I lost Bob in the house!

[GranolaLouise]

I did not adopt a kitten, but a senior cat. When I brought her home she would find places to hide I would never have imagined! Like you, I had to call a handyman to board up an opening she found inside the cabinet under the sink which was a water pipe housing and could lead down into the basement! That would have been a tragedy..lost inside the walls! Eventually she exhausted all her hideaways...until last night! LOL
She secretly followed me into the back hall unbeknownst to me. I locked up and went to bed. Well, I slept through the entire night w/o having kitty wake me for food or treats a couple times in the wee hours as is her custom. When I got up at 7:30 it felt WRONG, so I went on the hunt in all her favorite snoozing places..no cat. When I got to the kitchen and turned the knob I heard a faint meow. She had leaped over the stair fence barrier out in the hall(she had an arthritis shot last week), couldn't get back over it and had to spend the entire night in the hall outside a huge dog's apartment downstairs, with no food or water. (she has ckd too)
But she was so suspicious when she came back to her familiar rooms, walked round and round, drank tons of water, ate a bit and went fast asleep. For her it was an ordeal. But..I bet she continues to be curious and will explore more interesting areas ..Curiosity is her strong trait!
They LOVE to hide and explore. After a year I find I am still cat proofing the place! LOL

 

[Mamanyt1953]

nurseangel , if he came from a rough situation, it could take as much as 3 months for him to feel really at home. Give him AND you time, with no expectations other than, "We're in this together, little one," and see how it goes. He'll get there, I'm betting.

 

[nurseangel]

Bob seems to be warming up to us and the cats. He hides during the day, but comes out for pets and food in the early evening. I can't wait to show pictures. He is such a cute and odd looking fellow. I hope this is not TMI (warning: it is) but my SIL once said that nobody my family had a butt. Bob doesn't have a butt either, so I told DH that I think he he is a blood relative.

 

[Gunther4ever]

 

[Kat0121]

When or late boy Henry came to live with us, he had never lived in a home before. He had been in the shelter all of his 8 years. I set up a room for him to get settled in before letting him get used to the rest of the house. There's a large rolltop desk in there that belonged to DH. I thought that I had blocked off any nook/cranny he could have used. I was wrong. I had a large plastic tote in there that I turned on its side with a cozy blanket and a soft bed for him to use as his safe space and he did but one night I went to check on him and could not find him. I looked everywhere. This was while the door was closed so he didn't leave through there. I had our dog check the room and she couldn't find him. Finally I climbed up on a chair and looked over the top of the desk and there he was. There was a VERY small space left at the top of the back of the desk that he curled himself into. I had folded up cardboard boxes and put them in between the back of the desk and the wall. He still managed to find a hiding place. I ended up filling that spot in and he never got in there again.

Lily was our knight in shining armor. She and I were snuggling and I told her about him and how much he needed a friend. A friend like her. I asked her to please be nice to him because he felt alone. After I opened the door so he could explore if he wanted, she went in there and spent hours just sitting by him. He spent his life around many, many other cats so he was comfortable with her from the start. Lily is just what he needed. She was so sweet to him but when he finally decided to come out of his room and join us, she set him straight on who runs the house. She's the queen, Sophie is her understudy and I am the help. They all got along fine until his passing.

Bob is going to be just fine. He knows he's home with his family.