# Skittish cats and their hiding places



## BlitzJG (Apr 5, 2013)

So my previous cat, and my new kitten (both long-haired tortie females) have both been very shy and easily startled... My previous cat Rogue, grew out of it, at least when I was the only one home, but would be shy or startle if I had any guests. My new kitten Midna is even worse about this. Its only been 1.5 weeks since I got her, so I understand she may naturally grow out of it a little, but she is pretty bad with just me in the apartment. She comes out, but if I get up or move around, she runs straight back under my bed.

How have you dealt with these types of cats? Is there anything that can be done to discourage their skittishness? What worked and didn't work? Could I slowly block off her more elusive hiding places? She's under the bed the majority of the time, and I think there is even a hole in the dustcover of my boxspring that she climbs up and hides in.

Last night I had to give her oral abx, and it was a chore just to get ahold of her. I had to coherce her out of my room, shut the door so she couldnt run back under the bed, and even then she ran behind the fridge, and even found a small hole under the kitchen counter/sink fixture.

I'm going to patch up the kitchen hole, for safety reasons, but is blocking off her other options slowly over time an option that may help?


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## emilyatl (Sep 9, 2013)

Oh yes, my kitty Jem has ripped holes in the fabric on the bottom of all of the boxsprings in all of the beds in the house. He climbs up there when he's really scared. It freaked me out the first time he did it because I had some painters in the house and I thought he'd gotten out. I was going around to every room calling him and heard a muffled meow, and eventually found him. He's 10 now and still does it. He's very skittish and never outgrew a lot of those tendencies. 

I'd definitely patch anything up where it's someplace she could get stuck/hurt (like a hole under the sink). But I wouldn't worry about the mattress. She feels safe there, so just let her be, otherwise, she may just be more anxious.


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## emilyatl (Sep 9, 2013)

And actually, I have old towels, blankets, etc. under all of my beds so Jem can get comfortable while he's there (he likes to nest/burrow). Whenever my niece and nephews come over (they are very rowdy), the doorbell rings, there's a bad storm, etc., that's where he retreats to. He obviously feels safe there, so I don't see a problem with it...


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## snowy (Aug 23, 2012)

Well, ET is skittish too. I wouldn't block out his hiding place, in fact, I would make his hiding place more comfortable, like emilyatl, leave some blankets or something warm there. I am also making an effort to find a good and comfortable hiding place for him, I feel, they need a place to feel safe in, if they need to hide...they need to hide, I want him to feel safe and to know he has a place to go to when he is really scared.


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## tezster (Jun 4, 2013)

I'm with snowy - I think it's a good idea to leave at least one hiding spot open and available, where a cat will feel safe to hide out in when startled. 

During the day, it may help to leave the radio on at low volume during the day when you're not around to act as white noise. 1.5 weeks is still pretty short amount of time for a kitten to adjust to a new environment. I'm sure things will get better


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## TLS (Oct 11, 2013)

I love the advise about the hiding spot and making it even more comfortable!

My Tess was feral for at least a year before she and I became friends. What worked for us was complete passiveness on my part. I said to myself if I was afraid of something, what would I do about it? I would flee or fight. Since fleeing was no longer an option, I made sure she could "conquer". I kept her in the laundry room for the first couple of weeks -- I needed to monitor her a bit before giving free run of the house. As soon as I walked into the room, I watched her (but not looking straight at her)...I give her the "side-eye" -- she would let me get about 3 feet into the room before showing discomfort. I put my head down immediately, and said "you are WAY too scary for me!" And I would leave. I think it's important to stress that you are not REALLY afraid, because she might pick up on that and it could work against the whole process....It took a few weeks before I could approach my cat without her trying to hide. Now? She jumps up on my belly for skritches when I'm sleeping...but, I worked REALLY hard at paying attention to her body language. It was six months outside and almost a year inside and we still have issues, but she is NOT afraid of me....I hope this helps you a little bit -- the good thing is that she's still really young...


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## howsefrau32 (Mar 6, 2013)

I think some cats are just skittish and there is nothing you can do about it. I have one, Taffy, he is a big giant chicken. He has what we call his "hidey hole", which is underneath my daughter's skirted vanity table. It is his go to place when he is scared, like if he hears someone rip off a piece of tin foil, oh boy, look out, he is off! I have tried to get him used to it by doing this, when he is in the kitchen in the morning, I will rip the tin foil very slowly and say to him "see, it's ok, it won't hurt you", and this has actually helped him. He used to be terrified of plastic bags too, but I did the same thing, I let him see me and I shook them open gently so that he could see that it was just an empty bag and it wouldn't hurt him, and now he is hardly afraid of those at all. I make sure and talk to him when it is something that he is scared of, if I say "it's OK Taffy, it won't hurt you", he really does kind of look at me and doesn't bolt away. However, he is still afraid when we have company over and he will bolt to his hidey hole. Once someone has been over a few times and he sees that they are OK, he will eventually come out while they are here, but if it's a kid, forget it. My nephew comes over and you will not see Taffy the whole time, but in that case, I don't blame him.


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## emilyatl (Sep 9, 2013)

howsefrau32 said:


> Once someone has been over a few times and he sees that they are OK, he will eventually come out while they are here, but if it's a kid, forget it. My nephew comes over and you will not see Taffy the whole time, but in that case, I don't blame him.


That's how my Jem is. My nephews are 8, 6, and 2. He hears them coming before the doorbell even rings and takes off for upstairs! I always shut the bedroom doors when they're here and turn on the alarm radio to drown out their noise. And I leave food/water for him under the bed to make him feel a little more comfortable. I wish I could hide under there with him sometimes.


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## BlitzJG (Apr 5, 2013)

I feel so bad, because they both have supposed URI and I have to give them oral Abx. I am basically forced to traumatize her because otherwise I can't get ahold of her. I corale her out of my bedroom and shut the door, then I have to upend all other potential hiding places in the rest of my apartment so I can get ahold of her. There should be 6 more nights of this, I think she hates me... This seems like the only available method to get ahold of her, since its more or less necessary, do I get a pass for these 10 days of torture?


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## emilyatl (Sep 9, 2013)

I feel your pain. We've all had to deal with kitties who are difficult to medicate. She doesn't hate you, she just hates getting medicated. Kitties are very resisilient and she will forget all about this! Do you have anyone who can help you medicate her? I'm sorry you're having to go through this!


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## BlitzJG (Apr 5, 2013)

Nope just me. Its funny cause my two kitten are complete opposites. Ramza is very friendly, so he is easy to get ahold of to medicate, but he resists as soon as I get the syringe in his mouth. Midna on the other hand, is hard to get ahold of, but takes the medicine like a champ once the syringe is in her mouth... I try to give her a treat or direct her to her hiding place afterward so she knows its over and safe now.


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## BlitzJG (Apr 5, 2013)

So now that the medicating is over, should I ignore her until she is assertive in wanting attention? She comes out occasionally, but is easily started back into her safe spots. She comes out when I am not home, and sometimes when I get home she'll be on top of the cat tower, but will pretty readily flee when she sees an opportunity.


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## bluemilk (Oct 3, 2005)

emilyatl said:


> Oh yes, my kitty Jem has ripped holes in the fabric on the bottom of all of the boxsprings in all of the beds in the house. He climbs up there when he's really scared. It freaked me out the first time he did it because I had some painters in the house and I thought he'd gotten out. I was going around to every room calling him and heard a muffled meow, and eventually found him. He's 10 now and still does it. He's very skittish and never outgrew a lot of those tendencies.
> 
> ANOTHER box-spring bandit? Robin hides out when he naps,either IN the spare mattress,his old tumble-cube,or the cupboards. And yes,I hit the ROOF the 1st time I couldn't find him! Does Jem play hide and seek a lot?


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## feralkit (Oct 20, 2013)

Both my Smokey and Gremlin like it in the boxspring that Smokey broke into when he was a kitten. He made the entrance when we moved to my mother in laws. She has small, loud, untrained dogs. One is loud and vicious to everyone (even MIL) and the other was just excited. He had no problem with 90lb Joe, but untrained little ones were just too much. We are no longer there, but still have the boxspring. They hide from my daughter's overcuddling now. She can't resist picking them up. lol


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## emilyatl (Sep 9, 2013)

bluemilk said:


> ANOTHER box-spring bandit? Robin hides out when he naps,either IN the spare mattress,his old tumble-cube,or the cupboards. And yes,I hit the ROOF the 1st time I couldn't find him! Does Jem play hide and seek a lot?


Yep, he did (he sadly just passed away last week). He was such a character! He used to hide at the bottom of the stairs when he heard is brother coming down the stairs (he wore a bell on his collar), and he'd jump out at him to scare him when he got to the bottom. It was hilarious to watch. He also liked to hide behind doors and meow to call attention to Scout, and would swat at him through the crack in the door when he came to investigate.  He had a lot of very creative hiding places, but the boxsprings were by far the best.


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## Catmamma (Apr 18, 2011)

That Jem sounds like he was fun! The radio and talking to your cat is the key to getting him to come out and be comfortable around you. The talking is one of the ways to get a feral to accept you. Your cat isn't exactly feral but is skittish. And, yes, she needs her hiding places. Just be patient and consistent. Now that the meds are over, you can progress.


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