August 16, 2024, 6:57 am | Read time: 6 minutes
Many cat owners know the anxious feeling when their beloved pet simply doesn’t come home after a walk around the neighborhood. Sometimes, however, it’s indoor cats who take advantage of a careless moment and escape through an open door or window. PETBOOK explains what desperate owners can do if their cat has escaped.
When the cat doesn’t come home for several hours or even days, many cat owners’ heads start spinning: Has something happened to their beloved pet? Was it injured in a fight with the neighbor’s cat, or perhaps hit by a car? Or has the runaway simply made itself comfortable on another family’s sofa? If the cat has escaped, the first thing to do is to keep calm. Then, with the right measures, you can increase the chances of a happy reunion. At a glance: What to do if your cat has escaped.
React promptly
In order to find the cat with the best possible chance of success, you should react very promptly and not wait a few days to see if they return on their own. It also depends on whether the missing animal is purely an indoor cat that has found its way out of an open window or unsecured balcony, or whether it is an outdoor cat that no longer returns at its usual time.
Search the immediate surroundings of indoor cats
Especially with indoor cats, the chances of finding them again quickly is greater than with outdoor cats. They are not familiar with their surroundings and do not stray very far from their home to begin with. Quick action is required. The first thing to do is to search the immediate area under the window, balcony, or front door.
Cats usually hide deep in the bushes and don’t just sit waiting on the sidewalk. They often move sheltered along the walls of houses. You should take this into account when searching and consider how the cat might have run.
Search for the cat at nighttime
Most people search in broad daylight, calling for the cat or rattling a box of dry food. This tactic rarely leads to success. If your cat has escaped, it is better to wait until nightfall. During the day, cars drive, and people and dogs run around. The many noises frighten cats. So they look for a hiding place and wait until it gets quieter. They often sit so deep in the bushes that it is almost impossible to track them down. They can be so paralyzed by fear that they do not respond to their owners’ calls.
At night, on the other hand, you have a better chance. Thanks to their reflective eyes, they can be spotted quickly with a flashlight, even in bushes or under cars. If you spot two bright green spots, it is important not to call the cat out loud right away, but to approach them carefully to make sure that it really is your own cat. Most cats are happy to be picked up and rescued by their owners. However, some are so frightened that it can make sense to lure them with food or into a transport box.
Inform the neighbors
Finding cats that regularly go outside and disappear is a little more complicated. In most cases, the cats know their territory well and have not simply lost their way. One of the most common reasons is that they are accidentally locked in a garage, cellar, or garden shed while they are resting there.1
However, there are also cats that deliberately run away or disappear from time to time, for example, when the hustle and bustle at home is too much for them. Some of them then actually look for a kind of substitute family and take up residence in the neighborhood. It is therefore always a good idea to ask the neighbors if they have seen the lost cat.
Search posters are always useful
Detailed, illustrated missing posters, distributed on lampposts and the notice boards of local supermarkets, can also provide key information. Missing cat reports can also be advertised in the local press and posted on social media. Worried cat owners can also call nearby animal shelters, veterinary clinics, and cat boarding facilities. Perhaps someone has found their escaped cat and handed it in there.2
A homeward trawl: creating a scent trail for stray cats to follow home
During the mating season in spring, in particular, male cats that are not neutered go on long walks when they smell the scent of a female cat in heat. It can then happen that they wander further away from home than usual and do not come home at night. After a move, it can take some time for a cat to get used to its new territory and find its way home safely.
If you suspect that the cat has strayed outside, you can lay a so-called homeward trail. It works like this:
- Choose a worn item of clothing belonging to a family member to serve as an “aroma dispenser”.
- Starting from your own home, you then follow several routes in a star shape, leaving a familiar scent trail. To do so, drag the item of clothing along the cat’s possible routes and rub it against trees, bushes, and lanterns.
- Place a basket on the patio or in the garden with a familiar-smelling item of clothing or blanket in it.
This can show the stray cat the way home and make its arrival more pleasant.
Also interesting: You’ve found an abandoned pet on the road? What you should do now
Lost or abandoned You’ve found an abandoned pet in the street? What you should do now
PETBOOK research Victims of abducted dog: “The worst part was the constant uncertainty”
Native wild animals Why you so rarely see dead birds
Chipping, registering, and finding
The easiest way to find lost cats is to identify them with a unique tag. In the past, cats were tattooed with a number in their ears, but nowadays most cat lovers use a microchip. This contains a 15-digit number and is placed under the cat’s skin. This number can be read with a suitable device, for example, at the vet or animal shelter. However, tattooing or chipping alone is not enough. The cat must be registered with its number in a pet register, for example, with Tasso or Findefix. This allows the lost cat to be assigned to its owner if it is found.3
Good to know: A total of ten million pets are registered with Tasso alone — six million of which are dogs and four million cats. In 2023, 93,100 cats were reported missing, and around 70,300 were rehomed. A balance sheet that is impressive.4
It is therefore worth getting your pet chipped and registering it with a pet registry. This increases the chances that an escaped cat will be returned home safely. And if you are waiting for your cat again in the evening, perhaps this thought will help: there are cats that have returned safely to their owners after months or even years.