![]() “Knowing your own cat’s habits will tell you whether the hiding is a physical problem or an emotional one,” says Tracie. While it’s natural for cats to retire to a preferred hiding place every so often - and this happens more during the heat and humidity of summer when they seek out dark spots to cool down - look out for significant increases in cat hiding behaviors that seem less like sneaking in a little quiet respite and more like a sign of withdrawing. These days, she occasionally enjoys hiding out in the closet where the coats and winter boots are kept. After leaving the bathroom door ajar, she eventually sauntered out around midnight to explore her forever home properly. In Mimosa’s case, her bout of cat hiding didn’t last long. With my cat, Mimosa, she took up a hiding position under the sink cabinet - presumably to try and achieve Bradshaw’s goal of safely boxing herself in as much as possible while still being able to spot any advancing intruders. But if you peek in, you’ll often see the cat hiding somewhere within the room itself, too. Then, leave the cat alone in the room and let her get accustomed to part of her new environment at her own pace. The standard advice to prevent cat hiding is to set up a small room - like a bathroom or utility closet - and make sure that room has all the cat’s essentials like food, water and a litter box. When bringing newly-adopted cats home, they often use a form of Bradshaw’s math. Photography © w-ings | E+ / Getty Images. “For five sides out of six nobodies can get at you and you can keep an eye on the sixth one,” Bradshaw says. This is one reason why cardboard boxes are such a popular cat hiding spot. He told me that out in the wild, felines are constantly searching for “nooks and crannies to rest in because what they want is to basically have five sides out of six protected.” A couple of years ago, I was talking to John Bradshaw, a cat science expert and author of Cat Sense, about why cats seem to pick such boxed-in places as hiding spots. What are some preferred cat hiding spots?Ī common way cats hide is to box themselves in somewhere, like at the back corner of a closet. The fear of the unknown can make us all act in strange ways. Mimosa has never experienced any harm or distress as a direct consequence of the doorbell sounding - but it seems that the newness of the noise, which she cannot pinpoint as originating inside the apartment, sparks some cat hiding instinct. Hotchner’s characterization rings true for me: Every time the apartment doorbell sounds for delivery, my cat, Mimosa, scurries along and hides under the bed like the end of the world has just been announced. “Almost any noise or new person or other animal or moving furniture can be stressful and drive them to hide.” “Cats are fearful ‘prey’ animals,” she says. When discussing cat hiding, Tracie relates it to a feline’s place in the animal food chain. But why is your cat hiding? And is it an issue if your favorite feline is indulging in hiding behaviors a little too often? Why is your cat hiding? When it comes to hiding, our felines are so skilled that you often become convinced your beloved kitty has magically vanished - only to eventually find her nestled in the nook of a cupboard, perched up high above the kitchen cabinets or stealthily staking it out under the bed. Is your cat’s hiding normal - or something more? Photography © Ghostl | iStock / Getty Images. If you’re a cat parent, you’ll probably relate to Tracie’s anecdote about cat hiding. “Then, they looked on the bookshelf and found the cat squeezed between two of Martha’s cookbooks!” says Tracie with a laugh. Unfortunately, when it came time for the cameras to roll, the feline guest of honor had seemingly disappeared. These days, Tracie is the founder of the Radio Pet Lady Network, but at the time, she had a show on Stewart’s Sirius radio channel. When pet talk show personality Tracie Hotchner appeared on the Martha Stewart Show, Martha Stewart brought her newly adopted cat to co-star in the segment.
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