Cat is terrified of something I can't see.

My 5 year old cat has always been a good boy and is never truly terrified. He stays in my room most days and I let him outside every so often to have a little freedom. He is well fed, clean litterbox and all the love I can give.

This is the first time he's done this: I came into the room and couldn't find him. I call him, but unlike his usual behavior, he doesn't call back. I find him crouched under the bed, pupils blown wide and claws grasping the carpet. When I tried to get him out, he resisted and when I got him out in the open, he stared at the ceiling and then darted back under the bed in fear. He also had ripped a hole in the underlining of the mattress and I guess he may have crawled into it at some point before I came in.

I managed to get him outside (the least I can do is get him away from his fear), but I really don't know what scared him so. My friend says it may have been something falling on the roof, but that happens all the time, no problem. Please help.

Poor baby; it does sound like something gave him a fright!  Perhaps he was asleep in there and a noise caught him mid-dream so a normal noise frightened him now.  It's really hard to say.  How long ago did this happen?

How are things with your cat now?  Has he settled at all?

Is there just roof / roof space above your room?  Is there a window where he could have seen something, maybe a bird or something hitting in to the glass? Also, are there other people where you live?  Is there any chance that something else could have happened, either with someone else in your room or making a very loud noise that could have frightened him?

I have on occasion come home to Mouse being very jumpy and obviously scared when he is usually super confident and master of his home: I was in one day and realized a neighbour has started practicing on a drum kit and even though it wasn't sudden or that loud, as soon as it started up Mouse was beside himself and really distressed.

He is still terrified of whatever is on my ceiling. Its currently been 3 days since it started. He seems to be frightened of something on the ceiling fan, but I've had the same fan since I got him and it was never a bother. I took down the cover on the light, but didn't see anything weird. My friend suggested a black widow may have bit him, but he hasn't been ill and there is no swelling from a bite on him.

My brother is normally a loud gamer and Connor (my cat) has become accustomed to it, along with the constant barking from our dogs, who he gets along with well enough. The dogs near us have never been a problem either.

Do you have an attic?  We has mice in ours once and it drove our cats nuts.  We couldn't hear them but the cats could.  Just a thought ...

If there is a fan on the ceiling sometimes if light has caught gthem a funny way, or the fan has been on and something has hit it it can spook a cat.  Could also have been something he knows as a danger like a spider came down from there and he thinks it could happen again.  Still wonder what is above the ceiling there and if he could have heard something from the roof space / attic or something?

The attic is actually in my closet on the other end of the room and there is no open space between my ceiling and my roof (its a slanted roof/ceiling combo). The fan has had a light problem since he moved in and he's never had a problem; I also keep my curtains drawn, so no sunlight would hit anything.

It could possibly be a spider he saw, and if there is, it should appear soon, but I'll see if I can have someone look again.

I hope he's a little less stressed going in to your room at least and not hiding under the bed.  It is so hard to figure out what might have spooked a cat, and it can be hard enough even when someone has been there and witnessed it.  I hope he settles down soon. Would you consider trying anything to help relaxing him, like flower remedies or Feliway? 

He's calmed down a significant amount and he is less wary of my room. Whatever he was scared of before is either gone or not bothering him. I'm not familiar with any calmers to use, but constant attention and petting seems to  have  helped his situation.

I am relieved for you that he has calmed and seems more settled in the room now.  I think it is always best if you can achieve this without having to use any enhancements such as the pheromones or plant remedies.  I hope he remains settled, your room feels safe and he can relax there again, and there are no futher frightening events for him.

I'm definitely not a cat expert, but this could've been a dream that your cat had.

Maybe he had a dream that frightened him and he thought it was real.

I'm just guessing.

Hope I helped!

Thank you for the comments, he is doing much better. If it happens again, I'm sure he will be able to handle it.