What You Need to Know
When their cat goes missing, people often make wrong assumptions about what might have happened and how their cat will behave when lost. This problem is exacerbated by the often-inaccurate information on the internet and suggestions of well-meaning friends and neighbors. This all leads to many people looking in all the wrong places, using unhelpful search techniques, and ultimately giving up way too soon.
How your cat behaviors when lost will depend a lot on their personality, circumstances of their disappearance and the environment where they went missing. However, the biggest factor determining lost cat behavior is their experience with being outdoors. A strictly indoor cat will act very differently from a cat that is regularly allowed outdoors unsupervised (i.e. an outdoor-access cat).
Your cat is most likely hiding somewhere nearby
The majority of escaped indoor-only cats will hide within 500 feet from their location lost with an average distance of only 130 feet.
- 50% of lost indoor cats are ultimately found in their own yard
- 75% of lost indoor cats are found within 500 feet of their location lost or approximately a 3-5 house radius
- 90% of lost indoor cats are found within 1/4 mile of their home or location lost
Whether they slip out an open door, fall out of a window or escape from a car, indoor-only cats display characteristic behaviors when lost. For most indoor-only cats, the outdoors is a scary place. Even cats that intentionally slip out the door to explore, often become frightened by all the new sights, sounds and activities outside. Other indoor cats seem curious yet comfortable outdoors until something (new and scary) happens; their owner attempts to catch them, a loud car drives by, or a person or dog walks down the street.
Unlike dogs, which tend to run when scared, the natural behavior of a frightened cat is to find a safe place to hide. Some cats will attempt to run back inside the house, but others will bolt in fear in another direction. Unless chased, most cats will not run very far.
Your cat will probably NOT respond to you or come out of hiding when you search
When lost outdoors, most indoor cats enter what is known as “survival mode.” Once in this state, they are unlikely to respond to you calling their name or shaking a bag of treats. This is true even if your cat loves you and is your best friend when indoors. The cat’s instinct is to stay silent in order to remain safe.
Even if they see you, your cat may not immediately recognize you. In fact, it is common for an escaped indoor-only cat to run in fear from their owner when approached. Don't worry! There are still ways to safely catch them.
Just because you can't find your cat and nobody has seen them, doesn't mean that they're not around
Even if you do a very thorough search of the area, you may not find your cat even if they are nearby. Most indoor-only cats are incredibly good at hiding and will often only come out at night. Due to these behaviors, it is not unusual to have zero sightings of a lost indoor cat for a week or more. The search methods in this guide will help you find your cat sooner even with zero sightings.
A lost cat in survival mode is very like a small wild animal. Just think, in many places we know that there are raccoons, skunks and opossums living nearby, but you probably didn’t find any of these animals during your search either.
Despite what people may tell you, your lost cat was probably NOT eaten by a coyote or other predator
As you speak with friends and neighbors, you may hear that coyotes have been seen or heard in the area. Other people may tell you that they lost their own cat and never found them. The sad fact is that many people that lose a cat, do very little to find their cat and often assume that they were eaten by a predator. Most indoor-only cats are incredibly good at hiding and manage to keep themselves safe even in areas with coyotes or other predators.