Šmíd et al. (2019) found that Telescopus fallax as presently understood is paraphyletic with respect to T. nigriceps and T. hoogstraali, but refrained from taking taxonomic action. These authors used the name T. f. syriacus for samples from Jordan and Israel which fall within their T. nigriceps clade, supporting the suggestions by Disi et al. (2001) and Göçmen et al. (2007) that records from Jordan should be regarded as T. nigriceps.

European regional assessment: Least Concern (LC)
EU 27 regional assessment: Least Concern (LC)

The Cat Snake is assessed as Least Concern for both Europe and the EU27 Member States in view of its wide distribution in both Europe and the EU 27, because it adapts well to a range of habitats, and because only localised threats have been identified.

This species ranges from extreme northeastern Italy (near Duino on the Italian Adriatic coast) through Adriatic coastal areas of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, southern Montenegro, southern Bulgaria, Albania, southern Serbia, North Macedonia, Greece (including some Aegean islands such as Crete), Cyprus and Turkish Thrace (Speybroeck et al. 2016). The species is present on Malta, to which it is considered to have been introduced at least 100 years ago (E. Dobbs pers. comm. 2021). A single record from Comino Islet, off the coast of Malta, may represent an introduced individual, and research is underway to determine whether an introduced population is established on this island or nearby Gozo (E. Dobbs pers. comm. 2021). Lo Cascio and Sciberras (2020) consider the species to be "surely introduced" to the Maltese Islands. In Europe, it is usually a lowland species, but ranges up to 1,300 m asl (Speybroeck et al. 2016).

Outside Europe, the snake ranges from Anatolian Türkiye into Syria, Lebanon and Israel in the south. Although samples from Israel (where Geniez 2018 considers it extinct) and Jordan were included in analysis by Šmíd et al. (2019), these formed a clade with their samples of Telescopus nigriceps and should probably not be considered to belong to T. fallax as presently understood. It is also present in the Caucasus Mountains, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and southern Russia, Iran and Iraq. The snake is found from sea level up to 2,000 m asl (the latter in Armenia; Geniez 2018).

The species is common in the Mediterranean part of the Balkans, but it is rare in Türkiye. It appears to be rare on Malta and it is very local in Italy. While there have been no systematic surveys on Malta, there is a consensus among amateur herpetologists on this island that the species is in decline (E. Dobbs pers. comm. 2021).

This species occurs in "All sorts of warm rocky or stony areas" (Speybroeck et al. 2016). It is mostly found amongst rocks in shrubby landscapes. It can also be found in open or degraded woodland, among old walls and ruins, and on sandy beaches with plant cover (in Türkiye and Europe) and sometimes close to human habitation, and orchards and gardens with drystone walls (Speybroeck et al. 2016). Subpopulations have been recorded in the montane-xerophytic steppe, in semi-deserts and, more rarely, at the edges of mountain forest. It is usually active between May and October, where it is most often found beneath stones, but hibernation may be shorter in the south of the range or be facultative (Speybroeck et al. 2016). The females lay between 5 and 9 eggs. Oviposition takes place in July, with neonates emerging in August and September (Speybroeck et al. 2016).

The species is persecuted in parts of its range through confusion with viper species. In parts of its range it is locally impacted by conversion of land to intensive agricultural use, urbanisation, and general mortality of animals on roads.

This species is used in religious ceremonies in the Greek town of Markopoulo in early August (Speybroeck et al. 2016).

The species is listed on Annex II of the Bern Convention and on Annex IV of the EU Habitats Directive. It is present in a number of protected areas.