Outdoor cats have long been a worry to their owners. They can go for extended periods of time away from home, only to come back safe and sound. They always seem to be able to find their way, seemingly with a strong homing instinct.
But how do they do this? Can they work out their bearings like a human would or do they rely on other skills to get them back to where they need to be? Here we have all the answers on how cats find their way home.
Strong Sense of Smell
Perhaps one of the most underrated aspects of a cat’s abilities is their sense of smell. Often a more well-known trait with dogs, cats have a similar ability to sense their environment with their nose.
A cat’s nose will contain around 200 million scent receptors, in humans this figure tumbles all the way down to 5 million. It allows them to recognize familiar smells from great distances, including their own trail and the familiar smells of home.
Cats can use scent markers to help them navigate and give a sense of territory. This is usually done through scent glands they have all over their body. It deposits pheromones that can serve as a guide, leaving invisible markers behind.
This is also thought to be one of the main reasons that cats will rub up against humans with such behavior as brushing past your legs. This is them leaving their scent on you and marking you as safe.
Geomagnetic Navigation
It is believed that cats have the ability to detect the Earth’s magnetic fields. This is also one of the key reasons why birds are able to migrate great distances and still find their way home. Research on cats in this area is limited, but it’s believed they have a similar ability.
Known as magnetoreception, it’s almost as if these animals have an inner compass. A cat will often know where it is in relation to their home. Other factors can lead them to be confused, but it can aid them in their return.
It has also been mused that humans can have this ability, with some people capable of having an excellent sense of direction. As with cats, this may be down to other factors that mean you can orientate yourself with a high degree of accuracy.
Spatial and Topographical Memory
A topographical memory is the ability to know instinctively where you are because of where you’ve been. Even if you aren’t actively paying attention and don’t have landmarks, you can retrace your steps to find your way back.
Cats also have excellent memory, especially with special awareness. They can develop mental maps of where they have been. With this form of memory, you can use the likes of landmarks and other visuals to make your way back to familiar locations.
A cat will be able to use these different forms of memory and add them to their other senses when navigating. If an outdoor car is dropped off in a location it knows reasonably well, it can use its ability to re-establish its bearings.
Hearing and Recognizing Familiar Sounds
Here is another ability that dogs are famous for but where cats are equally adept. They have incredible hearing and are able to pick out a wider range of frequencies than both humans and dogs, allowing them to detect subtle sounds.
Some lost cats have returned home after responding to familiar sounds such as an owner’s voice, a jingling collar, or any other familiar household noise. They can also recognize specific common sounds in a neighborhood, such as a dog barking or a particular vehicle.
Homing Success vs. Distance
There have been many stories of cats traveling impressive distances to reunite with their owners. However, there are many different factors that come into play if a lost cat is trying to find its way home.
They may find themselves in unfamiliar terrain and many different factors can interfere with their senses, such as loud noises nearby and wind direction. Of course, there may be something nearby or an accident may have happened.
The chances of a cat successfully returning home will decrease as the distance increases. Cats placed a few miles from home are much more likely to return than ones a little further away. As the distance increases, cats have to make more of an educated guess.
The Impact of Indoor vs. Outdoor Cats
An outdoor cat placed two miles from home will have a much better chance of returning than an indoor cat. The experience and comfort of being outdoors play a big role in their homing instincts.
As an outdoor cat becomes more familiar and confident in its surroundings, it is likely to venture further out and start to create that mental map. They’ll have greater territorial knowledge and will train themselves to follow the right smells and sounds, as well as scent marking.
A lost indoor cat simply doesn’t have the experience. Stray cats can quickly become anxious, which is why they are often ungroomed. This can lead them to be disoriented and more likely to try and hide than attempt long-distance navigation.
How Owners Can Help Their Cats Find Their Way Home
You may be reading this as you are worried about letting your cat go outdoors and getting lost. One easy thing to do is place an item outside with either or their decent. This could be a worn piece of clothing, a blanket, or even their litter box.
You should always microchip your cat. What happens here is that a lost cat can be picked up by a helpful stranger and taken to a vet or animal shelter. They will have a microchip scanner, and this will have your information to be contacted.
Collar tags are also useful as if your cat is found nearby, it can be returned directly to you. However, collars need to be able to be broken away for safety, so they can fall off or get damaged. Collars are a good idea but shouldn’t be seen as an alternative to microchipping. Do both.
Thanks to the advancement of modern technology, we also now have GPS trackers small enough to be attached to a collar. These require a little investment but it’s worth it to be able to always know where they are and track them down.
