing provided data in an online questionnaire. Of the 1210 study cats, only 61% were found within one year, with 34% recovered alive by the owner within 7 days. Few cats were found alive after 90 days.
Territory: fending off another cat that has entered their territory; neighborhood cat drama is real. Food: your neighbor may be feeding your cat. Predation: your cat may have been attacked or killed by a coyote, hawk, etc. Disease: some cats run away to die or acquire disease (parasites), making it difficult to return.
Submit lost reports to your local animal shelters and animal control agency, and ask if there are other local animal welfare organizations that may have your pet. Depending on where you live, the shelter may only be able to hold a lost cat for as little as 72 hours before placing them for adoption, so don't delay.
Yes, cats can return home many days, weeks, months, and even years after they wandered off or were lost. According to the Lost Pet Research project, there were reports of cats traveling 50-80 miles in 2.5 years, 38 miles in 6 months, 30 miles in 10 days, and 20 miles in 21 days. So if your cat is lost, keep up hope.
Their first instinct is to find a place to hide. If they have ever escaped before they will run the same direction and go the same place they did before (even if it was years ago). Cats will usually stay within a 3-4 house radius from where they went out as long as they can find a place to hide within that area.
The duration a scared cat will hide outside can vary greatly depending on factors such as their personality, the source of fear, and their familiarity with the environment. Some cats may hide for just a few hours, while others could remain hidden for several days.
You do not need to worry if your cat leaves, however, if it has been more than two days, you should consider notifying your local vet and animal warden that your animal has not come back, as they might have been injured, preventing them from coming home.
“It is common for cats to remember you even if they haven't seen you for years,” Dr. Hawthorne told The Dodo. “It is important to note that kittens will typically have worse memory recall compared to adult cats, which is a similar thing that happens in human babies.”
Knock on doors in your neighbourhood and ask if people have seen your cat. Show them a photo of your kitty and give them a phone number to contact if they see your cat in the days to come. Leave out your cat's favourite food each night, preferably a strong-smelling type of food that will lure your cat home again.
It isn't uncommon for cats to go missing for 24 hours, especially if they like spending a lot of time outdoors. In some cases, cats can even stay away from home for up to 10 days at a time. We also know of cats that leave home while their humans are away on holiday, returning soon after the family arrives back.
While gone, they may not show any anxiety for separation since cats are pretty self-dependent. But if they act overjoyed on being reunited, the cats surely missed you when gone. Do cats forget their owner in 3 days? Cats have an average memory of 16 hours, which is higher than dogs, as studies suggest.
Luring Out a Lost Cat
Albrecht says owners trying to lure out their cat should use food. You can even place food just inside the door and then close it once your cat heads back inside. You might also consider leaving food and water outside the home in case the cat comes back at night.
You may have even heard that your cat can smell their dirty litter a mile away. Unfortunately, there is no evidence that a cat can smell their litter box from that far away. More realistically, they might be able to smell it up to a few hundred feet away (depending on wind and weather conditions) and often a lot less.
Outside cats mark their territory with urine and rub up against objects to leave behind specific scent markers. It's likely that they use these scent markers to know where they are and where they're going. It's theorized that they can follow their own scent trails all the way back home.
Feline creatures are infamous for marking their territories with urine spraying or bunting scent glands, helping set some olfactory cues if they get lost. The lost cats can find their way home just by following the scent of its litter box, food bowl, or even you.
Affectionate behaviour and extra purring! A good sign that your cat is happy you're back is if they show physical affection such as head butting, purring, rubbing against you and stretching. Shadowing behaviour.
Research has shown that cats don't show signs of separation anxiety when their owner is away. Some cat owners know this: you return from a holiday but your cat acts pretty indifferently! Other cats even behave like they are "offended" and pretend not to see you at all.
Well, when they're lost from their territory – your home – fear is likely to be their greatest feeling, rather than hunger. In fact, the Missing Animal Response Network has found that cats will often hide for one or two weeks after becoming displaced from their territory.