My cat won't come out of hiding!?

Okay, so I got a 5 year old cat yesterday from a local shelter, and she was , you know, cuddling and letting us pet her, and she did good with the small children we have in the family, so we brought her home. We also have a great Dane that is totally cool with cats and the people at the shelter told us that she was cool with dogs. Well, we took her home and as soon as we opened her carrier, she bolted. Out of sight. We haven't been able to find her and I'm getting worried as she hasn't ate, drank, or used her litter box for over 24 hours. She is spayed too, if that may have anything to do with it.

Her behavior is very normal.
Check under beds (in box springs,) under couches, chairs, in cabinets, etc...

Ideally it is best to give cats a "safe room" with all the necessities for the first few days as they adjust to their new surroundings.

Once you locate her, it would be best to get her to a safe room if possible. This can be a bedroom, bathroom, etc that can be closed off just for her. Once she is comfortable with you and your family in her space, you can go about properly introducing her to your dog. (There is a thread on here about doing this.)

Keep us posted!

Thanks CatPack, I will try that, although I've already looked EVERYWHERE for her and no success :-(

Are you sure she hasn't come out while you were asleep or something?  If you have no idea where she is, I'd put food/water out in at least a couple of different areas of the house, depending on how big your house is.  I don't know if she's used to getting treats, but you could try shaking a little bag of treats or dry food to see if she will come out for food.

betsygee, I didn't think about that at all! Also I will try the treats/dry food thing,too.

Like a couple of others have said, I think it's normal for them to want to hide at first.. When I got Sophie she seemed to adjust very quickly and after a few hours she seemed to trust me and cuddle with me. With Chloe it was a little different, but I think that may be because she was coming from a home where she was the only cat to one where there's another cat she doesn't know and in an unfamiliar place with strange smells and territory issues..

For about the first 3 or 4 days she'd climb into the draws in my desk (from behind it) and hide in them. If either myself or Sophie would go anywhere near her she'd hiss, so I left her alone to adjust to the new home and within a week everything was great. Sophie and Chloe are now like best friends and love to cuddle with each other! I even get jealous sometimes when they're cuddling together and not with me!

Anyway, I'm sure your new cat will settle in very soon! Just make sure she knows where her food and litter are and she'll explore in her own time. I'm sure by this time next week she'll be all settled in and happy in her new home!

Ginnythecat23 said:

Okay, so I got a 5 year old cat yesterday from a local shelter, and she was , you know, cuddling and letting us pet her, and she did good with the small children we have in the family, so we brought her home. We also have a great Dane that is totally cool with cats and the people at the shelter told us that she was cool with dogs. Well, we took her home and as soon as we opened her carrier, she bolted. Out of sight. We haven't been able to find her and I'm getting worried as she hasn't ate, drank, or used her litter box for over 24 hours. She is spayed too, if that may have anything to do with it.

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I got a rescue cat, she is 7 years old and when she first came to my home she hid underneath a kitchen cupboard for nearly three days!  She would have kept going back there if I had not blocked it off, so then she hid behind my sofa.  It took some while for her to adjust to her new home, she is very skittish but has improved over the months I have had her.  She used to come out at night when it was dark and quiet. 

I'm sure your cat will eventually settle and get used to her new home.

What you are experiencing is absolutely normal! I completely agree about the "Safe Room" though. The second day after bringing my cat home, I awoke a to large crash in the guest room where I was keeping her. As I rushed in to check on her, she bolted from the room and ended up hiding in the back of my couch. She stayed there for the entire day and came out eventually. Don't panic. Try to find where she is and talk to her in a soothing voice so she feels relaxed. If you start to get worried, get Feliaway, either the spray or the plug in. That should help! 

How's kitty doing?  

Hey every one! So sorry for my long absence! Now that we've had kitty for close to five weeks now she is adjusting quite nicely... She still finds hiding places EVERYWHERE. In fact, she recently figured out that she can fit under the couch! By the way, the place she was hiding when we first got her: underneath the oil tank in the basement! Who knew?

I'm glad to hear she is doing better!  Some cats really take longer than others to settle in.  Thanks for updating us!  I love when we get to hear how good things are going!

MoochNNoodles said:

 
I'm glad to hear she is doing better!  Some cats really take longer than others to settle in.  Thanks for updating us!  I love when we get to hear how good things are going!

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       I agree, thanks for letting us know and so glad she's acclimating!