cat hiding under bed

by Drew
(Georgia)

Our 4 year old male cat is a bit of a loner. However, for about 4 days his behavior is concerning. He has been hiding under our bed, which he typically does if he is hurt or otherwise experiencing discomfort. He still comes out to eat and drink, and does not appear to feel ill. My wife and I have looked him over to see if he has a splinter in his paw or a tick or something like that, but we can find no sign of any physical pain. We have shut him off from the bed during the day to encourage him to be social, but he acts very skiddish and runs looking for other places to hide. We are concerned and do not know what to do or what might be going, much less how to address it. Any advice you might have would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you;

Drew

Reply
Hi Drew
Well something must have set him off i would think and if he is a little bit of a nervous cat anyway if may have been something small like a loud sound or strange smell.

There are only two things you can try to do for your cat. Either take him to the vets to have him checked over to make sure there is no signs of illness which may not be apparent or you could try and give your cat a period of time out to see if this helps to relax him. This basically requires him to be placed in one small room with his litter tray and bed and some toys and to allow him to be alone. During this time you should visit him regularly but just to sit with him and talk to him and not to try and approach him or touch him etc.

There are also some medications which can be given to particularly nervous cats if he continues to react this way. see this page for more on this here
scared-cat.html

I hope he is back to his old self soon
kate

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