Do you suspect your cat may have a secret outdoor life? If your cat is allowed to venture outside the house, how much do you know about what they are really getting up to out there?
Cats are natural explorers. Even the most domesticated cats have a strong instinct to explore the great outdoors. If you’ve ever watched your cat sitting by the window with eyes opened wide and ears forward, you can clearly see how strong their curiosity is about the outdoor world. But how far do cats actually roam when they get the chance? For any cat owner who worries about their cat’s safety, this is a big question. Every cat has different behavioural characteristics, and roaming distances vary from one another. Some cats like to stay close to home, while others like to explore distances greater than you may expect.
In this blog, we will discuss how far cats roam. As cat owners we like to think that we know what our cats are doing, but are we really safe to assume our cats won’t roam far enough to get into any trouble?
Why Do Cats Roam Away from Home?
One of the main driving forces for your cat to roam hunting. Cats are agile, fast, quiet and intensely curious. They are motivated to seek out anything that moves, and their sharp senses help them move ninja-like through the world. And sure, every cat is different, and some cats are more motivated towards adventure than others, but essentially, every cat is driven to explore the world around them.
While cats don’t generally seek out other cats for friendship, they most certainly will seek a partner when mating season comes around. This may be less so in cats that have been neutered, but some cats will still retain sexual urges, and they may be driven to roam to find a mate.
Finally, cats will roam because they want to understand the world around them! They are curious creatures, but they also like familiarity, so they constantly move through their territory to reassure themselves that their environment is safe and to monitor any potentially dangerous changes.
What Factors Influence How Far a Cat Roams?
All cats like to roam, but there can be big differences in how much or how far. Cats, like humans, are all born with different abilities and personalities, and this will affect how they behave in their environment.
Here are six interesting factors that influence how far a cat roams.
- Gender: It’s a bit of a myth that male cats roam further than female cats. In truth, both male and female cats are highly motivated to roam for the same reasons – hunting, mating and territory. While, on average, a male cat will tend to roam slightly further than female cats, the difference is not as significant as you might think.
- Neutered or Unneutered: When compared with desexed cats, natural cats tend to roam further than desexed cats. Mating is a very strong motivator for a natural cat to roam far.
- Inside or outside cat: A cat with lots of exposure to the outside world and plenty of time to mark and get to know its territory roams a lot further than an inside cat that has accidentally escaped or been let outside. However, given enough opportunity and exposure, an inside cat will also build enough confidence to roam further and further.
- Age: Like their human counterparts, old cats also experience a natural decrease in activity, and they may not feel as driven to roam as far. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean they are safer. Senior cats might experience memory issues that could lead them to become unfamiliar with their previously well-known territory, which means they could get lost and lose their homing ability.
- Rural or City: City cats are likely to share territory with other neighbourhood cats. Their roaming range is usually lower than rural cats where properties are further apart. However, this also means that city cats are more prone to territory battles as new cats are introduced to the neighbourhood, and there is competition for space. Rural cats can also encounter feral cats in their country surroundings, many of which are fierce fighters due to the need for them to survive without the support of loving owners.
- Personality: Yes, a cat’s personality also influences how far they roam. However roaming is a very strong drive for all cats and no matter how timid, clingy or lazy your cat is, they will always indulge in a little bit of roaming exploration.
How Far Do Domestic Cats Roam?
So, how far exactly will a domestic cat roam? Well, according to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment in Tasmania, the average outdoor domestic cat can roam an area up to 2 hectares! That means some cats can stray a whopping 10 km from home!
And if you think that is surprising, an article by The Invasive Species Council, an organisation dedicated to protecting our native species and environment, notes that in one example of their research on cat roaming, they found a pet cat that had travelled over 30 hectares in just seven days!
Yes, that’s an extreme example, but it’s important to understand that a cat’s ability to roam is quite impressive when given the right motivation. And even the sleepiest and cutest kitty cat has the beating heart of a brave and fierce lion.
How Far Do Feral Cats Travel?
Tracking of feral cats by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy has discovered that some cats have travelled a mind-blowing 170 km through drought-ravaged New South Wales outback. The gender of a feral cat can change their roaming averages, with dominant male cats averaging a range of 8 square km, while smaller females might be travelling slightly less than that and even around half that range when they are rearing kittens.
Does Neutering Affect How Far Cats Roam?
Neutering or desexing your cat can be a very effective way of limiting their roaming behaviours. A cat’s behaviour and instincts are directly influenced by its sex hormones. When you neuter a cat, you are basically reducing the hormones that drive the cat’s more problematic behaviours. The instinct to mate is one of the main driving factors for male cats to roam long distances. Some researchers note that neutering can reduce that urge to roam in about 90% of male cats because they no longer experience sexual interest.
And there are other benefits too.
- Population Control: A neutered cat cannot contribute to the already vast feral cat problem in Australia.
- Reduce Spraying: An intact cat will want to mark its territory and ward off rival cats by vertically spraying pungent smelling urine. Because a neutered cat’s instincts to fight or mate are reduced, there is often a marked decrease in this behaviour.
- Aggression: Similarly, cat aggression is usually driven by competition for mating. As neutering reduces sexual interest, cats have much less reason to fight and will usually be happy to just hang out and home and chill with the family.
Do Cats Always Return Home?
Cats are territorial creatures, and they are strongly drawn to staying within the confines of that marked territory. And if they are a well-loved pet with a good supply of soft cushions and delicious food, they will certainly have no reason not to return to your home after a day’s wandering.
Cats make it their mission to become very familiar with every corner of their territory and know every tree, plant, pathway, tunnel, or fence that marks their way home. It would be rare for a healthy, happy cat to become lost while roaming.
So, if you find yourself wondering where your usual dinner-time punctual cat has gone, they might be exploring, injured, or hiding due to fear. They could also be trapped somewhere or involved in a territorial dispute.
How Can You Track How Far Your Cat Roams?
Cats that are given access to uncontained outdoor spaces will roam; you should make no mistake about it. If you are curious about tracking your cat’s movements while it explores the great outdoors, you should invest in a tracking device. These days, there are many different cat trackers to choose from, and they are small and light enough to be fitted in a standard cat collar.
Although, not all GPS trackers have the same amount of accuracy. Using satellite technology to locate something small, like a cat in a relatively small area, is less accurate than trying to locate the position of something as large as a cruise ship within an ocean. Cats also tend to move quickly, so this makes it even more difficult to get an accurate reading on them. Smaller GPS trackers, the kind light enough for your cat to wear, will generally be less accurate than a larger GPS device which will probably be too heavy for your cat to wear comfortably. Also, you need to consider battery life. Smaller devices will obviously have smaller batteries and will operate for shorter amounts of time.
So putting a GPS tracking collar is not a guarantee that you’ll know exactly where your cat is, or where to find it if it gets lost. If the battery runs out, you may be able to see the cat’s last location, but you won’t know if that cat has moved from that area since the last reading.
Microchipping, while not a cat tracking device, is an important device that is usually inserted into a cat when they are getting neutered, and can help owners be reunited with their cats should they be found wandering far away in places they probably have no business being in.
If you find a cat and are not sure where its home is, you can take it to the local vet who will be able to scan for a microchip which contains all the details about the cat’s home address and contact details of its owners.
And if you are unfortunate to come across a deceased cat, they can also be taken to the vet and scanned for a microchip so that the probably distraught owners can finally know what happened to their beloved cat.
What Are the Risks of Letting Cats Roam Far?
By now, it should be clear that the risks to cats allowed to roam freely can be quite tragic. While cats are very clever and agile creatures, there are hazards in the urban and rural environment that cannot always be avoided.
- Traffic hazards: You don’t need to live on a busy street for your cat to be in danger of being hit by a car. Cats love to roam at night when visibility on the roads is not great. Cats are not born understanding road rules and they may make a dash across the street at exactly the wrong time and without enough warning for that unsuspecting driver to hit those brakes.
- Predators: In Perth, Western Australia, we are lucky enough not to have major predators in our environment. In fact, unless a kitty decides to swim in the ocean, there isn’t a larger predator in our urban and rural bushland that might like to prey on a cat. In rural and semi-rural regions, however, we have some pretty impressive and large wedge-tail eagles capable of carrying away an animal up to 5 kilos! They are certainly strong enough to deal with a kitten and have been known to dine on feral cats, so a normal domestic cat isn’t safe either.
- Dogs: So Perth may not have predators, but we certainly have an abundance of neighbourhood dogs! Usually, cats are smart enough to avoid backyards with barking canines. Still, there is always the risk of encounters with escaped dogs or even sudden appearances of dogs in previously dogless backyards as people and pets move in and out of the neighbourhood. A large dog can inflict deep, crushing injuries on smaller cats and result in a lot of distress, costly vet bills, or fatality.
- Health risks: Neighbourhoods are not short on other cats either! If allowed to roam, your cat may get involved in territory wars with neighbourhood cats and sustain injuries. Abscesses can form around the face or body from deep scratches, and these can become infected and lead to sickness and even death. You also won’t know if other cats are up to date with their vaccinations, so your cat may come into contact with fatal diseases.
- Getting lost: Cats have great homing instincts, but senior cats are in danger of getting confused and not finding their way home. A cat might also get spooked by something that causes it to escape into unknown territory and may then have trouble finding their way back home.
How Can I Stop My Cat from Roaming?
Ultimately, if you prioritise your cat’s safety, the best thing you can do for them is stop them from roaming around the streets. Some people think they can limit the roaming time to just daytime or nighttime, but ultimately, there is no safe time for cats to be outside untracked and unsupervised. There is certainly no safe time for our local wildlife either, as cats are just as happy hunting in short spurts during the day and the night.
So, how can we stop our cats from roaming?
- Keep them Indoors: This simple solution is to keep cats indoors. Cats are highly adaptable creatures who do not require much space. As long as they have comfortable hiding spots, some high resting places, a nice bowl of food, some toys and play time, a warm spot to sleep in, and a loving belly rub from their favourite human, an indoor cat can thrive as well as an outdoor cat. In fact, indoor cats have been shown to live longer and be healthier than their free-roaming counterparts.
- Safe Outdoor Enclosures: Your cat will also benefit from access to safe outdoor spaces, where they can flex their cat instincts and take in the sights and smells of the wind, sun, plants and dirt. A safe outdoor space can range from enclosing your entire backyard to providing a small netted nook outside a window or on a balcony or pergola.
- Install Cat Proof Fences: If you don’t want to enclose your backyard, you can install cat fence extensions which are specially designed to make climbing over them difficult if not impossible for your cat. Cat fence extensions increase the height of your fence, but are also angled inwards which would require upside down climbing which is not natural or easy for cats.
- Electric Fences and Shock Collars: Existing on the market, but perhaps not exactly an ideal or humane method of stopping cats from wandering, are hidden electric fences and collars that emit a shock if a cat gets close to a designated boundary area. Not only might this method increase your cat’s anxiety and reduce its feeling of safety in your home, but some writers actually suggest that the zap emitted could even be fatal!
Conclusion:
Cats that are allowed to do so will roam, and while actual distance varies from cat to cat, research suggests that a domestic cat’s roaming range can be as big as 2 hectares. Roaming cats are not only at more risk of injury, disease and death, but they are also responsible for a significant death toll on our local, native wildlife.
Indoor cats, or cats with access to contained outdoor enclosures, live longer and healthier lives, with less injury and disease than their free-roaming counterparts. An indoor cat, or a contained cat, can live a perfectly happy and sensory-rich life and develop loving bonds with their humans.
To ensure your cat feels safe and stimulated in its indoor and contained outdoor spaces, neutering to curb problematic natural instincts, access to toys and playtime with loving owners, access to high places, and a snug, sunny spot in which to receive head scratches will keep your cat safe and content.
Keep your cat safe and close with a secure enclosure! For effective cat roaming control with a top-quality cat netting enclosure in Perth, contact us today and ensure your feline friend stays happy and protected!
FAQs
Are Cats Goods at Finding Their Way Home?
Cats have extraordinary homing abilities, and use scent glands to mark their territory and find their way of home. The exception may be senior cats that have cognitive issues which affect memory, and may be susceptible to becoming disoriented and lost.
Will My Cat Run Away If I Let It Outside?
No, it won’t. Cats have strong territorial instincts which mean they like to pick an area and stay in it. Once a cat has been given enough time to establish your house as their home, they will most likely return there or stay close by if they are accidentally let outside.
Is It Cruel to Never Let a Cat Outside?
Cats are highly adaptable creatures that do well in a range of environments, from apartment living to large mansions. As long as you provide them with stimulating toys, playful interaction, a regularly cleaned toileting area, food, water, and a sunny spot to curl up, indoor cats will live a long, happy, and healthy life even if they never take a step into the outside world.
Should I Be Worried If My Cat Doesn't Come Home?
Because cats have such strong homing and territorial instincts, a cat that does not return home as expected could be a cause for concern. They may be lost, injured, or tragically even deceased. If unneutered, they may have gone in search of a mate and can disappear for days or even months! Of course, it’s equally possible that your cat has encountered another friendly home with food and head scratches, and they have been misguidedly adopted by well-meaning humans who may believe it to be lost or abandoned.
What’s the Furthest Distance a Cat Has Travelled?
Well, it may not officially be the furthest distance, but there is a great story about Howie, a well-loved Persian cat that belonged to the Hicks family in Australia, who was taken to stay with relatives when the family went on vacation. Sadly, Howie managed to escape his new home, but no one was able to find him. Of course, everybody believed the worst, and the Hicks mourned their beloved cat. A year later, they found a dishevelled, matted, starving cat at the doorstep and realised it was Howie. Somehow, this indoor cat had managed to survive a year on its own and travel a whopping 1,609 kilometres through the harsh Australian outback to find its way home.
