I’ve spoken about just how high house cats can jump in an article before. Spoiler alert: It’s really stinkin’ high, and if you compare a cat’s jump ability to a human’s, it puts into perspective just how athletic our little domestic kitties are.
But how about their running ability? Yes, cats certainly may be some of the most lazy creatures you could ever lay your eyes on, but have you ever seen even the laziest house cat run?
Like lightening! Speed is certainly one of a cat’s abilities I envy most. Imagine being able to run like a feline for just one sprint!
How fast exactly do domestic cats run? And how do they compare to human speed? Can they run faster than the fastest human on earth? And what about dogs – can cats outrun them? These questions are exactly what I’ll be answering today.
Facts About Cats’ Running Speed
How Fast Can House Cats Run?
Hitting top speeds, the fastest house cats can run up to 30 mph. That’s approximately 47 km/hr.
In case you’re wondering how fast that feels:
- It’s double the maximum speed limit you’re usually allowed to drive in a parking lot (15 mph / 24 kph).
- It’s about as fast as the maximum speed limit on the average country road (30 mph / 50 km/hr).
So that means the average house cat can outrun any car driving at the speed limit in a parking lot, and for a short time, can almost keep up with a car driving at the maximum speed limit on a country road.
Pretty impressive!
Does the maximum speed a house cat can run depend on breed?
Yes. As with most biology facts about cats – breed definitely plays a part in how fast a cat can run as well.
Dr. Becker mentions that the 9 fastest breeds of house cat are also the 9 most athletic and energetic in general.
These breeds include: Egyptian Maus, Abyssinians, Somalis, Bengals, Savannahs, Manxs, Siamese cats, Ocicats, & Orientals.
Cat Speed VS Human Speed
Are house cats faster than humans?
In case you were wondering about averages: yes, certainly the average house cat is faster and can outrun the average human.
What’s more interesting however is how quick house cats compare to Usain Bolt – the record breaker for the spot of the fastest man on Earth…
Are house cats faster than Usain Bolt (the world’s fastest human to date)?
Usain Bolt, the fastest human to date, hit the current world record back in August 16, 2009 during the World Championships in Berlin.
His record high speed was 27.8 mph (44.72 km/h).
His average speed over the course of this 100 m race was 23.35 mph (37.58 km/h).
What’s that mean? At his top speed Usain Bolt hit nearly the same top speed as a house cat.
Could super fast house cats outrun Usain Bolt at a 100 m sprint? Probably, but the fact that Usain Bolt would come in pretty close – a ridiculous feat considering how agile domestic cats are.
Cat Speed VS Dog Speed
Are cats or dogs faster?
You’ve probably guessed this yourself, but it really depends on the breed of cat or dog you’re talking about!
Greyhound dogs, with their long legs, can hit speeds of up to a whopping 43 miles per hour (69 km/hr)!
So yes, they certainly do outrun all house cats, even the most athletic ones.
At the other end of the spectrum, you have small stout dogs like the English Bulldog, which only hit around 15 mph (24 kph).
Needless to say, your average house cat can definitely outrun these dogs.
If you want to throw all cats into the mix, and aren’t just talking about the house cat variety – the fastest cat (an animal!) on earth is the cheetah, while the fastest dog is the greyhound.
Cheetahs can hit speeds up to 75 mph (120 km/hr), while greyhounds, as previously stated, can hit around 43 mph (69 kph).
That 43 mph is no small feat, but it’s still no contest when compared to the top speed of the #1 fastest animal on earth, the cheetah.
Of course, it’s not like you can have a cheetah living in your home, so talking purely about domesticated animals – yup, the fastest domesticated dog breeds can certainly beat any ol’ house cat.
Your Thoughts on Cat Running Speeds?
Ever been impressed by how fast the average house cat can run? They sure do pack a huge punch for speed considering their overall laziness, don’t they?
Ever wondered whether a house cat could outrun a dog? Do you feel it’s fair to include cheetahs in the mix when you’re talking about cat vs dog speed?
Do you feel it’s more fair to consider averages for only domesticated breeds?
How awesome do you think it’d feel to be able to run as fast as a house cat for just one sprint?
I’d certainly love to feel that sensation – my own legs being able to carry me that fast!
I guess only Usain Bolt and a handful of other crazy fast Olympic sprint runners will ever come close to knowing how that feels firsthand!
I think there is a special wiry breed of cats that can do the 30 mph (the ones with little to no fur and really thin), but as for an average house cat, well I used to chase mine when I was a kid and I did about 15 and the cat was running ahead a bit. Recently I had a cat run out of a hedge in front of me when I was cycling. My speedo said 22 mph and the cat looked like it was working pretty hard and I was gaining on it (it was a little to the left of me so I wasn’t trying to run it over!). I had another cat run out in front of my car and I slammed on the brakes and spilled carrot and coriander soup on the seat and in the footwell! (It was a broken container I was trying to keep upright) So it seems like most cats that I’ve observed top out at 18-20 mph for a short time. That wild ginger tom that stole the cat food was probably faster. The slowest was an overweight cat (looked to be around 15 lb) that seemed like an effort for it to lumber along at 4-5 mph, so the top speed is based on how much the owner feeds them.
Greyhounds all fairness were bred specifically for high speed, cats while they’ve been messed around by selective breeding too in comparison to dogs are pretty unchanged and still natural. I imagine a wild cat would rival a greyhound in top speed, they look pretty much identical to our domestic cats but are bigger and hunt to live so being faster is a necessity.
Bolt is 6’5″ so it’s only makes the cat more impressive being able to outrun him. Plus he didn’t reach those speeds naturally, he trained etc. He competed in 2004 in Athens and did not get a good time there so it was out of nowhere how he broke the record and got his golds. My point is if he didn’t train etc he’d not be that big name he is, nor would most humans that break records in sports so it only makes our felid athletes MORE impressive as it’s natural ability!
All fairness too Bolt’s fastest time isn’t really that much better than the best sprinters when you put it into %, it seems humans have kinda hit their limit in that area someone will come and beat Bolt’s record sooner or later but by fractions of a second…. Anyway yeah they talk of Bolt like some superhuman but he’s not even twice as fast as an average person sprinting (Unless I’m overestimating how fast people run on average), yet they talk like he’s 10times faster than a normal person! He’s actually disadvantaged for 100m due to his height, he has a slower startup and takes longer to reach his stride he actually prefers 200m.
Indeed the greyhound is not in the shortlist of fastest animal, there’s many animals in the 40mph range interesting such as a racehorse, lions and tigers, ostriches… Something about that speed that’s the barrier, I’m guessing leopards should be able to reach those speeds as they’re smaller and lighter than lions and tigers, the cheetah is built very differently from the other big cats so is a class above them in speed but suffers in endurance, domestic cats don’t seem to have that issue though I’ve never seen a cat exhausted after a sprint and while they aren’t as fast as the big cats they certainly look faster! They are just a blur it’s like watching a cartoon when they run! Certainly relatively speaking they are faster than any human or big cat, you can see the legs moving when someone runs or a tiger etc but a cat it’s a blur.
So it’s diminishing returns with bigger size but when we look at things from that perspective, rodents are very fast and even more impressive are bugs. I heard a centipede if it were the size of a cheetah (yikes) would be thrice as fast!!!! Imagine a 200mph or faster 6 foot long centipede! No thanks!
Yeah cats are lazy but that’s probably how they pull off those super feats, they rest so much they have stored energy and then some when they need it!
But you forgot to mention, that is …. Usain Bolt could beat the cat, but that is only if he is on steroids at the time of the race!
Bolt is not the average human I am sure there are exceptional house cats that can hit speeds much higher than 30
You think Bolt is fast ? Look how slow his frequence are comparing to his mates components.
Pronghorn Fastest animal in North America. 55- 60 MPH for short bursts (a few hundred yards) and 30-40+ MPH maintainable for several miles..
For another perspective on how fast cats are compared to humans, consider a four minute mile. That’s no longer the amazing feat it once was but even today, you’ve got to be in good shape to run that fast: 15 miles per hour.
So, cats probably run twice as fast as people.
Great point, Jimmy!
We have urban coyotes roaming around our neighborhood occasionally. I don’t find this to be a problem, but the neighbors are all having hissy fits about it. One neighbor recently posted a stat saying that a coyote can run at speeds up to 50 MPH. I had previously wondered about whether my cat could outrun a coyote. Guess not. (However, my little furry friend sure can sprint up that oak tree like lightning!) Nevertheless, I wondered about whether that 50 MPH stat for coyotes was really true. Do you know the answer?
Supposedly coyotes can run up to 43 miles per hour (according to this website), but I see where your neighbours are coming from even if a cat can *technically* outrun a coyote (which is unlikely) – all it takes is a cat to be cornered, back to the wall, with no means of escape, and there’s no hope for a domestic cat in a face off like that, sadly 🙁
Your neighbor may have exaggerated a bit, but they are right to be concerned. You won’t dismiss it as a hissy fit when your cat is killed by coyotes and you have to “put her back together again” to bury her after fighting them for her body. That’s what happened to me. I live in a big city but near a creek. We have urban coyotes around here too. A cat who is not caught off guard will certainly try to escape by climbing a tree or a fence. But the coyotes around here hunt in groups. They work together to corner the animal and block any possible escape route. My cat got halfway up a wooden fence before they pulled her back down by her tail. I can never forget the sound of her claws dragging down the wood. I ran outside as soon as I heard something but it was already too late. I had to chase off two coyotes who kept coming back every few minutes for her body. I had another cat who survived an attack from multiple coyotes by climbing under a neighbor’s deck and managed to limp home covered in blood, but after 3 days of intensive care in the cat hospital, still didn’t make it. Better safe than sorry. When it happens to you, it’s nothing to scoff at.
According to the U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service, coyotes can easily reach 48 km/h (30 mph), and can sprint at 65 km/h (40 mph) when hunting. Even when lacking a front foot, a coyote can still run at around 32 km/h (20 MPG). Really pretty crazy when you think about it. They’re fast, but they’re also bold and strategic pack hunters, and that’s what I’d worry about.
I’m so sorry that happened to your cats. How awful that you witnessed it. I cannot imagine how painful that was for you. 💔
Thank you, Jeannie 😿💔
I was devastated. This happened several years ago, but it still tears me up to think about. I couldn’t bear the thought of getting another cat after that, but ended up taking care of one whose owner couldn’t care for him, and I worry all the time. One of my neighbor’s cats was killed by coyotes on their front lawn a few months ago and I still hear the sound of coyotes attacking opossums and raccoons in the creek late at night. I just wish more people were aware of the danger and took it seriously, because a pet’s life can be taken from you in an instant. I’d advise any cat owner to not let their cats outside at night unsupervised, no matter how badly they pout and whine to be let out. Especially during the summer. Coyotes tend to be active in early morning too. There’s really no safe time, but warm summer nights are the most risky.
I raced what I think was a border collie on a bicycle (me not the dog), and got to 27 mph and it kept up for around half a minute. When the road started sloping up a bit it was a wash as me and the dog were slowing at the same rate. The dog seemed to have a weird running style where the back end was almost on the ground. So it seems the top speed is around 27 mph. I’d be surprised if a cat could run faster than that (though I’m surprised how fast our old cat could climb a tree trunk), although I once opened a door in my parent’s built in studio room and it was barely open 6″ when this ginger blur of a wild cat came flying out making a hissing sound.
That is really fast. I don’t think a cat could’ve kept up for that long even if he or she could sprint out for a few seconds a little faster. 27 mph – dang.
Disagree that the average dog can outrun the average housecat. Not sure that is explained. Otherwise a great article.
I didn’t say the average dog could outrun the average cat, only that it depends on the breeds of dog you’re comparing to the average house cat. I don’t think it’s fair to group fast and slow dogs together, but certainly cats can outrun the average small dog.
Nice article but the greyhound is NOT the second fastest land animal. Heck I don’t think it makes the top 10.
Various anitlopes are quicker. Ostriches are quicker and race horses can go faster too.
I guess my source (Popular Science) is wrong then? Going to edit out that part of the article just in case. Don’t want to be spreading misinformation if I can help it.
What about endurance. If an English bull dog is running 15mph could it beat the cat running 30 mph in like a 1km run? Or do cats also have a higher endurance
I feel like for endurance, the English bull dog would win. I don’t think cats have a higher endurance.
Well something running its top speed is bound to tire out sooner than something running only half its top speed/
Absolutely
Or open a can of tuna. Mine has to come look every time she hears the can opener. Then she’s at my feet crying the whole time I’m draining it. BTW I get it packed in water so it’s fine for an occasional treat.
Oh such a good point! Avery goes crazy over tuna as well, and we get it in water so he’ll have a bit of it whenever we have tuna salad for lunch. His favourite by far!
Don’t drain the water! They love that best!
Dang, it seems like Brother Simon goes faster than that at times!
Oh my! He must be on the high end of the speed spectrum!
Rustle a bag in the kitchen, and a cat is bound to be at your feet begging, having run from the farthest reaches of the house in milliseconds!
Haha so very true!