Can house cats find their way back home
2007-01-10 02:14:43 · 11 answers · asked by cheyennet_9 1 in Pets ➔ Cats
Yes, they can.
Sometimes it gets very annoying having to wait in insecurity,
but unless they are enclosed or injured they always find back.
You are welcome
2007-01-10 02:22:31 · answer #1 · answered by saehli 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hi Cheyennet, Yes, there have been stories of cats running away or getting lost and returning even years later. However, a full time house cat will likely return soon in winter. These are things to consider:
1) If your cat is not spayed or neutered, do so asap. This is not that expensive, a simple surgery, and has health perks. This will prevent your cat from wanting to run away.
2) Put up some flyers, maybe run in ad in the newspaper, and contact local animal shelters. Someone may have taken in your cat and your cat is not capable of getting home.
3) Old cat lady is right, your cat's smell will help immensely, so putting something outside may help - but don't move the whole house outside.
I hope she returns, I lost a kitty awhile ago and I still really miss her.
2007-01-10 10:55:49 · answer #2 · answered by sir'slady 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes. Cats like to explore and a male may go out on the town for a few nights, if you understand. But, in time they return. But, cats are very independent and we can never know that they find a young child or elderly person that need them more than us. We had a cat do this when I was young. It was a grown male cat when it showed up. He would not leave so in time we cared for him. Us children, at the time, played with him and fed him. That cat stayed about 4-6 months and then one day he was gone. Maybe he went back home.
2007-01-10 10:27:35 · answer #3 · answered by Snaglefritz 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A cat finds its way home by smell - not sight. A house cat who has never been around the perimeter of his home territory is usually very disoriented and fearful when it gets out. Usually they will be hiding close to your house unless frightened off by traffic noise or dogs.
Put a few things out that have their smell and yours - like their litterbox and clothing that has your scent on it. And their food or some stinky stuff like mackeral. Don't leave food out at night though as the raccoons and such will just eat it and come back for more.
I have heard people say to walk around your property bare-foot to distribute your scent around. Obviously that wouldn't be desirable or even effective in the snow!
2007-01-10 10:24:29 · answer #4 · answered by old cat lady 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I once saw on the Discovery channel a cat that had wandered off one day while his owners were in the process of moving and came home after his owners had moved, to a house full of strangers. He ended up traveling a few hundred miles to his owners new home completley unharmed. The owners couldn't believe it and thought it was just a stray that looked like their lost cat but the cat's tags were a match to their lost cat. It was an older couple and they were just overjoyed to see their "child" back home with them.
2007-01-10 15:20:12 · answer #5 · answered by twiggysrevenge 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It depends...
If by housecat you mean a completely indoor cat, the answer is usually no.
Indoor cats who get outside and aren't used to it will not usually find their way home. It isn't because they aren't capable of it - it's because they get too frightened to try. They usually find a hiding place and stay there, sometimes until they starve.
The same fear that keeps them from finding their way home usually keeps them from going very far in the first place, so they're usually hiding very close to home. The trick is to find them, since they're probably too scared to come to the sound of your voice.
Look in any tight places that a cat could fit, like under sheds or porches, under cars, including up under the hood, in wood piles, in thick shrubbery, and so on. Ask your neighbors to check inside garages or sheds where they may have slipped in and hidden, then been locked in.
Keep looking! Kitty may be almost within sight!
Also, post notices around your neighborhood, in stores, and so on. One of your neighbors may have taken them in and not know who's looking for them. Call animal control, local shelters and vets, and your local newspaper, radio and TV stations if they have lost pet columns or announcements.
And don't forget to look and listen for any of those kinds of notices that someone who found kitty might have put up.
Good luck!
2007-01-10 12:10:02 · answer #6 · answered by Mick 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My mom's cat came back after being gone for 2 weeks and it was -20 degrees out at the time!
2007-01-10 16:28:26 · answer #7 · answered by Jo 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Old cat lady's answer is right on target!
2007-01-10 12:07:54 · answer #8 · answered by eigna728 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mine always find their way home if they wander off.
2007-01-10 10:18:14 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes, also check out your neighbors houses. good luck hope for happy return.
2007-01-10 12:13:13 · answer #10 · answered by sandy e 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋