Whether you have an outdoor cat that wanders vast spaces or an indoor one that dwells in a tiny apartment, cats assert ownership of their territory and rule it like the true royalty that they are. Why do cats have territory? How far do cats roam from home? Learn more about the size and range of cat territory so you can better care for your feline friend.
Table of contents
- Cat territories and ranges: What are they?
- Know everywhere your cat goes
- Why are cats territorial?
- Types of territories
- How does my cat claim their territory?
- Urine spraying by cats
- How does this affect the way I care for my cat?
- Multi-cat homes and their territories
- Are outdoor cats territorial?
- Outdoor cat and feral cat territories
- How big is a feral cat’s territory?
- How large is a domestic cat’s territory?
- What is the radius of a cat’s territory?
Cat territories and ranges: What are they?
A cat’s territory is the area that it will defend against intruders. These intruders are most likely to be other neighborhood cats, dogs, or wildlife. A cat’s range includes all the places that it travels to. So, if your cat is allowed to roam freely outdoors, their territory may be your backyard. But your kitty’s range may include your backyard, a few neighboring yards, and a local park, too. And some of this range may overlap with another cat’s territory.
A GPS cat tracker can provide a real-time picture of where your cat roams, and help you locate them if they don’t return home at night.
Why are cats territorial?
All cats, including lions, tigers, cougars, and your little fluffball, are territorial. Maintaining a territory is a survival tactic that wild cats use to secure a hunting or breeding area. This ancestral behavior is innate in your cat.
Your cat’s lifestyle will determine the degree to which their territorial urges are expressed. Solo indoor cats, which are fed and played with regularly, may not feel the need to be quite as vigilant as an outdoor cat that roams the neighborhood.
Maintaining a territory is hard work, but it ensures that a cat has access to adequate food and potential mates. To maintain a territory, your cat must patrol it, scent mark the borders, and defend it against trespassers – especially other cats.
Outdoor domestic cats will have larger ranges than indoor cats. Feral cats (which have little or no interaction with people) will have much larger territories, because they must find or hunt for their own food.
