Feature Photo: “Cats often come home to reunite with another pet or for human-affection. This is a picture of bonded siblings, from an offer “free to good home” on Nextdoor Neighbor Ap.

I STRONGLY advise  you NOT PUT CAT’’S LITTER PAN OUTSIDE, if your cat is an indoor cat without “street-smarts.” The amount of concentrated odor produced from a litter pan is like scent marking territory. If your cat cannot defend said territory, you’re setting your cat up for disaster. I’ve also never heard of a cat returning home because he/she had to use the bathroom!

This article is written in springtime breeding season with pheromones in the air. My advice is particularly important for this time of year. But stray and feral cats are territorial all throughout the year. 

The reason folks recommend putting litter pan outside, is for your cat to smell it. The problem is, every other feral & stray cat smells it. Male cats are very aggressive during breeding season. They will fight off lesser males, and stalk females. Your cat’s (2) options will be fight or flee. If your cat isn’t outdoor savvy,  he could be thrashed violently by a hormone-driven, tougher outdoor cat. Male breeding cats particularly are definitely lured to a sudden concentration of another male cats excrement -scent. 

Fleeing involves your cat relocating to another territory. Your cat  has to find some outdoor space without other breeding or feral cats. We’re all aware the US has an abundance of feral cats. This could keep your cat “constantly driven” & continuously getting farther from home. So, putting a litter box out to regain your cat, could be the exact facilitating factor that  makes it IMPOSSIBLE  for your cat to ever return home.

Cats are both resourceful and intelligent. It’s likely your cat knows where home is already. If your cat is in the area still, he/she likely smells “home” without needing to add the litter pan.  What your cat will  need to return, is a is a stealthy path home, passing unsuspecting strays & feral cats, “incognito.” Your cat should not be ambushed by a lurking stray/feral cat upon returning home, initiating the potential disaster. 

If you choose to put out a scent, it should be food, like canned cat food or tuna. Indoor cats often retain hunting skills, but hunger from failed hunts (particularly for declawed cats) can bring your cat back home to feed. Outdoor cats can rarely battle for food, but since cats are proficient hunters, it’s easier to find their own meal vs risking conflict with another cat for a meal.  Cats “food,” live and mobile prey, is not bound by territory.  So cats are also not competing for food. As well, breeding-hormone driven strays (both  male & female) may even stop eating during breeding season, and for up to 2-weeks at a time, with hardly any food. Once females are pregnant, they immediately begin feeding again. Males are preoccupied with battling other males, and finding females. They’ll only eat when they are too hungry to ignore that need.

You could leave a garage/window partially open for your cat to enter safely into overnight. This is likely when your cat will  be moving around, under the cover of darkness, and possibly too fearful of other outdoor stimuli to move during daylight. If your cat does get chased down,  he/she will likely first try running home. Give your cat immediate safe refuge. 

Another great suggestion is to look for cats on garbage pick up days. Cats that fail at hunting may look to trash for feeding. That’s more typical of dogs than cats, but it couldn’t hurt to drive around on those days looking.

But in my experience, cats stay out until their curiosity and sense of adventure are satisfied. I’ve never met a cat that didn’t appreciate, or take advantage of granted outdoor freedoms. So long as your cat hasn’t suffered a peril outdoors, he/she will likely return when he/she wants a good nap, affection time with you, or gets hungry from failed hunts… but not to “go-potty!”

While those words are encouraging , I don’t recommend taking a cavalier attitude towards a missing indoor cat, or any missing pet. Instead I refer you to an an additional article on my blog “Missing Pets.” 

I hope this is helpful. Combine the information given here, with tips on retrieving missing pets on the article I mentioned above. Best of luck bringing your missing cat home safely and quickly!