How long can a cat be missing?

Your cat did not come home last night. It is one of the worst feelings as a cat owner, and the question is always the same: how long is normal?

Outdoor cats that are used to going out can be away for a night or two without anything being wrong. Unneutered males can stay away longer, sometimes several days. An indoor cat that has got out is a different matter. It has no map of the area and usually hides very close by, often within a couple of houses.

Most often the cat is shut in somewhere. A garage, a shed, a basement or a summer house where someone closed the door without seeing it. A cat can stay quiet for days. That is why it pays to ask neighbours to look, in their own spaces.

Do not wait too long. If the cat has not come home when it usually does, start looking the same evening. Walk slowly when it is quiet outside, call her name and shake the food bowl. Bring a torch, eyes show up in the dark.

On day two it is time to get more people looking. Post a lost-cat alert on Kattkompis, it goes straight to the neighbours within a few kilometres, the people who can actually go and check their garage. Put up notices in stairwells and on noticeboards nearby. Call vets and shelters nearby and ask whether anyone has brought in a cat.

Also check that your cat is microchipped and registered to you, so whoever finds it can reach you. In Sweden that is the Swedish Board of Agriculture cat register, where every cat has had to be registered since 2023.

Many cats come home after a week or more, and some after several months. Do not give up because a few days have passed. Leave the alert up and remind your neighbours now and then.

If your cat comes home, mark the alert as found so the neighbours know. They will be glad too. Create a free account at kattkompis.se and you can post an alert in a few minutes.