Eventually, Romania joined the Entente, waging a disastrous war on Austria-Hungary. Cătărău again applied to join the Romanian Land Forces, but his request was denied. During the Romanian retreat of 1916, Cătărău escaped his place of detention, and wandered around Neamț County. He was urgently apprehended, and moved to Durău. He was still there when the February Revolution broke out in Russia, and witnessed the consequences of this event on Romanian morale. He escaped custody and left for Iași, the Romanian provisional capital. He kept company with other Bessarabian refugees, among them "Okhrana" informant Alexis Nour.