why does my cat hide

Your cat has vanished into a cupboard, under the bed, behind the boiler, and you would like it back. Hiding is one of the most normal things a cat does, and usually it means nothing more than a cat wanting to be a cat for a while. But it is also one of the ways a cat tells you it is frightened or unwell, so the trick is knowing which hiding you are looking at.

hiding is a survival instinct, not an insult

A cat is both a predator and, to bigger things, prey, and a small dark enclosed space is where a prey animal feels safe. Hiding is hardwired. A cat retreats to a snug spot to sleep undisturbed, to watch the room from cover, or simply to be alone, because even the most sociable cat needs solitude in a way many humans forget. A confident cat that disappears for a nap and reappears for dinner, bright and normal, is not troubled. It is recharging in the manner of its kind.

the settling-in hide

A brand new cat, or a cat in a new home, will very often hide for days, and this is exactly right, not a problem to solve by dragging it out. It is doing what a sensible animal does in unfamiliar territory: finding one safe base and learning the place from there, at its own pace. Give it a quiet room, food, water and a litter tray nearby, and let it emerge when it decides the coast is clear. Patience here is the whole job.

when hiding is a message worth reading

Now the part that matters. Fear is a common trigger: thunderstorms, fireworks, a strange dog, visitors, building work, a new baby, all of it can send a cat to ground, and the answer is to reduce the stress, provide safe boltholes, and never punish or pull the cat out, which only teaches it that even its hiding place is not safe. But the one pattern to take seriously is a change: a normally sociable cat that suddenly starts hiding, and stays hidden, is very often a cat that feels unwell, because a sick cat instinctively goes somewhere quiet to be out of sight. If your cat's hiding is new, prolonged, and paired with any other sign of an off cat, not eating, low, not using the tray, that is worth a vet visit, and I have listed the tells in signs your cat is in pain. Old cat, hiding as usual: fine. Social cat, suddenly gone to ground: check on it.

Related reading from my desk: signs your cat is in pain, since a social cat that starts hiding is often a hurting one, and how to take care of a kitten, on giving a nervous newcomer the safe base it needs.

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