Cats are a favorite pet for most people. They’re cute, goofy, playful, and all things nice. They run about the house, ensuring that there’s never a dull moment with them.
Cat owners consider their pet cats as family and treat them like their kids. From feeding them their favorite foods to taking them to the vet to looking after their cleanliness, a cat owner invests themselves fully in looking after their cat.
This is why it breaks their heart when their cat runs away.
People have been keeping cats as pets since forever now, but there are still a few questions about cats that they don’t know the answers to. Some of these questions are why do male cats run away, and why do cats leave home to die?
It’s absolutely understandable for a cat owner to feel heartbroken when their cat runs away. It makes them question their treatment and love towards it. Was there something they did wrong?
Well, you may have nothing to do with your cat running away. There are many reasons why cats run away. There are also reasons why a cat prefers to leave home when it feels its time to die is nearing.
This blog post is all about giving your answers to questions that might be bugging you for a while.
Why Do Male Cats Run Away?
It’s common knowledge among cat owners that male cats often run away. But what many cat owners don’t understand is why.
Most commonly, a male cat runs away when he want to mate or when there are territorial disputes. But these aren’t the only reasons why a male cat runs away.
A male cat runs away for a number of reasons. Let’s look at some of the most common reasons male cats aren’t the keenest to keep their commitment to their owners.
They Wish to Mate
Many cat owners neuter their male cats, that is, get their testes removed. This keeps the cat from feeling the urge to mate with a female partner.
However, if you haven’t regulated your male cat, it will run away in search of a partner to mate. The cat will go long distances to find a female cat. This can keep your cat away from home for several days.
Male cats, like any other animal or human, will start to feel the urge to mate as they come of a certain age. Unlike humans, cats don’t know how to control their sexual drive, and if they don’t find a partner around, they’ll leave home and keep looking till they find someone they can mate with.
If the cat goes too far, it may not be able to find its way back home. It can even become a wild cat if it’s not retrieved from the wilderness.
If you don’t want your male cat to run away, you should consider neutering him. If you don’t want to take that route, you should manage his sexual desire and take him to pet centers where he can mate every once in a while.
They Want to Hunt
Cats are natural hunters, and if their hunting instinct gets activated, it can get really difficult to keep them at home. It may surprise you, but a male cat can chase a mouse as far as 20 meters. If they end up going too far, they may lose track of direction and get lost, and this would result in them not returning home.
The chances of your cat running away are higher if you live in a region where there are woods or bushes in the immediate vicinity, as these wild places can activate hunting instincts in cats.
Territorial Disputes
Male cats don’t like to compete with any other animal as they’re territorial by nature. If you’ve got a more powerful animal in your home like a dog, it can make your cat flee.
It’s not only another animal that can make your male cat run away. If you’ve got an older cat at home, it might make your younger male cat feel intimidated and that will result in your male cat fleeing.
Stress
Cats are sensitive animals who don’t like any changes in their environment. Any changes in their living conditions can stress them and make them run away. Even the changes as small as changing the position of the furniture stress them out.
If you’re renovating your home and there are loud noises of machines in your home, know that you’ve got to keep an eye on your cat because all these conditions are highly likely to make them run away!
Excess to Freedom
Sometimes, it can be your mistakes, too, that can lead to your male cat running away. You may let your cat wander and roam about the neighborhood like a stray cat.
Why would a cat not run away if given free access to freedom? Yes, cats make wonderful pets, but no living being will choose to be held captive if you talk about natural instincts. They’ll always choose freedom over captivity, and that’s what your male cat would do too.
Lack of Affection and Care
A cat would run away if it doesn’t feel loved at your home. Let’s say your cat wandered off to another neighborhood where someone fed it with love and played with it. In that case, your cat would want to run away to that person who made them feel loved and wanted.
Cats are hungry for love, care, affection, and attention; if they don’t get it (plenty of it), they would prefer to run away to someone or somewhere where they might find it all.
Abuse
A cat is an animal who can’t speak, but that doesn’t mean you can torment and abuse it. If you abuse your cat at home, it will run away. It won’t stick around to be abused by you, and in all honesty, why should it?
Sickness
Another common reason why a cat might run away is sickness. If your cat isn’t feeling too well, it’ll leave your house to find an isolated, quiet spot where it will spend time till it’s feeling better again.
Why Do Cats Leave Home to Die?
As we said above, cats often leave home when they’re feeling sick. They usually return home when they are feeling better. But that’s not always the case. Sometimes, a cat is too unwell to recover, and it dies away from home.
This makes many cat owners wonder why their pet cats prefer dying all alone, away from the comfort of home?
Every animal displays a different behavior when sick, and cats prefer to isolate themselves when they fall sick.
Let’s look at all the possible reasons why cats leave home to die below:
They are in Search of Safety
Cats don’t leave home to die. Although it does seem so, that’s not how it is. When cats fall sick, they know that they’re too weak to protect themselves in case a predator attacks them. A sick cat leaving home is its way of finding a safe place where it can hide and protect itself from getting preyed on.
If the cat isn’t too sick, it’ll recover and come home. However, if it’s too sick or aged, it may never return home and die in the isolated spot it preferred to spend its last days in.
Cats are very well attuned to their bodies, and they know when they can’t protect themselves anymore. Many people say that cats have got a sixth sense that tells them they’re about to die.
However, there’s not enough evidence to back this assumption. But one thing is certain; cats know their bodies well, and if they think they’re too weak to protect themselves in an open area where anybody can reach them easily, they most probably are, and this is why they tend to hide, where nobody can reach and hurt them.
They Want Peace and Quiet
As we said earlier, cats are very sensitive and don’t like living in a stressful environment. If there’s too much noise or traffic in your home, a cat might run away. Imagine, if a healthy cat can’t take the stress, can a sick and weak cat possibly live in such conditions.
One of the many possible reasons why cats leave home when they’re unwell is they want to spend their last days in peace and quiet, away from all kinds of stresses. No matter how much they love their owner, cats don’t factor in emotions at this stage and simply look for a place where they can rest in peace.
When a cat is about to die, it goes into slumber to numb the pain it is feeling and then slowly slip through the process and die.
They Want to Conserve Energy
Another reason why a sick cat may leave home before dying is the fact that they want to conserve their energy. When cats are sick and nearing death, they know they don’t have enough energy to fight for their safety or deal with their owner’s demand to play around. They’re just too weak and fragile for that.
They leave home and look for an isolated spot where they know they’re safe and won’t have to spend any energy on anything.
Do Cats Prefer to Die in Isolation?
As we said earlier, cats don’t isolate or leave home to die. They don’t really know they’re about to die. It’s just their instinct to go away somewhere where they can hide and protect themselves from predators and stressors.
Although it would seem like it that cats prefer to die alone, it’s not like that. They go into hiding with the intention of returning home when they’re feeling better. It’s only that they don’t feel better, their condition worsens, and they die.
There are also instances when cats spend their last days near their owners. Some cats display completely opposite behaviors. They get clingier to their owners and demand more love, care, and attention.
However, a general practice in cats is to leave home to find a safe hiding spot where nobody can find them to hurt them in any way. It’s not a personal thing, but that’s how cats are!
Where Do Cats Go When They’re About to Die?
Cats don’t go too far from home when they’re about to die. That’s because they’re in pain and low on energy. They hide in the first spot that they find suitable and spend their last days there.
Some of the most common spots where cats hide when they’re dying are in the bushes, under the car, inside containers or boxes, and in abandoned properties where there’s no human traffic.
If a cat is too sick to travel even that far, it tends to hide inside your home. Some places you should look for your cat if you can’t find it in their usual spot are under the bed, basement, cellar, or any room you may use as storage. The idea is to find a place where it won’t be disturbed.
How Can You Tell Your Cat is Dying?
There are some signs that can tell you that your cat will die soon. It won’t be easy, but looking out for these signs will help you prepare yourself for what’s to come.
A cat will stop eating, and it will no longer use its little. It won’t appear as active and happy as it usually is. You’ll also notice certain behavioral changes like it won’t like it when you touch it. All of these signs are signs that your cat will stay with you for a very short while now.
The Bottom Line
Cats are difficult animals when it comes to sharing commitment with the owner. A male cat won’t miss an opportunity to run away, and a dying cat won’t stay home with the owner who loves it.
But then, you shouldn’t take any of it personally. Cats have strong instincts, and they know when to do when and it seems like they’ve got a pretty good reason for doing what they do.
You can also read:
- Why Cats Hate Water
- What To Do If You See An Injured Cat On The Road?
- Why Do Cats Roll Around In Dirt
- Why Does My Cat Keep Throwing Up Undigested Food?
Hi !!! I am Alice. The love of pet animals especially the bonding with cats inspired me to write. I am a trained specialist with depth knowledge about cat, their food habits, their behavior and how to take care of cats. Here at www.petcatinfo , me and my team members tried our best to share the information about cats.