If your cat was outside and you shouted it in...

[louise5754]

Would it run home?

Obviously it depends on whether it's hungry or just ignoring you but on average?

One - always
Two - never

Most of the time my female cat will come to the bottom of the steps if we shout her. Then she will Fanny about deciding if she wants to climb the 3 steps to the front door and the following pantomime occurs...

More fannying about as she sniffs the door frame, twitches ears, sits back down, looks around etc.

I then pretend to close the door and she pretends she doesn't care.

Door closes. Wailing commences (her, not me).

I open the door.

She stops wailing and pretends she doesn't want to come in, she'll just sit on the top step and look sad. Very sad if someone walks past, almost tragically so if they look over at her.

I leave the door open an inch and she squeezes inside, shoots past me and runs directly to her dinner bowl.

Nope

Sodding’s treats are in a squeaky-hinged cupboard near the backdoor. Sometimes opening the cupboard or the microwave door is enough to summon him. Sometimes we have to call if he’s further away. It works about 75-85% of the time. If he’s found a new mouse nest or something interesting he’ll saunter home half an hour or an hour later. He often also comes close enough for a proof of life check and then buggers off again because he’s got something better to do. In short, he turns up eventually but very much on his own terms.

I make a sort of whistly noise

last cat was a Siamese she had better recall than most dogs, I could call her anywhere and she’s appear straight away and jump into my arms.

Current cat.... it’s about 80% in the house if she’ll come when I call, more like 50% if she’s outside.

They usually do come when we call them, although we have fields opposite the house so they may be too far away to hear (giving them excuses for ignoring me...)

I did call Lenny in a few weeks ago and he just sat there on the drive looking at me as if I was stupid. When I realised after a couple of minutes that it was actually Karl and called him by his proper name he immediately ran over to me.

Boy juvenile cats yes usually. Female older cat, rarely!

Boy cats always seem to be more homely mogs IMO, the female cats I've had have been aloof and less affectionate

If they're out of the garden but within hearing distance, yes.

If they're in the garden within line of sight, no.

Cats are weird!

He would about 90% of the time, occasionally he'll have wandered too far to be in earshot and every now and then he'll just blink at me from the end of the garden and then wander off.

For one, yes every time. For the other... it depends if he's sitting under his favourite bush or not.

Yes, always.

Yes normally if he is close by. Most of the time he's not within hearing distance though.

One would, one would walk in the opposite direction

Mostly, but only if they want to!

Girl cat will sometimes 'answer' by meowing back at me when I call her, but not actually come in!

Just her name? Sometimes. Maybe 1 in 10 times?
Her name plus 'din dins'? 95% of the time.

I do the same. 100% success rate!

In winter, maybe. The rest of the year, absolutely not.

Another one who shouts Dreamies. Works for the dog too if he potters about too long after his pee.

Mostly they ignore me unless they actually want to come in. Dreamies used to work but the last few times I tried, a neighbour cat appeared and my other two were still roaming the garden.

Do they not go far then? I assumed mine is always half a mile away when she's out as she's never come when I've called and I can never see her anywhere. If she sees me by chance on her way home she does meow at me.

Yes. Mine are mostly indoor cats but are allowed out onto a small field behind my flat for a a couple of days a week during the summer.

They can only get out by jumping out my bedroom window and I don't like leaving it wide open unsupervised so I'll sit on the bed reading or paying on my iPad. When I'm bored I call them and they all come running in so I can close the window.

I trained them from being kittens though, when I give a certain command all three of them line up in front of me to get a dreamie and I do it randomly once a week or so to help reinforce it.

If I call my cats they generally won't come in as they suspect they will be taken to the vets.

However we started shutting them in at night and now the one that tends to pop out in the evening will run up when he sees the light go on and door open.

If he's not ready he will ignore it though.

Yesterday he saw my daughter come home from school and ran up the garden to see her which was cute.

Yes DCat would come home if we call out by name. Like calling back a dog.

Depends where they are, if they are in the garden they will come in, but quite often they are two fields away.

I was just about to ask if you are Captain Von Trapp?

My cats have a routine they are trained to with mealtimes at set times, and everyone in for nighttime before 8pm. (Sort of "controlled catting" ).

The most annoying thing about going in/out of the back door though is that is they sit by the door waiting for it to be opened but then they don't back away from the door so you can actually open it, you have to slide it open by inches whilst they head butt it.