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Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Original poster

Help! I think new cat got under the floorboards

85 replies

Startingagainandagain · 24/12/2023 08:58

I am so upset and don't know what to do. I got a rescue cat three days ago and all was going well. I had closed all the access I could think of.

The cat slept on my bed last night and everything was fine.

Then morning no sign of her.

I then realised the door that led to the utility cupboard was slightly ajar although I had closed it the night before and put a big plant in front of it to secure it further. No idea how it got open.

There is the electrics board and also the stopcock and a small access that lead under the floorboards of the living room so all I can think of is that the cat got in there as I have searched the entire house several times...

I don't know what to do. I can't hear her anywhere. I tried calling and shining a flashlight in there.

I am absolutely heartbroken and worried she got herself stuck in there, can't get back out and that I will never see her again.

Any suggestions apart from just randomly removing some of the wood flooring and hoping I can locate her?

It is a 1930s house and there is quite a big gap between the floorboard and all the pipe work so she could be anywhere by now...

I really hate myself for not securing the hole better. I have the light on in the cupboard hoping it might guide her back out and I am listening for any noise and mewing sounds.

OP posts:
BatshitCrazyWoman · 24/12/2023 09:50

I am sure she will emerge, nonchalantly, when you've convinced yourself she's gone forever. Cats are absolutely sods for doing this. She slept on your bed with you, she loves you 💗 I'm pretty certain she'll come back.

Original poster
Startingagainandagain · 24/12/2023 09:54

Thank you for the reassurance.

I am so worried.

Keep thinking she managed to electrocute herself by chomping on a cable, got stuck in the hole or ate something she should not under there...

I will try to flashlight trick as well.

OP posts:
SecretSantaHelp · 24/12/2023 09:54

When my cats stayed at my dad's for a few months, one spent the first few nights behind their fridge. I'm sure she'll come out when she's hungry.

ANightmareBeforeChristmas · 24/12/2023 09:59

Startingagainandagain · 24/12/2023 09:54

Thank you for the reassurance.

I am so worried.

Keep thinking she managed to electrocute herself by chomping on a cable, got stuck in the hole or ate something she should not under there...

I will try to flashlight trick as well.

In all my 20 odd years of keeping cats, I have never known one try to chew a cable. There are electric leads all over any house; if this was a known hazard all cats would be at risk.

Her whiskers will tell her what spaces she can fit through and which not.

The only thing she is likely to eat under there are any mice/rats that might be around; again, something that any outdoor cat might eat from tine to time.

Ilovemyshed · 24/12/2023 09:59

Anyone who has a cat knows they can be complete a**holes at times, along with having incredible powers of disappearing and reappearing when you least expect. They leave a room without you seeing and get to places you have no idea how. Honestly, they have magical powers on a ninja level (or an invisibility cloak)

Put some food out and it will reappear soon when its ready.

Also its probably needing some quiet time to decompress, so be patient and don't worry. Put some water down as well.

It will saunter back in about Boxing Day probably.

Original poster
Startingagainandagain · 24/12/2023 10:01

Thank you again everyone. I am keeping my fingers crossed that she will turn up or start meowing if she is stuck somewhere so I can help her get out...

OP posts:
Ostryga · 24/12/2023 11:41

Any luck op?

marmaladeandpeanutbutter · 24/12/2023 11:44

She'll come out.

On a similar note, a few years ago our builder contented finished nailing the floorboards back down, only to discover the cat was exploring below!

Original poster
Startingagainandagain · 24/12/2023 12:41

No still no luck. I thought I could hear some scratching/walking but it is hard to tell if this is the cat walking around of the pigeons/seagulls on the roof.

I am sick with worry and trying to distract myself by doing some work...not really working though.

I feel so guilty too which does not help.

OP posts:
Joonio · 24/12/2023 12:52

My lost cat was asleep in the wardrobe under sweaters.

Original poster
Startingagainandagain · 24/12/2023 12:53

Update: that bloody cat just poked a paw then her head out of the hole after I dangled a cat toy hanging from a stick there. I saw a paw come out and then a nose then she is back exploring whatever the hell she is exploring in there. I could not grab her but at least I know she is alive and hopefully knows where/how to get out. I can see that she also came out at some point to eat some of the food I had left...cats.

OP posts:
Nitgel · 24/12/2023 12:57

Our neighbour lost her cat, it had fallen out of a window and was hanging around the bins.

DawnButlersGayGiraffe · 24/12/2023 12:58

A reflective collar with a bell on can be helpful when finding lost cats. Obviously you need the cat back first though! They can squeeze into the smallest of gaps and then happily take a 10 hour nap. Have you got any Licky lix?

AnOldCynic · 24/12/2023 12:59

catherinewales · 24/12/2023 09:08

Have you tried shaking biscuits xx

Love the speed at which they arrive when you do this 😂

Saschka · 24/12/2023 13:00

Startingagainandagain · 24/12/2023 12:53

Update: that bloody cat just poked a paw then her head out of the hole after I dangled a cat toy hanging from a stick there. I saw a paw come out and then a nose then she is back exploring whatever the hell she is exploring in there. I could not grab her but at least I know she is alive and hopefully knows where/how to get out. I can see that she also came out at some point to eat some of the food I had left...cats.

Edited

There you go. She is safe, and can get herself out of there whenever she wants to. She is just enjoying hiding down there.

Leave the food out, she’ll reappear again when she wants to. Then block the hole up quick so she can’t get down there again.

Brird · 24/12/2023 14:04

Good news you've seen her!

I feel your pain, my rescue went up the bedroom chimney when I first got her, even though I thought I'd been really careful not to let her in that room. I searched the entire house and only knew she was there as there were some sooty paw prints on the rug. Even though she is very vocal she just lurked there silently, whilst I cried on the bed as I thought I had lost her forever. Finally located her by shining a torch so I saw her eyes, and she came out for the array of food I'd laid out as she knew the game was up.

helpfulperson · 24/12/2023 14:20

Is this your first cat? Sounds like you've adventures ahead!

noodlezoodle · 24/12/2023 15:51

I swear cats are liquid, it's a mystery how they manage to get through shut doors and teeny spaces.

Glad you've seen her OP and hopefully this will be a funny story with the benefit of time :-)

Original poster
Startingagainandagain · 24/12/2023 18:19

Still carrying on...

I could see she has been getting in and out to eat and the last time I tried to grab her and pulled her by the scruff but she managed to escape back in so she probably hates me now.

I am worried she will get further and further under the floor and eventually stuck.

I think I am just going to leave her to it for now as there is nothing further I can do and just hope she will come back out go of her own when she gets bored.

This has really messed up all the Christmas planning/the mood & it is so upsetting because I keep blaming myself for allowing this to happen.

No, this is not my first cat but my previous one was older and just hid under the bed for the first couple of days then just appeared in the living room and never disappeared again :) for the 10 more years or so that she lived...

OP posts:
Theunamedcat · 24/12/2023 18:36

True story

I came home one day to my flat door wide open (stupid friend forgot to close it) I has two indoor cats one was hiding under the bed the other just gone I searched everywhere I cried there were 11 floors ELEVEN i searched every floor every outdoor electric cupboard even checked outside no sign anywhere I kept returning to my flat hoping he showed up by a miracle my other cat was sitting by the spare room door eventually I opened it my cat jumped right up to a box fabric and underneath that in my mixing bowl fucking snoring was my bloody CAT 😂

ANightmareBeforeChristmas · 24/12/2023 18:40

I am worried she will get further and further under the floor and eventually stuck.

She won't get stuck. Their whiskers and eyebrows are very sensitive and the cat can judge whether it can get safely into a space. Keep offering food/toys and she will come out in time.

Echobelly · 24/12/2023 18:41

Oh dear, your cat lives under your floorboards now! You will be able to laugh about it later...

She won't get stuck and will figure it out. We found ours had got stuck under the floorboards when the electricians had to take them up, but luckily just a few days before, DH had noted there was a loose one near where she was and we lifted it and got her out.

Original poster
Startingagainandagain · 24/12/2023 18:45

OK. Thanks everyone and I really appreciate all your feedback I will try to stay positive but it has been a horrible day. She is such a sweet little cat and I just don't want anything bad to happen to her.

OP posts:
RandomMess · 24/12/2023 18:46

Honestly she will be fine, I'm sending you a huge dose of patience.

She feels safe down there she will probably come and explore the rest of the house once you are tucked up in bed.

Autumn1990 · 24/12/2023 18:47

She’ll get bored and come our eventually. My parents cat spent three days in the loft. My mother was livid and now the cat has to be shut in the garage before anyone can open the loft hatch!
The cat loves the garage, there’s a cat flap, litter tray, food, nice bed, warmer boiler and often a human for company in the day.