The information comes from a study in which 1,210 cats were assessed. As I understand it, the study looked at lost cats in America and Australia. The summary opens up with the words: “At least 15% of cat owners lose their pet in a five-year period and some are never found”. Only 61% were found within one year, with 34% recovered alive by their owner within seven days. They state that “few cats were found alive after 90 days”. The study was published online on January 2, 2018. Most cats were found near where they had escaped or disappeared with half of them being found within 50 meters, and three quarters of them (75%) being found within 500 meters of their home. Another study found that 66% of lost cats were recovered when they returned home on their own or they were found in the neighbouring vicinity.
When the cats were found only 10% of them hissed or acted like a feral cat. Most of the found cats appeared to be scared (50%), quiet but alert (30%) and/or friendly/relaxed (25%). 9% of the cats were sick or injured when found.
Below are some more statistics on where they were when they went missing and where they were when found. This is a summary. If you’d like more detail, please see the study by clicking on this link.
| The cat was at an unfamiliar location when lost (n = 57) | |
| At boarding kennel or cattery | 0% (0) |
| At a friend’s or pet sitter’s home | 34% (19) |
| At a veterinary clinic | 0% (0) |
| At the groomer | 0% (0) |
| At a holiday location | 11% (6) |
| Moved to a new home | 51% (29) |
| Other 4 | 4% (2) |
| Not recorded | 1 |
| The cat escaped while being transported (n = 25) | |
| Jumped out of vehicle through open door or window | 16% (4) |
| Escaped when involved in a vehicular accident | 4% (1) |
| Escaped from cat carrier | 52% (13) |
| Escaped while on a leash | 8% (2) |
| Escaped from owner’s arms | 12% (3) |
| Other 3 | 8% (2) |
| The cat was outdoors when they went missing (n = 272) | |
| Escaped from enclosure outside in a yard or porch or “catio” | 9% (15) |
| Escaped while on leash | 4% (7) |
| Escaped while supervised outdoors | 17% (28) |
| Escaped while outdoors without supervision | 64% (109) |
| Accidental or unintentional transport off premises | 6% (10) |
| Not recorded | 103 |
| The cat was indoors when they went missing (n = 403) | |
| Jumped from balcony | 5% (19) |
| Jumped from a window | 11% (42) |
| Escaped through an open door or garage | 74% (272) |
| Escaped while outdoors without supervision | 0% (1) |
| Accidental or unintentional transport off premises | 1% (2) |
| Cat disappeared but never left indoor premises | 1% (4) |
| Escaped through damaged window/door screen | 6% (21) |
| Escaped through damaged cat enclosure | 1% (6) |
| Other 2 | 1% (3) |
| Not recorded | 33 |
| From where did your cat go missing? | |
| It was indoors | 37% |
| It was outdoors | 25% |
| It was an indoor-outdoor cat and disappeared | 31% |
| Escaped while being transported | 2% |
| It was at an unfamiliar location | 5% |
| Not recorded | 115 |
Below is information about where the lost cats were found.
| My cat was found outside | 83% |
| My cat was found inside my house | 4% |
| My cat was found inside a public building | 2% |
| My cat was found inside someone else’s house | 11% |
| Not recorded | 19 |
Circumstances when found.
| Under house | 5% |
| Storm drain or sewer | 4% |
| In a garage | 4% |
| In cat trap | 4% |
| In a shed or barn | 3% |
| Outside a building (e.g., apartment complex, commercial buildings) | 3% |
| Under vehicle | 3% |
| In a yard | 20% |
| In farm or woods or forest | 2% |
| Under a shed | 2% |
| Waiting outside home/house | 19% |
| Found hiding under vegetation/shrubbery | 16% |
| Under patio/deck/porch | 10% |
| Under a garage | 1% |
| On road-side | 1% |
| In or between fencing | 1% |
| Up a tree | 1% |
| With a feral colony | 1% |
| Balcony | 1% |
| In a vehicle | 0% |
| In a wood-pile | 0% |
| Not recorded | 17 |
| If your cat was found outside, can you tell us more about where it was found? | |
The study is Search Methods Used to Locate Missing Cats and Locations Where Missing Cats Are Found by Liyan Huang and colleagues.
Below are some more articles on lost cats.
