The reasons why a cat tends to run away from home are very varied, but the street is really dangerous for domestic cats. Adult cats and female cats may run away as a consequence of heat, and decide that a romantic getaway is in their best interest. Cats are nocturnal hunters, it’s in their blood, what young cat can resist a faint, lively rumble sounding through the leaf litter they are watching over from the balcony? These are examples of reasons why cats want to escape, but these are not the only ones.
Here are a few more reasons and how to prevent your cat from running away.
Being in heat.
The only effective way to curb the sexual desires of cats is castration. It may seem cruel, but if we want our cat to have a long and serene existence, it is the only solution.
So, nothing can prevent the amorous escapades of our kittens, except surgery. For females there are heat inhibitor drugs, but permanent medication may cause health problems to the cat. For this reason, it is much more advisable to sterilize her, which also has many advantages.
Adventurous hunters.
Cats like to hunt. They are physically, mentally and genetically designed by nature for this purpose.
Urban cats can play pretend with rag mice to hunt them and thus stimulate their predatory instinct inside the home. Spending time playing with our cat is very important to keep it entertained and prevent it from looking for fun elsewhere.
Bored cats.
Cats that are the only pet in a household tend to run away more than those that are a couple of cats living together. The reason is that a solitary cat is much more bored than two felines that live together and groom, play and fight from time to time.
The desire to perceive things different from the daily monotony of walls, schedules, meals and care received, which are identical from one day to the next, provokes in some cats a sort of anxiety and boredom, which impels them to escape far from the monotony.
A playmate is the ideal way to break the cat’s monotony. Diet changes, new toys and a little more quality time with them will also be positive.
Accidents.
Cats are not infallible, they also suffer accidents. They can easily jump from the ground to the edge of a railing hundreds of times, but on any given day they can miss the jump. If they fall from a second floor, they could get hurt and remain in distress waiting for you to come down and pick them up. This type of behavior, known as the parachute cat syndrome or high-rise syndrome, is very dangerous and should be avoided with all kinds of measures: fences, fences, nets.
There’s many other reasons why a cat might escape. At the end of the day, cat’s are very complex little creatures, but these are a few of the most common reasons, and learning to prevent these situations will help your cat stay home where they are safe and loved.
