We hope the following information about lost cat behavior will assist you in tracking down your missing cat.
When searching for a lost cat, please keep in mind:
Cats are extremely territorial! If frightened, a cat may dash through other cats’ territories, more worried about the source of its fear (i.e. a predator) than the neighboring dominate cat(s). Once the crisis is past, it is unable to return home due to feline territorial boundaries. The “lost” cat may not be far from home, just unable to return. Requesting your neighbors with outdoor access cats contain them for a few hours a day may enable your cat to return.
Cats are incredibly adept at hiding! They have been found inside box-springs, in sub-floorings, and behind drywall. Search everywhere! Cats are most often found within a few houses of their home. They often hide in fear for a week or more, eventually driven out of hiding by hunger, sadly, by which time their distraught families have stopped looking for them.
Cats can cover a lot of ground when frightened. After thoroughly searching the immediate area, continue to expand. (We searched for a kitten in who had traveled nearly a mile after crossing a highway…another missing cat was found over three miles from home!)