How to keep my cat from hiding in our new apartment?
@strangegurl16 (78)
United States
February 12, 2007 4:07pm CST
We've just moved to a new apartment on Friday and one of my cats will not come out from under the bed. I can get him to eat and use the litter box in the bedroom, but I still can't get him to leave that room. Our other cat has no problem.
Any suggestions on how to make Loki more comfortable in our new place?
2 people like this
8 responses
@PoeTalker (715)
• United States
12 Feb 07
Aww, poor guy. Well it hasn't been that long, but you obviously need to do something.
If you have a door for your bedroom I would shut it, and not let him/her in there to hide. You need to make it comfortable slowly in the rooms with doors. Put it in the bathroom, then hold him/her on your lap around the house and so on. You need to keep it from hiding, don't let the cat do that.
1 person likes this
@strangegurl16 (78)
• United States
12 Feb 07
I've been trying to do that. He hates being held, but I've been making sure to pet him lots and give him tons of attention. That's why we moved on a Friday so I could be home all weekend to help him adjust. Thanks for your response!
1 person likes this
@Withoutwings (6992)
• United States
12 Feb 07
Your cat probably just needs time to adjust to new surroundings. I would leave foot and litterbox out and leave doors open inside the house so that he can get in and out. Cats don't like change. In time he will be all right.
1 person likes this
@Wanderlaugh (1622)
• Australia
13 Feb 07
Yeah, new environment. Classic cat tactics, "find cover". One of the reasons they're such good survivors is that they use terrain like that.
Suggest putting the food somewhere outside the bedroom so the cat has to learn his way around the place. This is a survival instinct, you're dealing with, so another survival instinct, eating, will make a better argument in favor of finding the food.
@Chele2k2 (241)
•
16 Feb 07
I would leave him to come out of your bedroom, in his own time. Cats can be easily stressed, they don't really like change but they will eventally adapt to it.
You can try to encourage him out, offering food treats, a can of Tuna is normally a big temptation to a cat, our cat can sniff a can being opened a mile away!
Does your cat like playing with toys, wool or anything that is dangled in front of him? Try wiggling a shoe lace near him, his playful nature may get the better of him.
I would keep the litter tray in the room for the time being, you don't want any deposits left on the floor.
With the food though, I wouldn't leave it in the room, after all it leaves him with everything he needs to survive, so he doesn't have a reson to come out. Try placing his food near the door to the room and leave a trail of cat biscuits leading up to his food bowl.
Good luck! Do let us know how you get on.
@cheetah311 (343)
• United States
12 Feb 07
He's probably just not sure of his surroundings yet. He will come out on his own time to look around and go back to where he feels the safest. When he gets use to the new place he will come out and be his old self. Loki has to do it on his own, trying to rush it will only make him more stressed out. Cats usually don't like change and it takes them a little while to accept it.
A long time ago when I had only one cat and I moved to a new apartment, my cat found a place to hide and didn't want to come out. He would sneak out at night to eat and use the litterbox. Within a week he was his old self and made himself comfortable all over the new place.
@revdauphinee (5703)
• United States
13 Feb 07
give him a few days he will adjust i find min e likes to do that when i move but after a day or two they get used to the new place!