Missing Cats , Missing System in Gothenburg
By Shinjini Chatterjee
Despite nearly 18,000 cats being registered in Gothenburg and clear seasonal patterns of disappearances,the city has no formal public system to help cat owners when their pets go missing. Instead, small volunteer networks and citizens are left to fill the gap.
When Cats go Missing, Formal Help is Missing
Each summer, flyers for missing cats begin appearing on trees and bulletin boards across Gothenburg. Online forums fill with urgent posts, and local volunteers step in to offer guidance, often through informal Facebook groups or neighborhood chats. Behind this wave of citizen– driven efforts, however, lies a striking absence: no official system exists to help people locate their missing pets.
According to the Animal Register Unit, Jordbruksverket 2024, 17,975 cats were registered in Gothenburg with 12,944 individual owners. In the wider Västra Götaland region, the number reaches 87,386 cats and 58,263 owners. Despite the scale, there is no centralized public response–no city platform,coordinated outreach,or municipal tracking system for lost pets.
Instead, the task of searching,posting,coordinating,and following leads falls entirely to individual owners. Some receive help from volunteers, others rely on nonprofit websites or networks. But the gap in formal responsibility means that the success of a search often depends on luck or persistent personal effort–rather than official support.
The Scale and Predictability of The Problem
The scale of pet ownership in Gothenburg makes the absence of a public missing pet system more than a minor oversight-it’s a structural gap with wide-reaching consequences. According to Jordbruksverket’s 2024 data, on cat and owner registrations in Gothenburg, these are not just marginal figures but rather represent tens of thousands of households potentially affected by pet disappearances.
While missing cat cases may seem accidental or isolated, expert insights suggest otherwise. According to cat behaviorist Sussane Hellman Holmström,there are predictable patterns that explain why cats are more likely to go missing during certain times of year, particularly summer.
“Many cats go farther away during summertime because there’s more daylight,less noise at night,and fewer people around,’’ she explained in an interview. Cats are natural seekers, and even small disturbances like noise, territorial conflicts, or a change in their environment–such as owners going on vacation–can push them to find new spaces.
Understanding feline behavior is key –but it does not change the fact that there is no system in place when cats go missing.
This behavioral insight is supported by national police data, which shows a clear seasonal spike in missing cat reports. In both 2023 and 2024, the number of reported cases peaked sharply between May and August than in any part of the year.
In 2023, for example,275 cats were reported missing from January to April, compared to 489 between May and August. In 2024, the figures were 267 during the early months and 466 during summer.
(The number of cats reported missing in Västra Götaland and the summer spike (2023-2024). Police had data only for Västra Götaland. )
Despite this consistent rise, no formal public infrastructure or seasonal preparedness exists to address the issue. The annual spike goes unacknowledged in city planning or public communication.
Holmström also points to research showing that cats have a “seeking system” in the brain, a concept developed by neuroscientist Jaak Panksepp. This system drives them to search for food,calm spaces, or new territory. “If a cat lives in a noisy home or has conflict with other cats,they might try to find somewhere quieter,” she said.
Certain types of cats are also more likely to disappear. Young, unneutered male cats, especially those between two and five years old, are more prone to exploring large distances – sometimes up to 10 kilometers.
“Once they are castrated, their territory shrinks to just a few hundred meters,’’ Holmström said. Extroverted cats and those used to going outside also tend to roam farther.
Indoor cats, by contrast, usually stay close if they escape. “If they are not used to being outside, they often hide nearby –under bushes or cars,” she said.
Holmström’s recommendation to reduce disappearance risk is simple: “ Neuter them. Chip them. And put a GPS on them.” But even when owners take such steps, she acknowledges that disappearances still happen and there is no formal help as such to help pet owners.
How is The System Exactly?
Understanding cat behavior is just one layer,what happens next reveals deeper gaps. When a pet goes missing in Gothenburg,many owners report it to the police. But the pet owners are unaware that the legal framework does not reflect how emotionally significant these cases are to the people involved.
According to Emma,an operator at the national police contact centre,missing pets are classified under “lost property.” “It’s the same as if you lost your phone,” she explained. When asked whether this terminology has ever been questioned internally,she responded “no idea.”
Further explanation came from Max Kornevall at the Lost and Found Department,who confirmed that police entered pet reports into their system with basic identifying details such as species,breed,and color. He added that the police understand the emotional importance of pets to their owners but that the legal status of animals as property limits the extent of their involvement.”It is a living,breathing creature and the most important “item” for the police,” he said.
Mats Alm,who worked as a volunteer with ID Hund, reinforced the limitations of the system. “In Sweden law sees pets as things. So if someone takes your cat,it is more or less like stealing a bike,” he said. Despite high pet ownership, he believes the authorities treat these disappearances as minor losses rather than emotional or social issues. “The public sees it as a tragedy,but the law treats it as another lost thing.”
Collaboration with animal shelters or other authorities exists in some cases,particularly if a pet is injured or abandoned. However,each shelter has its own handling rules, and there is no centralized,formal coordination process.
Online platforms like Vilse.nu ,Sweden’s most used missing cat website, are unable to fill the institutional gap. When contacted, the site stated that it has no statistical tracking capability due to GDPR. “Once a pet is marked as found,the record disappears,” they wrote. On a winter day,3-5 new missing cat posts may appear. In summer that rises to 20-40 a day nationwide. In August 2024 alone,210 cats were still missing with no updates.
The Burden Falls on Owners
The lack of formal help shifts the emotional and logistical burden entirely onto private individuals. Pet owners are left to manage stressful searches on their own such as printing flyers, reaching out to shelters, posting online, arranging scent trails –and still receive no institutional guidance.
Ronny Karlsson and Anna Prolin who lost their cat Siri,during a summer thunderstorm shared their ongoing struggle. “It has been more than six months”, they said. With no GPS collar and minimal response from authorities,they relied on posters, social media, and word of mouth. “We even contacted a psychic out of desperation,” Anna said. “We just felt there was no support. You’re entirely on your own.”
(Right) Ronny and (Left) Anna who hope to find Siri one day. Photo Source: Clicked by Shinjini Chatterjee during an in-person interview )
Mats Alm noted that missing cats are often hard to find, especially if scared of strangers. “They run off into the forest and hide. You can be 20 meters away and never see them.”
Even cats that were eventually found reveal the toll of a disorganised system.
Jennifer Winter,who eventually found her cat Sigge after he went missing in July 2024,described her experience as chaotic. “We got prank calls in the middle of the night after posting flyers,” she said. “There’s no official channel to go through. “Despite recovering her pet, she emphasized that the outcome relied mainly on luck and not formal support.
(Winter’s cat Sigge sitting at her computer desk. Photo Source: Jennifer Winter)
Jennifer Lindquist had a similar experience when her indoor cat Madicken slipped out of a leash and disappeared. Though Madicken was found later, Lindquist said she was stunned by the lack of guidance. “We reported it, posted online, reached out to Vilse and shelters–but it was mostly just us Googling what to do.”
Both women agreed that recovery relied entirely on personal persistence and fate.
(Jennifer Lindquist with her cat Madicken. Photo source: Jennifer Lindquist)
The Wall of the Missing
To visualize what the city does not formally track, this investigation created an informal mapping of missing cats.
Using 11 real cases, which is just a small fraction of the total cases that occur daily on flyers, facebook groups and missing cat websites, a visual titled “The Wall of the Missing” was compiled.
Each missing cat picture on the screenshot on the map of Gothenburg corresponds to the approximate location from where the cat was reported missing.
(Geographic spread of missing cats across Gothenburg,compiled through clicking pictures of publicly posted flyers,screenshots taken from Facebook groups and missing cat websites. Screenshot for map of Gothenburg taken from Google Maps. Source: Shinjini Chatterjee)
The locations included Eriksbo Östergärde in Angered, Skogsrydsvägen in Västra Frölunda, Eklanda in Mölndal, Komarken in Kungälv, and residential zones near Adventvägen, Stora Arödsgatan, Överåsvallen, and Sankt Jörgens Allé.
What emerged from this was not a pattern of concentration but rather dispersion. The disappearances occurred both in inner city and suburban areas. This supported a key finding in the investigation –that the issue of missing cats is not isolated or anecdotal but widespread and structurally overlooked.
In the absence of municipal data, this mapping became a tool to reveal what the city doesn’t track. The emotional toll faced by pet owners, the community efforts and geographic reach of pet disappearances that go formally uncounted.
Who is Responsible?
Even beyond data and mapping, the reality remains unchanged.No formal help exists to help pet owners find their missing cats.
The police classify pets as property. The municipality offers no direct service or digital platform. The county board steps in only for abandoned or injured animals.
The gap is filled by volunteers, such as ID Hund, a small national network that uses dogs trained to track missing pets by scent. According to Mats Alm, one of the few old volunteers in Gothenburg, there are only about 25 to 30 people across all of Sweden involved in this kind of work. “We are helping some of the people who ask for help,” he says, “but most lost cats are only searched for by their owners. There is no real help.”
Additional insights from local animal shelters reflect similar limitations. Solveig Gavik, Chairperson of Djurens Vänner Gothenburg, said the shelter handles approximately 150 to 170 homeless cats each year but only once or twice a month is a cat successfully reunited with its home. When asked whether the numbers increase during the warmer months, she said: “There are always more cats when the weather is better. People open doors and windows, maybe that is when cats find a way out”. Gavik also noted that a lot of the cats come from the north part of Gothenburg.
Alm limits himself to handling no more than four cases at a time, due to high demand. “Very often,there is a queue,” he explained. “Most cats disappear and are only searched for through social media or posters , by the owners themselves.’’
ID Hund searches rely on a scent article–such as a cat’s collar or toy–for trained dogs to follow scent trails through streets or forests. “The dog is the hero in all this,’’ Alm said. “I just walk behind.’’
The work is entirely voluntary. “We are not funded by the state or the municipality,’’ Alm added. “Even shelters that take in homeless cats are run on public donations. Many get no government funding at all.’’
He emphasized that despite millions spent annually on pet products in Sweden, no institutional support is given to missing animals. “There are presumably 200,000 homeless cats in Sweden–but it can also be 100,000. No one knows. There is no fact,” he said.
He also noted that only around 6,500 cats per year receive help from shelters.”6,500 out of 200,000 is not a very high percentage,” he said. “Most shelters beg for money. They don’t get any from the state or community.”
Alm believes the situation is especially dire for cats compared to dogs. “Cats have a bad place. I think we are mistreating them”, he said. He recalled how a proposed law to improve cat welfare took more than two decades to pass. “The politicians are doing nothing. So next winter,60,000 cats will die because of the cold.”
A Public Gap in a Pet-Loving City
After hearing Alm’s perspective on underfunded shelters, legislative delays, and winter fatalities, the disconnect becomes impossible to ignore – especially in a city like Gothenburg that prides itself on citizen-centered innovation.
In 2025, when pets are beloved family members and urban services are expected to reflect societal values, the absence of formal support for missing cats reveals a deep systemic blind spot.
Missing cats are not rare, nor random. The patterns are seasonal and predictable. Yet no single institution takes formal responsibility. Gothenburg must move beyond passive silence.
A centralized digital reporting system, coordinated outreach through shelters or publicly funded search efforts could reshape how the city responds.
Until changes are made, only posters, personal anguish and luck will bridge the gap between a missing cat and their home.