When to Stop Looking for a Lost Cat: Signs It Might Be Time to Move On

Losing our cats can be incredibly heartbreaking. You have this unsettled feeling in your chest, knowing you have no way to tell where they are or what has happened.

You’re also well aware that cats can disappear for long periods of time that can go from horse to years and then show up on your doorstep again one day, so you can’t stop holding out hope. But how long is too long? Is there an appropriate length of time to wait? As a general answer, only you can decide, but here you have some advice to know when to stop.

How Long Can Cats Disappear?

The reality is that some cats can go missing for days, months, and even years before resurfacing. While it isn’t necessarily a common thing for them to disappear for long periods without turning up, it is certainly a possibility, so it’s very hard to give up.

There is probably a part of most pet owners that still hold out hope even for years after their kitty wound up missing. So, we want to clarify that there is no definite rule, length of time, or way to tell when it’s time to give up.

Your intuition will tell you more than any article can, and not every opinion counts. If you have been diligently looking for your cat, you can back off some, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to completely give up.

There’s only so much you can do to try to find your cat and then you have to leave the rest up to the universe. Below, we’re going to go over exactly how you can look for your cat and other valuable information.

Why Do Cats Go Missing?

Our cats can go missing for a variety of reasons. Here are a few different circumstances when they might lose their way or refuse to come home.

Hunting

Some cats are natural born hunters. If they get out there, they might be exercising their primal and instinctual behavior. Cats that are just out hunting may only stay gone for a few hours to a few days at most, unless they get lost and can’t find their way back.

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Mating

If your cat is not spayed or neutered, they might be running off in an attempt to find or connect with a mate. Most cats that leave home for mating will be found within 500 meters of the home, but that doesn’t mean they can’t travel farther. ¹ Again, they may only be gone for a few days in this case, unless they travel too far and can’t find their way back.

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Living Elsewhere

Your cat might have made friends with a neighbor or person living down the street. If so, this other person might assume that your cat is homeless and take them in as their own.

Once they get back out of the house again, they might come back to you or even stay at the other place for the remainder of their life, especially if the person they’re living with doesn’t know your cat is missing.

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Prowling

Cats are real adventurers. They’re capable of traveling great distances to expand their territory. This is another situation where they could only be gone for a few days, or longer if they can’t find their way back home.

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Home Circumstances

If you have recently moved residences, your cat might have gotten all mixed up once they step outside. After all, everything around them will be completely new. Some cats that have gone missing after a move have even found their way back to their old home if you haven’t moved too far away.

However, cats can also avoid coming home if something around the household has changed recently. Whether you have welcomed in a new family member or you have a new pet, they might disapprove and leave the home for quite some time if they get the chance.

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Injury

Unfortunately, in any of the above circumstances, your cat can become injured while out exploring or searching for a mate. In those cases, your cat might be gone for a few days while they recover. Some cats will make their way back home when they feel better, but depending on the extent of the injury, some may never make their way back home.

The 6 Ways You Might Be Looking for Your Cat

You have probably come up with your own ways of looking for your cat. Here are some methods you might have tried, or maybe even some you haven’t quite thought of yet. If you’ve tried all of these and still come up empty after several months, it may be time to move on, but again, the decision is up to you as to how long you want to look for your cat.

1. You’ve Posted Your Cat Everywhere

The day you lost your cat, you frantically started looking for them. You were likely posting all over your social media and other places to ensure you got the word out. You have diligently been searching lost pet groups and letting your friends and family know to share the word. You may have even put up missing pet posters with a picture of your cat along with your contact information.

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2. You’ve Put Your Cat’s Belongings Outside

You may have put some of your cat’s belongings, such as their bed, blanket, litter box, or food, outside on your porch so that your cat can smell it and find their way home. Cats have stronger senses of smell than we do, after all. You may have even put some of your own clothing outside to help your cat find their way home using your scent.

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3. You’ve Looked Online

You may have checked animal shelter and rescue pages in your area to make sure no one found your cat and brought them in. Many shelters that take in new animals are required to hold them for a certain period of time, such as 7 days, before they can be adopted out, and they will often post the animals on their social media or website to help get the word out

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4. You’ve Looked In-Person

You’ve told your neighbors; you’ve told the people down the street. Everyone’s keeping their eye out for your precious kitty. You’ve even asked your neighbors to tell their neighbors. Still, your cat hasn’t turned up. You may consider looking in animal shelters and rescues in person to see if your cat is there also. If nothing else, you can drop off your missing pet posters and the shelters can call you if your pet turns up.

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5. You’ve Called Vet’s Offices

You can always ask around at different vets’ offices to see if someone has possibly come in to report or turn in your pet. While vet’s offices are not necessarily the most common place for people to take stray pets, it is possible, especially if someone found your cat and the cat was injured. The vet.

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6. You Relied on the Microchip Database

If your cat has been microchipped, there is a very good chance that someone could find your cat and take them into a vet’s office or shelter to be scanned. Unfortunately, if all of your information isn’t up to date on the microchip, it can be impossible for someone to get a hold of you. So, someone could have had your cat and taken them in but had no way to really contact the true owner.

Only You Can Decide What’s Right

If you feel like it’s been a really long time, or you just have a sneaking suspicion that your cat isn’t coming back, only you can decide when it’s time to give up the search. Also, just because you give up the active search doesn’t mean that you’ve given up in your heart.

You will probably always still hold out hope that you get some answers about what happened to your precious kitty.

However, you can only put effort towards it for so long. Maybe one day your cat will wind up on your doorstep, looking a little worse for the wear, but still home, nonetheless.

Conclusion

If you have been searching for your cat day in and day out, it might be time to ease up on that just a little bit. However, just keep in mind that cats can disappear for long periods of time before resurfacing again. This is especially true if your cat has never been spayed or neutered.

Cats have extremely good memories and exquisite senses of smell. Even if they find themselves a long way away from home, many of them can find their way back. We will keep our fingers crossed for you!

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Featured Image Credit: StockMediaSeller, Shutterstock