How far do cats wander/roam?

[TheCatThatDanced]

Just a question. My male cat recently died and I thought at most that he just went into the gardens behind my house and that was that.

Been told he'd been seen in garden of house nearby.

Basically, it's where the houses gardens behind my house are, then crossing a road (not busy but a small bus travels along it daily) school next to it, small cafe/community centre in park, then the park is long and there are large houses with gardens.

Approx 5 minute walk.

I mentioned this to DH and he was adamant DCat wouldn't have crossed the roads to get to these houses but I think he might have done. Very curious cat and lost him a year ago for about a week.

opinions?!

Quite far, the cat that likes to torment my dog lives about 1/4 mile away but for some reason likes to spit and hiss at ddog, that said ddog has been known to roam given the opportunity a mile or so

Think some roam far and others not much. One of ours is too incapable of going beyond our garden (can't climb fences or get under gate) and next door whereas her brother roams further. She always comes when called. I used to think her brother went much further but realised that often he just goes far enough to be away from his sister.

I live opposite a small island in the river (with houses). One of my previous cats used to walk down the road, cross the backwater on the road bridge, walk along the island road, cross the backwater again via a private foot bridge and come back to us through about 10 back gardens. Probably a 15 - 20 minute round trip for a cat.
We only found out when we saw him the first time from our side of the backwater. When we called his name he looked very shifty

www.pet-happy.com/how-far-from-home-do-domestic-cats-roam/

Ours goes the garden either side, and into the one our garden backs onto. I can’t see in there because there is a huge wall, but I know exactly where she is because they have motion-sensor lights, and then she pops up on the wall. She’s always in shouting distance, but at this time of year can be a right monkey for not coming in at night.

Unneutered Tomcats will go any distance.
We put GPS collars on our (neutered) cats... they routinely went up to about 1/4 mile away. Not happy to go further.
There's a cat near my workplace that must be wandering > 1/2mile away from her home lately.

We have 2 male strays and one house rescue female, The persian stray never goes away, he'd be our house cat in a heartbeat if our female would let him. but the other disappears regularly for a couple of days, he always returns.

We live in the country in a small village and Mec the wanderer likes to sleep in a field with some of our neighbour's sheep!!

They are all neutered btw.

One of my friends had a Norwegian forest cat who she put a tracker on, just to see. She lived in a fairly small seaside hamlet (5 houses over a mile or so) and knew he wandered off in an inland direction. Eight miles. He went to a large village eight miles away, passing through two smaller villages and crossing a trunk road.
She took the tracker off and tried never to think of it again. Happily he lived to a nice age and died of natural causes, not under the wheels of a truck.

Depends on the cat and the area, plus things like how many other cats locally.

Our first cat came from a country estate, and when we moved her to a city she would still roam well over a couple of miles in many directions.

Our old NDN cats was one of the most fiercely intelligent and capable creatures I’ve ever met. She had a huge territory, used to bump into her regularly over a mile from her house.

We live in a village now, and there’s a farm Tom from a farm about five miles away makes occasional sorties into town when the weather is good. He surmounts houses to get a clear view of the surrounding area and then goes off on his travels. He’s an amazing climber, it’s really worth watching him.

Yes I think they get used to roads, like herring gulls. I'll never forget seeing one literally wait at one side of a road for a car to pass and walk nonchalantly across it!!

We had another stray in `London who was killed on the road outside our house, maybe some cats are just brighter than others!

One of my friends was horrified when someone told her that her cat crossed the (fairly busy) road near her house. They said, "Oh, don't worry - he always uses the zebra crossing".

There are a few cats who have worked out how to wait by the side of the road until the cars stop (and, amazingly, they do) and then saunter across the road.

Oddly enough, I don't think he comes down the (much quieter) road in the direction of our house but that's probably because there are some other bossy cats in that direction.

My girl cats don't go particularly far; my neutered boy goes more than half a mile most days. I know because he walks down the bridleway by our house, and I go down there calling for him and often only find him after a good 10 minute walk... he then refuses to be picked up, but follows me back home like a dog!

The only time I've seen our Persian climb was up a tree just outside our house, he was watching and watching something high up, I couldn't see it but then he leapt up, he was quite young, and I watched him take an egg out of a well hidden bird's nest!

I believe it's about 3 miles! Our cat rarely leaves our garden thankfully.

Zazie I've never heard of a cat doing that ! I know they like to be 'high up' but that's amazing!

I had trackers on both mine (until they managed to lose them) - one used to wander no more than the neighbouring gardens, the other would go right to the other end of the village nearly a mile away (where my sister lives) - it involves crossing the main road which has a lot of traffic on and scares me TBH

He’s very impressive ppeatfruit. Quite a character and quite a specimen.

uneutered males will wander for miles.

But I do think it depends on context. Our cats used to go a long way over fields when we lived in the coutry, but much less so through gardens as it is harder work jumping over garden fences!

Our NDNs cat was a farm kitten and she is a cracking climber too. Other neighbour has a bird box nailed to the trunk of a tree, about 25 foot up. She sits on top of it. Or sometimes stands in a branch below and reaches a paw in up to her shoulder and has a good rake.

In the “fantasy life of local cats” I have in my head, I like to imagine she’s one of Climbing Tom’s progeny. He does seem to be King of All He Surveys.

It’s not that fanciful, 4 cats on the street came from that farm as kittens, 2 from the same litter, who get on really well despite living a few houses apart- they cuddle up on a front porch together.

I wouldn't necessarily trust someone who says they see your cat somewhere - most people are not at all good at telling similar looking cats apart!

viccat - my DH said said lots of cats look similar to ours (now sadly departed, RIP Felix!) so he doesn't necessarily trust their seeing him either!

Having said that, once he got really wet and muddy - most ponds are covered (that I know of) and we 'think' he visited a small pond in the park that's used for wildlife tours by the local school.

This was a cat who went missing for a week - he was quite nosy and curious - but not about people - would not go near them - we think he got locked in a shed by mistake and then the family went away as it was during summer. But he was a very curious/nosy cat.

I did see him in the front gardens of houses that face the park - this house would be a 2-3 minute walk directly across the park so it's not beyond the realms of imagination that he did actually cross the park. He'd be gone for hours some days though - always locked in at night!