The invisible cat

[MatildaTheCat]

Help is needed please.

DS and his GF have gone away for three months and have left their extremely timid cat in our care at my house. She has visited before with them and on each occasion made a dash for behind the sofa.

Now they have left and she is in permanent hiding. She barely ate for a few days which meant she wasn’t getting any of the calming meds the vet had supplied. I bought a Feliway diffuser and have left that plugged in.

Initially she was confined to just one room. Each time I found her hiding place she’d relocate to a new one. Then she broke free and is somewhere in the house but I literally cannot find her. During the night she is gobbling up all her food and she’s using her litter tray so I guess she’s gone nocturnal.

Ive stopped searching for her as that’s obviously stressing her though I’m stressed not knowing where she is. I’m leaving the tv on quietly so she’s got some company when we are out. I’m lighting the same candles they have and (trying to) chat to her pleasantly though since I don’t know where she is seems a bit pointless.

Any ideas please? Just time? I’m starting to feel somewhat ambivalent towards my difficult guest. Though I guess she’s not all that difficult if I accept she’s invisible.

Oh and DS and GF are wanting updates and photos so that’s a bit tricky!

Keep doing what you're doing, you're doing all the right things.

Classical music - the soothing type - is renowned for help cats and dogs relax so I would put a classic fm relaxing playlist on in the background too.

She just needs time. Your son & his gf are just going to have to wait for photos.

No advice just please update when she appears, I do hope that when her first slaves return she is purring on your lap in a state of bliss 😺

Leave her too it. She'll appear eventually!

Yes. What's important is that she's eating, drinking and using her litter tray. Being social is desirable but not necessary.

Thanks everyone. I did in fact have a cat for 20 years so am not entirely a novice but this is unnerving. I’ll try some calm music and let her be. If she wants night shifts she can have them.

I just wish I knew where the hell she’s hiding 🧐

I think the mistake was in 'finding her hiding place'. If you can, get her back to her room with all her stuff and just leave her be with some calm visits where you ignore her. Don't go looking for her or approach her when she's hiding.

The mistake was uprooting her from her home and having her stay at yours, unfortunately.

As it is, you just need to leave her to it and hope she eventually adjusts. It took our nervous rescue about four months to come out of hiding and see us during the day so it could potentially be a very very long game.

An update: there is no real update! Three weeks in and she’s still hiding. She did 8 long days in the horrible cupboard under the stairs and I didn’t see her once. I eventually cracked and crawled in and saw her. She rewarded me with a hiss.

Then she obviously relocated and is, I think upstairs in another cupboard. At night I set her elaborate trails of treats and feed her like a queen.

She’s not a very rewarding guest. 🙄

She may not be rewarding guest but at least she's not misbehaving 🤣
She's probably confused and quite timid but she sounds happy enough being left to hide.

I have the opposite problem with my cat! He likes to go in other people's houses and make himself at home 🤦