People sometimes ask if cats migrate. They are normally referring to the small and large wild cat species. The truth is that cats do not migrate and the reason is pretty straightforward which is that they don't need to!
And they don't need to because they have the resources that they need to sustain themselves where they live which is in their 'home range'. And that is another reason why they don't migrate; they like to occupy their own territory which we call a 'home range' and which provides a stable environment for them.
They defend this home range against intruders to protect resources. And the female, although having a smaller home range than males, regards their home range as their natal territory, a place where they can give birth and raise their offspring.
In essence, the current arrangement which has evolved over millions of years is that the small and large cat species stay put because they can survive very nicely by doing that.
Twenty percent of bird species migrate but they need to do so for survival reasons. Ungulates i.e. hooved animals sometimes migrate because they're looking for fresh pastures during different seasons. Once again they need to migrate to better survive. That is how they evolved.
The wild cat species have adapted to their specific habitat in which they live and are part of the ecosystems of those habitats. They've evolved to exploit what scientists regard as a niche within the area where they live. It provides them with all the resources they need.
Of the animals that migrate, the majority do so to find food or a suitable place to breed and raise their young. And some species migrate to warmer climates to escape extreme cold which makes food more difficult to find.
Birds are a species which people know migrate not infrequently and they do so to find food and to find a better environment to raise their offspring.
It might be fair to say that sometimes humans migrate, once again to improve their chances of survival - find better work and lifestyle. Currently in the world there is mass migration of people from, for example, Central America and South America to North America to find a better life and from North Africa and Eastern Europe to Northern Europe for the same reason.
These are often desperate people who are prepared to take dangerous steps in order to find a better life. It is mass migration and is causing great consternation in the governments of European countries and America.
Although when people migrate they don't follow a pattern (e.g. a season) whereas for animals they invariably follow a pattern based on the seasons.
These reasons for migration are not a concern for the cat species of which there are 37 if you include the domestic cat.
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