Cats, known for their independent nature, possess a remarkable ability to enter a survival mode when faced with threatening or stressful situations. This innate response is an adaptive mechanism allowing them to endure and navigate through challenging circumstances. However, when a cat experiences extreme stress or trauma, such as getting lost or being in danger, it can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in felines.
Survival Mode in Cats
Survival mode in cats involves heightened senses, increased vigilance, and a focus on basic needs for survival—food, shelter, and safety. When triggered, a cat might exhibit behaviors such as hiding, avoiding human contact, hunting for food, or roaming far from home in an attempt to find safety. This mode is an evolutionary response developed to ensure their survival in the wild.
PTSD in Cats Who Won't Return Home
For some cats, particularly those who have experienced a traumatic event while outdoors, returning home might trigger memories associated with the trauma. This can lead to a persistent avoidance of the place where the trauma occurred, exhibiting signs of fear, stress, or disorientation. These behaviors manifest as a form of feline PTSD, making it challenging for the cat to reintegrate into their former environment.
Approaches to Catching Lost Cats in Survival Mode
When dealing with a lost cat that has reverted to survival mode, patience, and strategic planning are key:
Trail Cameras: Deploying motion-activated trail cameras in areas where the cat has been sighted can provide valuable insights into its behavior and movement patterns. These cameras capture images that help track the cat's movements, aiding in devising a targeted approach for retrieval.
Feeding Stations: Establishing feeding stations with familiar food can serve as bait to attract the lost cat. Consistency in placing food at specific times and locations can gradually build the cat's trust and encourage it to return to a predictable food source.
Traps with Familiar Scents: Utilizing humane traps with familiar scents, such as items that carry the cat's scent or belongings from home, can increase the chances of capturing the cat safely.
Emphasizing Importance of Trail Cameras and Feeding Stations
Trail cameras and feeding stations play crucial roles in locating and reacquiring a lost cat in survival mode. They provide crucial information about the cat's whereabouts and help establish a routine that encourages the cat to return to a known location for sustenance.
In conclusion, understanding survival mode in cats and recognizing the possibility of feline PTSD after a traumatic event is essential for devising effective strategies to retrieve a lost cat. By utilizing technology like trail cameras and creating feeding stations, pet owners can significantly increase their chances of safely bringing their beloved feline companion back home.
*This portion of the article was written by an A.I.
Former police canine trainer and cat expert Kat Albrecht-Thiessen who writes Armed Robbers 2 Airedales responded:
Interesting (A.I.) article, but there is actually much more of an explanation as to how and why cats enter this "survival mode" which is actually called "displacement."
Cat Displacement
Cat Displacement occurs when a cat is taken or driven out of its territory which typically consists of a range of about 100-1500 meters.
I feel I can speak to this because this is my area of expertise.
Displacement happens when a cat is transported into unfamiliar territory. This happens when indoor-only cats escape outdoors or accidently escape outside like escaping from the veterinarians office, while on a camping trip, or after involved in a roll over car accident. It can also happen to an outdoor-access cat when it is beat up and chased from its territory, most often by another cat.
Cats don't "runaway" from home (like dogs do) because they are territorial. But when they become sick, injured, or displaced they will ALWAYS hide in silence, often very close to their escape point.
I wrote a story in my Substack about one such case of a displaced cat named Mugsy who was involved in a horrific RV crash and was lost in the woods (if you look on my Substack, its the post with the photo of broken windshield). We used game cameras on that Mugsy case, as we do on most displaced cat (and panicked lost dog) cases.
I've recently had to learn about cat displacement behavior (combat mode) and territorialism in cats after my cat was abducted (man who did it told me two weeks afterwards that they took him to a wildlife area where there's lots of coyotes) but we found out later that he was still alive by the creek after a neighbor next to the wildlife trail captured him on her security camera.
He survived all summer, since June 1st. He was there all alone over the Fourth of July with fireworks and survived the heat waves with no one's help. We set out feeding stations and trail cameras and he came by a few times but barely ate. One night he followed us around for 3.5 hours! He wouldn't let us get too close but watched us and almost jumped in the car at one point but there was another neighborhood cat who used to follow us around and she chased him away.
Looking back I wish I knew and understood about the territorial instinct.
Not sure why this hasn't been made common knowledge yet. The author of the book “The Territorial Imperative”, Robert Ardrey had this to say about this behavioral instinct:
“Territorialism acts not so much in the interest of the individual as in the restraint against the individual in the interest in the group and in the species.” Page 45
Furthermore he added on page 72, “Displacement activity is species-specific”. Meaning that each species has its own set of displacement behaviors. A dog will not respond the same way as a cat, nor a bird the same as a human, but all displaced animals will become stressed and put into a new kind of survival mode that we now understand as PTSD.
Kat Albrecht-Thiessen continues:
We (and those I train in lost pet recovery work through www.missinganimalresponse.com) started using humane traps to recover displaced cats back in the late 1990's, with MUCH RESISTANCE from shelters I might add! I write about this in my (free!) memoir PET TRACKER on my ArmedRobbers2Airedales Substack.
We started incorporating the use of game cameras (with humane traps) in the summer of 1996 after one of my students, Donna Holsten, first used a game camera on one of her lost dog trapping cases. I then (with her permission) began teaching this method to students, at animal welfare conferences, and in my blog posts.
Thankfully, that use of game cameras has spread to all spectrums of animal welfare these days., without most animal welfare volunteers and trappers even knowing where the idea originated from (again not ME, but from Donna). I don't make this point to TOOT MY (or Donna's) HORN, but I noticed that this article was "written by A.I." and I thought readers deserve to learn more FACTS behind this issue than what was created by the AI article.
I've had the rare experience of seeing the change in the animal industry from the 1990's where NO ONE was doing anything to help families recover a lost dog or cat to today, in 2023, where many lost and found Facebook groups and organizations see and understand that LOST PETS NOT FOUND go somewhere! Lost dogs and cats FILL our shelters and rescue groups, disguised as "strays" and they are responsible for overcrowded shelters, feral cat colonies, and are a major contributing factor to the homeless pet crisis.
I felt SO ALONE back in the 1990's when I saw the need for the animal industry to FOCUS on lost pet recovery work.
I was mocked as a "pet detective" and treated like a buffoon by many in the animal welfare field. So it brings great joy today, to see that my years of struggle actually helped "pioneer" things today like lost dog and lost cat behavior-based recovery techniques, high tech gear, search dogs trained to find lost pets, and even a scientific study of lost cat behavior that my organization spearheaded in 2017 (Google "Missing Cat Study Kat Albrecht" to read it).
And I credit GOD for this, not myself).
I might also add that putting out a dirty litterbox IS NOT NEEDED and is actually a "Questionable Cause Fallacy" that I don't have time to explain here, but you can read about in this blog post: It breaks my heart that no one listens to our advice that the primary way to recover a lost cat is a physical search of all properties in your immediate area instead of using passive scent luring. But it is easier and more comfortable to put a litterbox on your porch than to actively search under your neighbor's deck and house. Simply asking your neighbor to "look for" your cat IS NOT ENOUGH! Your neighbor WILL NOT get down on their belly to search under their deck to look for your cat, and yet our scientific study proves that THIS (in neighbor's yards) is where your cat is most likely to be hiding or trapped!
I have also faced ridicule and harassment from well meaning cat rescuers who refused to believe that a domestic cat could turn wild and act like a feral cat.
During my four month journey into this combat cat mode search and rescue mission, I've discovered that there are likely many displaced cats who are mistaken as feral.
One lady got so mad at me because I proved to her that cats can survive the coyote territory creek and that they don't all get eaten by coyotes after two weeks.
I caught a displaced cat who had gone missing for four months in the area. His owners assumed he was dead. More cats showed up on my trail camera who I suspect to be displaced but they are so difficult to catch, harder than outwitting a fox.
We really need to have better education in this field of territorialism and PTSD in cats as well people (but that's another topic: lookup Ulysses Migrant Syndrome or read The Territorial Imperative by Robert Ardrey if this interests you).
I wish to dedicate this article to thank Kat Albrecht-Thiessen who wrote:
“In closing, what I'd love more than anything is to convey the beauty of what I've seen in God using my willingness to be used by Him to bless pet lovers with help and hope to recover their missing pets.
Above all else, I want to see GOD given ALL of the glory that so many lost cats and dogs have been brought back home over the last 20+ years than they were back in the 1990's. I simply told God that I wanted to be used by Him, and look what He has done!”
May God Bless You Kat! 💖😹💖
Thank you for your service! 🙏
Yes, you may most certainly add this to your article. There is TON'S of info on our (MARN's) website (missinganimalreponse.com) about the topic of displaced cat recovery and you can link to it, and/or copy/paste it as long as you give credit (and a link to the MARN website).
I strongly suggest that you consult with someone trained by our online 8-week MAR Field Course who can help you strategize on how to detect and recover your cat. They have the same knowledge I have and I just don't have the time to do consultations at this time. Also. ignore those who tell you a "coyote ate your cat" because THIS FALSE BELIEF kills more cats than coyotes actually do! Why would a cat owner search shelters and put up posters and cameras for their lost cat if they believed it has been eaten by a coyote? So they lose hope, stop searching, and their cat becomes part of the homeless cat crisis and may some day end up in a shelter for 3 days, long after the owner gave up searching (and the cat is euthanized after a 3-day hold period! DO NOT GIVE UP HOPE Panama!
BTW, I suggest that if you want to build a team to do this work in your community that you consider taking our course and joining our network. You'll learn everything you need to know about lost cat (and dog) recovery. Our next group class will likely start in early January on Mondays nights for 8 weeks (cost is $350). I haven't posted it on our registration page (on the MARN site under TRAINING) but I can let you know when we're open for registrations. In fact, I'd like TO GIFT YOU my friend with a FREE registration to that class in January! Because if you can also help to post about lost cat recovery in YOUR Substack, I know you'll use your experience to BLESS other cat owners who need help! Let me know if you want me to save you a space for that January class.
Interesting (A.I.) article, but there is actually much more of an explanation as to how and why cats enter this "survival mode" which is actually called "displacement." I feel I can speak to this because this is my area of expertise. Displacement happens when a cat is transported into unfamiliar territory. This happens when indoor-only cats escape outdoors or accidently escape outside like escaping from the veterinarians office, while on a camping trip, or after involved in a roll over car accident. It can also happen to an outdoor-access cat when it is beat up and chased from its territory, most often by another cat. Cats don't "runaway" from home (like dogs do) because they are territorial. But when they become sick, injured, or displaced they will ALWAYS hide in silence, often very close to their escape point. I wrote a story in my Substack about one such case of a displaced cat named Mugsy who was involved in a horrific RV crash and was lost in the woods (if you look on my Substack, its the post with the photo of broken windshield). We used game cameras on that Mugsy case, as we do on most displaced cat (and panicked lost dog) cases.
We (and those I train in lost pet recovery work through www.missinganimalresponse.com) started using humane traps to recover displaced cats back in the late 1990's, with MUCH RESISTANCE from shelters I might add! I write about this in my (free!) memoir PET TRACKER on my ArmedRobbers2Airedales Substack. We started incorporating the use of game cameras (with humane traps) in the summer of 1996 after one of my students, Donna Holsten, first used a game camera on one of her lost dog trapping cases. I then (with her permission) began teaching this method to students, at animal welfare conferences, and in my blog posts. Thankfully, that use of game cameras has spread to all spectrums of animal welfare these days., without most animal welfare volunteers and trappers even knowing where the idea originated from (again not ME, but from Donna). I don't make this point to TOOT MY (or Donna's) HORN, but I noticed that this article was "written by A.I." and I thought readers deserve to learn more FACTS behind this issue than what was created by the AI article.
I've had the rare experience of seeing the change in the animal industry from the 1990's where NO ONE was doing anything to help families recover a lost dog or cat to today, in 2023, where many lost and found Facebook groups and organizations see and understand that LOST PETS NOT FOUND go somewhere! Lost dogs and cats FILL our shelters and rescue groups, disguised as "strays" and they are responsible for overcrowded shelters, feral cat colonies, and are a major contributing factor to the homeless pet crisis.
I felt SO ALONE back in the 1990's when I saw the need for the animal industry to FOCUS on lost pet recovery work. I was mocked as a "pet detective" and treated like a buffoon by many in the animal welfare field. So it brings great joy today, to see that my years of struggle actually helped "pioneer" things today like lost dog and lost cat behavior-based recovery techniques, high tech gear, search dogs trained to find lost pets, and even a scientific study of lost cat behavior that my organization spearheaded in 2017 (Google "Missing Cat Study Kat Albrecht" to read it). And I credit GOD for this, not myself). I might also add that putting out a dirty litterbox IS NOT NEEDED and is actually a "Questionable Cause Fallacy" that I don't have time to explain here, but you can read about in this blog post: It breaks my heart that no one listens to our advice that the primary way to recover a lost cat is a physical search of all properties in your immediate area instead of using passive scent luring. But it is easier and more comfortable to put a litterbox on your porch than to actively search under your neighbor's deck and house. Simply asking your neighbor to "look for" your cat IS NOT ENOUGH! Your neighbor WILL NOT get down on their belly to search under their deck to look for your cat, and yet our scientific study proves that THIS (in neighbor's yards) is where your cat is most likely to be hiding or trapped!
In closing,, what I'd love more than anything to convey is the beauty of what I've seen in God using my willingness to be used by Him to bless pet lovers with help and hope to recover their missing pets. Above all else, I want to see GOD given ALL of the glory that so many lost cats and dogs have been brought back home over the last 20+ years than they were back in the 1990's. I simply told God that I wanted to be used by Him, and look what He has done!