how far can cats travel back to thier original home?

by Alice
(Whitstable)

My father is moving to spain and has a six year old cat, me and my partner brought the cat to live with us but we accidently left the back door open one evening and she went out. She had only been with us for two days so i'm guessing she has gone back to her original home but this is twenty five miles away, can cat's travel this far?


Answer by Kate
it is possible for a cat to travel this far if they decide to. However he may just be surveying his new area. My sisters cat went missing for none days after only being in the new home for two days, but he still managed to find his way back.

Comments for how far can cats travel back to thier original home?

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Cat Came Back
by: Anonymous

I have at least 3 feral cats living in the junk yard next to my place. I was able to get cat no. 1 into a shelter but that was a huge hassle. I caught cat no.2 yesterday and took him/her 4.4 miles away to a place near where a lady has an outdoor cat commune and feeds them daily. That cat was back less than 24 hours later and now I'm thinking that cat no.1 is back too. I'm not feeding them but I think the junk yard owner is so this is going to be an uphill battle!
I need advice
by: Anonymous

I have a male cat and a few females. They're a year old. My male cat wont protect his territory.plus he is nasty. He pees everywhere, on my door, on side panels of the trailer.rips shit up, and cries all nite long for food. Waking up the neighbors. He only wants to eat and fuck his sisters all the time. What can i do? I cant afford neuter. And the city won't help me. 3 sisters already had kittens by his shameless ass. I had taken all their kittens to the shelter. Im thinking of dropping his no good ass off 40 miles away.
cat jumped out of car 60 miles from home
by: lazylady

I was rehoming my cat because since she has gotten older she wants to spend time in the house. But I am allergic to it so she has to live outside. I feel bad this happened. The woman taking her said she would set a trap but I haven't heard from her in a week, Is it possible for this cat to find her way back that far away. I have had her since she was a month old and she has always been a roamer. She was rehomed 3 months ago to a huge farm 5 miles from my house and she returned 2 weeks ago.......sitting in my kitchen window and when I opened the back door, she ran inside. I am worried sick she will die out there in the wilderness. There are lots of restaurants in the area for her to get food out of a dumpster, but she in alone.........if she shows up again I don't know what to do........make her live outside........I do have a heated cat house for her to sleep in to stay warm.
no they can't find their way back
by: Anonymous

cats can't find their way back. I catch and release stray cats here and they never come back after I dump them in the countryside. Just drive about 10 miles away or so and you should be fine. maybe a little further if you are in a flat area. catch and release I very effective and I manage to get rid of a whole colony like this.
Lost. My dead friends cat
by: Anonymous

I took Tom a 10 year old male cat . He was spoiled rotten by my friend ,she passed away and the Family wanted me to take him . I live 15 miles from where she lived . The first night here about he went wild and started scratching the door ,pulling the carpet and meowing real loud about 3.30 in the morning . I got up fed him ,petted him and brushed him like my friend did but he still had a fit ,I let him out thinking he just needed to poop ,I had a litter box but I wasn’t thinking . He has been gone 18 days ,I hope he went back to his home but it was sold . Is there a chance he is going home ? He lost his owner ,a dog he had been raised with and took away from his home . It is just a few country roads and a couple of bridges for him to get home . I hate I lost my old friends cat .
My one year old cat
by: Anonymous

So the story is like we were travelling to our relatives and I decided to take my cat along but in the way back to our home he jumped from the car and ran away in fields and it was night as well at that we tried our best to find it but we were not able to find him.......the place where he disappeared is about 30km away from my home will he be able to make his way back home????💔💔
My three months old lost cat
by: Anonymous

I had a grey and white color cat. He is only three months old. Three days ago he was scared of my neighbors dog. And I think he hid under the car. After that about 15mins later the car was driven. But my cat wasn’t there. There is a little space in car that he always hid. I think he was in there and when car was driven. I searched everywhere near my house. Can he find his way home?
Sharing my Experience
by: Fayyaz Ahmad

Lost 10 months old cat today
by: fayyaz

The cat ran away from vet hospital being scared somehow. We kept searching for her for 2 days in nearby places, bushes etc. but in vain. Surprisingly, she came back after 72 hrs and 2 miles away. But just to tell that the 2 miles distance have a long bazar, heavy traffic and thousands of houses in between my home and vet hospital. We didn't believe that this could happen. She is still with us and 1 1/2 years have passed. She gave birth to 2 very beautiful kittens viz. Cheeto and Blacky (both male) and both are with us too.

I am pretty sure your cat have gone back to its original home where she found love and respect.
Please also let us know if there is any news. Thanks
Cat Genius
by: Judy

Cat's are near genius escape artist with unbelievable built in homing device much like pigeons. They do not need to see where they are going to make it back from where they came. My cat was taken to a vet to get neutered over three miles away. During the night he escaped from his cage and pushed through a slightly open window 6 feet from the floor. Came straight down through town street after street. He then had to cross the very busy highway 101 running through town and again street after street. He was back at my house before I got up. The vets office called as soon as they opened to tell me he had escaped. They were shocked and pleased he had made it home. We were amazed. He was the talk of the town. Poor Storm (my cat) he still had to return to be neutered.
Will she travel 25 miles away to her former home
by: Jane

I was adopted by a small grey and white cat about 5 years ago, my neighbour had her a kitten and I think she felt uncomfortable with the children. The cat came to me without me feeding her at first but she began to loose weight and looked ill so I started feeding her, she bought me presents , made her self at home with me, she is such an adorable feisty little girl and I love her to bits. My neighbour decided to move and wanted to take the cat with them, I was devistated but couldn’t stop them. I have heard recently she ran away from her new home 2 months ago 25 miles away, will she be able to make her way home or have I lost her for good, I am heart broken.
My cat is 2 years old he's been missing for a month-and-a-half will he be able to find his way back home I live in the country a lot of open Woods
by: AnonymoTerri

My cat is almost 2 years old he's been missing for almost two months I live in the country not a wood area will he be able to find his way home
Lost 10 months old cat today
by: fayyaz

Today I took my cat,Zuko, 10 months to vet hospital. She was scared and ran away. I didn't expect this. Its 2 km from home. From all the comments i have read and as told by vet doctor; she should be coming back in 24 hrs. My children are very worried. Lets pray she comes back safely.
Giving my cat a new home
by: Anonymous

I give my sister my cat and I think it can back is it possible that he traveled about 30 miles it took him about a year to do it
What should I do ?
by: Anonymous

A cat started coming into my house through my open patio door a few years ago, often I didn't know and would just go upstairs and find him sleeping on one of the beds! He would come and go regularly, after a while I started feeding him, as I thought he was maybe a stray, things progressed and he started enjoying a bit of fuss, then was literally around in the garden and outside the house, and would turn up at the window to be let in every time I returned back from work. He then started coming in every night and sleeping on my bed, and I've become quite attached to him. I have recently sold my house and will be moving soon, I didn't want to abandon the cat, but equally didn't want to take him if he belonged to someone. I bought a collar and put a message on it, with my phone number to say 'if you own this cat could you please message me' after about a week I received a message to say that the cat had owners but rarely went home as he was frightened of the owners young daughter and couldn't relax with them anymore. I said I was happy to take them with me, but the owners said they missed him and wanted him, and that if I stopped feeding him, they were hopeful that he would go back there and settle. I didn't feed him for three weeks, but he kept tapping on my window, and slept on the step by my door every night. I couldn't help letting him in again one night when it was cold and raining and he's still wanting to come in even though I wasn't feeding him, I feel torn, as I feel the cat really wants to be here,as I live alone and he likes the peace and quiet and obviously isn't happy at his owners as he wouldn't be here all the time if he was. I really don't know what to do, do I take him with me, or do I just leave him. He knows the area and can wander about quite safely here but where I'm moving is quite near to a main road, and would be quite strange to him. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Newly Rehomed Cat...
by: Anonymous

I adopted a kitty who needed rehoming yesterday, but he slipped out the front door and sprinted away from me before I could catch him... His old home is about a mile away and in a suburban area... Is there a good chance of him returning to his old owners? I've been worried sick about him..

Comment from site owner
Yes there is a possibility that he is trying to get back to his old territory. A mile really isn't very far. Contact the old owners to see if he has been seen,
My running away cat
by: Hanndy

My female spayed cat run away at 1.3 mile from home while I took her for vaccination about 6 weeks ago, does she come back home some day?How she can survive by her self?
CraZy Cat
by: Mississippi Mike

I moved in next door to my girlfriend. The people who lived in my place before me, abandoned several animals when they left. Well, the cats think they own something. One night, one of the children failed to close her door completely and the two cats decided to enter and wreak havoc. They tore into some bread, sprayed and ruined a runner rug. My girl said that was the last straw. She told me to get rid of them. I decided I wanted to give them a fighting chance instead of just digging a hole for them. I took them 7.2 miles away, down a windy country road ( in a cage in the backseat ), so it's not like they could see out. I put them out. It wasn't even straight down one road either. 113 hours and 5 days later, one of the beasts came to my front door, just a hollerin. My girl said: Mike, Garfield's out here and he wants to talk to the guy who took him off. It was him. He was hungry as heck and looked like he lost a little weight. Do the math, that's about one and one third miles a day. For a cat. Now, I only have four choices. One, dig that hole. Two, the pound. Three, take him 96 miles away to my brother n laws ( if he can make it back in under a year, before we buy a house and move, then he for sure deserves to stay) or 4, leave him when we do move, cuz obviously, that's his place.

Comment
OMG you cant kill them for goodness sake. Take them to a animal shelter to be rehomed.
Lost tomcat(phineas)
by: Sfatima

My 1yr.old tom cat is missing from two days he's indoor cat but wanders everyday outside the house in the grassy area i tried to find him there too but no clue i m just hoping he come safe to me asap her absence is killing me😞😭but here on this site my hope grew and just eagerly waiting for him to come back home😢
My OG cat
by: Anonymous

My mom wanted to get rid of our cat so she took her far away from our home and 2 days later she managed to come back.
my cat missing for 6 weeks already
by: Anonymous

my cat been missing for 6 weeks already , I did whatever tips I got from people but no luck. I had her since 8 weeks old now she is almost 3 and 1/2 years old, she always in and out home all day long never gone for all day. for us she is a family member so with her absent we are so sad even for this long with are not ready to give up , but we don't know what to do anymore.
Cat Napping
by: Kathy

I am in the process of moving and needed to find homes for the strays that had been around my home for a year. Through a rescue place they were sent to a foster home till they were processed. I have found out the two kitties are no longer in the foster care and the lady Michelle will not give me or the rescue place any info on where they are. If they got out do you think they could still find me even though they are around 50 km away? I have nightmares about these babies. I pray they actually got away and something bad hadn’t happened to them with the foster lady. It has been a month but I still look for them. Why would someone do take cats as fosters and then they disappear? Breaks my heart.
6-3-18
by: Anonymous

my mom went to the local vet but dropped my cat because she thought he was going to scratch her. he ended up running across the street and out of sight. the vet was only 3-4 miles away from our home. 3 days later i found him inside my house looking for food.
Yes, cats come back
by: Muzaffar

My cat was gifted to a friend, away from my home about 5 kilometers. She came back after 15 Days. Even didn't know directions and way to back home.
I am Amazed. And happy.
Cat away
by: Anonymous

My cat went missing 8 days ago. He is up at his old home. Has done this before but always comes back. Have been up there calling to him.I just want him home. I can't make him come home. He is hiding up there. What do I do.
3 miles threw the city
by: Anonymous

My family was going on a vacation for a couple of days so my mom took my cat home with her. When she got home with her she jumped out of her truck and ran off. 6 days later she was sitting on my front porch.
Missing furbaby
by: Anonymous

Due to will medical reason I had to rehome my 5 year old Blue Point Burman. His new home is 120km away. There is a lot of bushland between his old home . He got out the first night he was there. Nobody has seen him. I was wondering do you think he can make it home
If he does I’m keeping him. I’ll just have to deal with my medical riddles. I am so worried for him
Female Cat left about 20 miles from home
by: Anonymous

When I was a child, living in the country, my Mother dropped our female cat and her kittens off at a farm between 10 and 20 miles away(I was too young to know). Two weeks later she, after leaving her kittens the same day, showed up at the back door. Mom said, "If she wanted to be with us that much, she's staying". I now have a 16 year old female who, after being in a new home for three days, and getting out of the house by accident, has disappeared. She has been gone for 24 hours now, it's in the 40s here and I, too, am worried. My only hope is that she is still in the area or on her way back to her old home, at least 20 miles away. I try to comfort myself by saying that she knows her own mind and is doing what she wants and there would be no way of stopping her if I got her back and she still wanted to leave. She knows where I am.
Lost cat
by: Susan

We were taking our cat in a carrier to the cattery, her normal box was in use with a baby pigeon in it.Sadly the borrowed box fell apart just as we were going into the cattery, which she hates ,and ran away we have been back everyday and search the area which is all countryside,she has two streams and a river to get back to us 3.2 miles away, it's breaking our hearts.
Mitton returns home
by: Marti

When I was about 8 we went to the country to visit grandparents and took our 2 year old tomcat so he could stay there while we went further into southern MO to visit relatives. He left the first nite. Three months and l00 miles later he returned to our house in the city. He had to cross 2 rivers, (not the Missouri river), and come all the way from southwest KC to over in Northeast Kansas City, MO. He would of had to travel thru many miles of bridges and city traffic. There is always hope.
Feral cat
by: Anonymous

I caught a feral cat to bring for spaying . There's a colony at a condemned house. She was pregnant & we couldn't find her litter. Assuming they didn't survive. She climbed out of my porch & escaped! This was Friday. I did notice she apparently is nursing.
The house is 2 mikes away. Today is Sunday & I keep checking for her & the other woman who's helping me is checking also, so far no sign of her.
We live in rural area. Please tell me what you think are her chances? I believe she was born at the house.
I'm so sorry I feel I handed her her death sentence!
😭
my cat returned
by: Sue

Missing for one solid week. I had checked the pound . Checked all the websites for missing and lost animals . VERY worried & constantly searching .Then one morning 5 o'clock in the morning open up the door and there's my cat at 1 week . 1 week and then returned this cat after eating has been sitting on my lap for 8 hours. She keep the faith .
Escaped
by: Anonymous

One of my outside cats got out of her cage (small dog cage) at the vet and ran out in back of the building and over a 8 foot fence. She is 3 miles away from the only environement she knows. Can she survive and could she ever find her way home? Just devastated over this. its been 3 weeks.
Missing cat
by: Anonymous

I ve moved to a new area in my home town not to far away from my old address. My cat really never got used to this move plus to add to the problem she has been chased away by the feral cat here im the neighborhood she has been gone now for 5 days

Hopefull but worried
Missing after a day 😕
by: Anonymous

My cat got moved to a new home (my sisters) and the next day she accidedently escaped out of a window. We looked around the area for about 40 minutes even though it was badly raining. We couldnt find her. Ive now returned home and extremely worried. She origanly lived with me but i live at least 30 minutes away from my sister , is it possible she could make her way all the way back. Im very scared for her .
Encouraging
by: Linda

My cat recently escaped from the vet whilst having blood taken. I am distraught, he is a very timid cat and not sociable.
The vet is a few miles away so I hope that he will be able to find his way home. I feel a bit more encouraged re his return home after reading some of your comments.
cat travel
by: Anonymous

my cat has been missing - escaped from car on busy street - for two days now - 5 miles from home over some pretty rough territory. So it was comforting for me to be able to see that some cats do make it back. Still hoping.
Lost cat
by: Anonymous

We took our cat to get spayed and it escaped from the vet. That is about 18 miles away. We have been searching the area for 3 days now. She is a long way from home and there are hills, valleys and rivers to cross. Can someone let me know if they think she would make it home? We are desperate.
Homeward Bound
by: Anonymous

About a week ago my boyfriend took my cats to the humane society, one made it fine and the other escaped as soon as he opened the box. I heard something on my back porch this morning and to my surprise there was my cat, Lola. It took her about a week but she made it home fine. She walked a little over two miles and across two busy busy streets. This hasnt been the first time I have had an animal make it home. My dog Brutus made it home one day as well. I had taken him to my mother-in-law's house, which is about a mile away from our house. I returned home and proceeded to take a shower. While I was drying myself off I thought I heard some whining. I opened the bathroom door and sitting in front of it was Brutus. We had only walked him to her house once but I guess that was enough to make it back home. So I believe that any animal will and can make it home if they are determined enough.
I hope my cat comes home!
by: Tina

Well I was away for the weekend, and took my cat to stay with my Aunt , about 6 miles away. When I went to pick him up on Sunday evening, he ran out the door! we chased him around the streets for about 45 minuts, but he wouldn't be caught, so we went in for the night. I though he would just come back after a fer hours! But then the nex morning, he still had not showed up! We searches all round the streets, but he was no where to be found! It's been 3 days now! I've phoned vets, cat rescue centres, even the local police! no news! I'm so upset! Iv'e had him since he was a kitten, for 9 years, and I love him so much! I can't believe he's just gone! every time I come home, I'm hoping he'll be sitting on the doorstep!
GPS
by: Anonymous

Cats have a built in GPS system. When a cat moves to a new home, it takes about 10 days for the internal GPS to reset the new home "way point", and until then if they get out they will attempt to return to the old home. It is best, if possible, to keep the new cat confined for about 10 days after a move.
SHERU'S RETURN
by: babs m notts

my sister moved house n obviusly took her cat...it was a male and went missing the second day they let him out...6 days later he turned up at the door step which is 9 miles way from her new house..he went staright to his old spot and fell asleep after snifing his smell (thats how they secure theri teirtory...i was shocked n also amazed at the fact he found its way home.. 9miles away u know...he doesnt stay in much now tho...GOD HAS DEFINATLY FITTED EM A BUILT IN SAT NAV...HAHA

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