Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all,

Last night I brought home my two new cats, Katrina and Ivan. They are 3 year old sibblings and spent the summer in a shelter at a pet supply store. For the past week they were fostered by a volunteer from the shelter, who said they had just started being comfortable with her family when it was time to pack them up and bring them to me.

Last night they were out exploring the house. They alternated hiding under beds and chairs with sitting out and playing with me. I saw each of them this morning, but around 10am, couldn't find either of them. I discovered that they had both gotten behind the access panel by my bathtub and were actually hidin inside and under the tub. I think Katrina was in there this morning and came runnin out when I entered the bathroom. But it's been over 6 hours now, and they are both in there and showing no signs of moving. We can't see them, and in fact the only reason I know for sure where they are is because we were able to lower a video camera and flashlight into the hole they went through, and captured video of the Katrina sitting there staring at it.

I know that it's normal for cats to hide for hours or even days in a new situation. My question is, how long should I wait before getting concerned about the cats getting out? They are both very big (especially Ivan), and I'm worried that one or both may actually be stuck.

Thanks in advance for your help!

This morning I was able to lure Katrina out from her hiding spot with some food. I now have her locked in my bedroom with food, water, and her litter box. Her brother Ivan is still hiding, but with Katrina out of the way, I was able to put my camera down under the bathtub and take a picture to confirm that Ivan is definitely in there, and appears to be sitting comfortably (not stuck). He is the more skittish of the two, and with his sister no longer there to protect him, I'm worried he might never come out! I have food and water in the bathroom for him, should he choose to come up and eat - as far as I know, he hasn't eaten, or had an opportunity to eat, since yesterday morning.

Once he comes out of hiding, I'll lock him in the bedroom with his sister until they get used to us - something I should have done to begin with. Meanwhile, I'm still wondering how long I should wait before I really worry about how to get him out of there.

Thanks for any suggestions you may have!

If Ivan has not come out for food by Monday morning, you'll have to take steps to somehow get him out. I am not sure who you chould call about this.

Good luck! Keep us posted. I hope Ivan will come out soon!
-----
Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!

Thanks to everyone who offered me suggestions yesterday. We left Ivan alone as much as possible yesterday. (Unfortunately, he's chosen to hide in our one and only bathroom, so we can't completely avoid the area.) I left a very aromatic dish of tuna out for him last night, but it was untouched this morning. I did stick my camera down this morning to check on him, and he's sitting up and looks comfortable, but hasn't moved forward any.

How long can cats go without food or water?

Meanwhile, his sister Katrina has turned out to be a sweet, loving little kitty. My boyfriend and I woke to find her sleeping between us this morning. Hopefully her brother will join us soon.

After making some phone calls to various animal rescue agencies today, we discovered that apparently nobody could really help us retrieve Ivan! The best advice we got was from the SPCA, who said we should just tear up the floor. With the help of my uncle, we pulled off the floorboards in the hallway just outside the bathroom, and discovered that Ivan was actually right there below the hall floor, rather than under the bathtub!

After a few boards were pulled off, he jumped out of the floor and made a dash for the access panel in the bathroom, through which he'd originally entered - luckily, we'd put the cover firmly in place beforehand. I grabbed him and placed him in the bedroom with his sister, where he's currently hiding under the bed. But I'd much rather have him hiding under there than below our floor!

Thanks again to everyone who offered advice and well-wishes!