The cat hides in dark places and does not eat. Is she hiding and meowing - or is our cat sick? Photophobia is normal

Why does a cat need to hide?

The desire to hide in a dark place for a while is quite common among domestic cats. The hunter's instinct prompts them to take a position in a secluded corner so that they can calmly observe what is happening without being noticed. In other cases, especially small kittens, they want to be in a warm, cozy “nest”, where they are comfortable and safe. Fur babies grow and sleep a lot, so they need proper rest. Constantly playing TV and other noises do not provide the opportunity to have a good rest. Truly deep sleep is only possible in darkness and complete silence.

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It should not be surprising that cats find secluded corners in completely different places.:

• closet,
• box,
• under the bed or sofa,
• washing machine drum,
• on the shelf,
• behind the battery,
• under the owner's blanket.

If the cat hides constantly, then you need to buy one for it in a special store or make a house yourself. Fluffy pets love such shelters. This is connected not only with psychology, but also with physiology. Cats often sleep curled up. When sleeping in a confined space, they can lean their back against the wall of the house, thus relaxing their muscles.

How to keep your cat safe when moving to a new home

Immediately before bringing a cat into an apartment or house, you need to close the windows and vents, and also check for unsafe hiding places. If your cat is at risk of getting stuck between cabinets or otherwise getting injured while trying to hide, it's best to take a few minutes and reduce the risks by covering potentially dangerous areas.

Ideally, if it is possible to create a good shelter for your pet, a special cat house will do. Staying there is safe, and the owner will know exactly where the cat is.

When you bring a carrier with an animal into a new home, you should not open the door right away. It is better not to let the cat out of the carrier, but to give the cat the opportunity to get used to the room a little, being in a familiar environment. This will reduce the likelihood that your pet will run away and hide for a long time.

Main reasons for seeking shelter

There are many explanations for why a cat hides in dark places. In some cases, the shelter is not always truly dark, but simply cool or, conversely, warm. There may be several favorite places for a pet, often they are well known to the owner. It is advisable not to disturb the animal at such a moment, because sometimes he needs to be alone with himself.

Why does a cat try to be invisible, let's name common reasons:

• character trait;
• the presence of another, older cat in the house;
• the need to calm down after suffering stress;
• anticipation of the appearance of offspring;
• desire to play;
• desire for security.

Timid by nature

By nature, some cats are sociable, while others prefer loneliness. Those who belong to the second category instinctively try to be “in the shadows” more often, which guarantees safety. Such a kitten will not sleep on a wide sofa with its tummy up, with its paws spread to the sides. Also, he will not once again catch someone’s eye. You can force him to come out of hiding with gentle words, a favorite treat, or a bright, entertaining toy.

If the cat is hiding, then you should not lure it out or put pressure on it. Perhaps something alarmed her, someone scared or offended her. She will go out on her own when she considers it necessary, wants to eat or take a walk. If you do not allow the predator to avoid an unpleasant situation, then its anxiety will only intensify.

Trying to get peace and comfort, even sociable cats hide. They may find a place for themselves in the linen closet or on the cool wooden floor under the bed. It all depends on whether the pet is cold or hot.

Away from the Boss

The presence of another cat or an older cat in the house causes the younger cat to hide more often. The owner can create a maze of boxes especially for him, through which he can easily get to a bowl of food or tray. The boxes must have multiple entrances and exits so that you can escape in time, avoiding a dangerous or unwanted collision with your opponent.

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What to do if your cat constantly hides in a dark place. We need to keep an eye on her. If her health is fine, her fur is shiny, and her nose is wet, then the pet’s behavior is due to other reasons.

Relief from stress

After getting into an unpleasant situation or being offended, even the most sociable cat hides in order to survive the stress and regain equanimity. Cats get used to their home and don’t really like change. If a kitten is taken to another family, the naturally cautious animal will need time to adapt. In the first days, the pet will react sensitively to any sounds or movements, and if it senses danger, it will definitely hide.

When moving to another house, the cat becomes restless. For the first time, you can place him in a small room. Gradually he will get used to it and begin to explore other rooms. You will definitely need to take his bed, bowl, and tray from the old apartment. Having familiar things around will allow your pet to calm down a little and feel more confident.

Tamed domestic cats get used to it faster than those adopted from a shelter or from the street. It is not so easy to regain the trust of an animal that has lost its former home. It will take patience, a calm atmosphere and a kind attitude.

Interesting situation

Pregnant cats begin to hide in dark places, which means kittens will be born soon. To prevent your cat from hiding and throwing your things out of your nightstands and closets in search of a suitable place to place her offspring, prepare a box with soft bedding for her. Place it in a convenient place so that the cat and babies will not be disturbed.

Let's play hide and seek or go hunting

If your kitten hides under the sofa during the day and hits its owner by the legs, then in this way he is simply playing hunter. For him, a dark place is an ambush from which he stalks his prey. Some cats won't mind running around and playing chase, hide and seek, or cat and mouse. They can realize their natural hunting instinct at home only through play.

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Search for safety

According to some cats, the owner's bed is considered the safest and most reliable place. Under the blanket it is warm and cozy, there is a familiar smell, which is a guarantee of protection and peace. Not every owner can be with their pet all the time. In the morning he goes to work and returns only in the evening. A cat can crawl under the blanket for the whole day, wanting to constantly feel the presence of its owner, patiently waiting for his return and a delicious dinner.

It’s bad not only for the cats themselves, but also for the owners. The fluffy beauty senses a person’s emotional mood, so she tries to relieve her owner of poor health or stress. She climbs into her arms and lies down next to her, trying to calm her down.

A cat got lost in an apartment or house when moving - what to do?

A common scenario is that a person moves a cat into a new home, lets it out of its carrier, the cat quickly runs out and disappears to an unknown location. She is not visible either in the corridor, or in the rooms, or in the kitchen. The fact is that the pet is scared and disoriented, and the natural reaction to this is to hide in any shelter as quickly as possible.

Of course, the owner can not worry and go about his business. Probably, by nightfall the cat will get out and go explore the space. But still, most cat owners will worry and search. In addition, you need to make sure that the pet has not climbed somewhere where there are potentially dangerous substances and objects.

Most likely, in a stressful situation, the cat will not come when called, so it is recommended:

1. Calm down. A frightened and lost pet is unlikely to come out if it feels that the person is also restless;
2. Turn on calm, relaxing music. Cats respond well to this;
3. Arrange bowls, scratching post, tray. Rustling the bag of food;
4. Use a teaser toy to attract the animal to a sound associated with positive emotions;
5. Say your pet's name in a calm voice.

If the cat is found in a hiding place (under the bed, behind the sofa, behind the curtain in the bathroom, etc.), but does not want to come out of it, there is no need to force it out of there. You should make sure that everything is okay with her and give her the opportunity to come to her senses.

The pet may not allow itself to be detected for several hours. If the above measures do not help, it is recommended that you remain calm, prepare (heat, buy) food and start eating. It is very likely that the cat, smelling food and hearing familiar sounds, will come to see what the owner is doing and why someone is eating without her.

There is a high probability that the cat will retain signs of being stressed in the first days after the move - these include decreased appetite, walking on bent paws, and distrust. This is a natural reaction to a change in habitat. The pet's condition will soon return to normal.

How to sew a blanket for a cat

Start by choosing your material. You can use elements of your old clothes, then they will calm the cat with your smell. For blankets, old thick tights or leggings or trouser legs are suitable. In this case, you can simply cut holes for the paws in them and secure them firmly with a knot around the neck. If you sew a bandage from scratch, you need to start by taking measurements: the girth of the abdomen and the length of the body, from the neck to the tail, the distance from the neck to the front paws and from the tail to the hind legs. Using these values, start drawing your pattern:

1. Draw a rectangle, where the width is the circumference of the abdomen, and the length is the length of the torso. Don't forget about allowances.
2. Measure the required length and place the notches for the animal's hind and front legs.
3. Attach a tie to each corner: ribbon or rope.

Do not choose material with unstitched areas, as any thread caught on the seam can cause rotting.

Why does the cat trample before laying down on my lap?

Cats that are picked up sometimes trample on their owners. Some cats think that their owners are their mothers, so they will trample on people even if they don't produce milk. Another possible explanation: the cat wants to mark you. But if the cat always does this before sitting down, then she is probably just making a nest for herself. They do this instinctively, ever since they had to lay down on the grass. Obviously, nothing grows out of the sofa, but the cats still trample down the grass.

Where do cats purr and what does it mean?

There are three types of purring: one appears very often, the others less often. But in any case, purring is caused by the muscles with which cats force the vocal cords to vibrate. The most common type of purring you hear is when your cat is contentedly sitting on the couch next to you. But cats do not directly say that they are happy. In general, as for other types of purring (they sound a little different), they also ask for your attention, but in different situations. One of the sounds you hear in the kitchen is when a cat wants to eat (this is an urgent purr, a kind of whining that some people find annoying). The second is when the cat is in distress. This sound is familiar to veterinarians who work with roadkill animals.

Why do cats love to sit in boxes so much?

It's safe and a good vantage point. Another reason is that boxes are often a temporary addition to the area. It's in the nature of cats to learn new things, so they jump right in and make themselves comfortable. This instinct may also be the reason why cats sit inside a circle drawn on the floor. But this case may simply be a tendency to confirm one's point of view. If you draw a circle and the cat doesn't come and sit inside it, you probably won't tell the whole internet about it.

Blanket for a cat after sterilization

Many owners who are faced with the sterilization of their pet see the animal trying to remove the blanket or starting to deliberately walk “wrongly”.

As a result, the question arises: is a blanket necessary after sterilization of a cat? The answer is unequivocal - yes, and veterinarians insist on putting on a blanket immediately after the operation until the animal comes out of a state of deep anesthesia.

Putting a blanket on a cat after sterilization is just as important as after other types of abdominal surgery performed in the abdominal area (for example, during surgery on milk bags).

In some cases, a special bandage is not required for minimally invasive interventions, which is the laparoscopic method of removing the ovaries and uterus.

Wearing a blanket after sterilizing a cat is necessary in order to:

1. Create additional protection for sutures or wounds from the penetration of dirt and dust, allowing you to prevent inflammatory processes.

2. Restricting the animal’s access for licking (in addition to the fact that a cat who has recovered from anesthesia may begin to lick the suture, pulling out threads or injuring the wound surface, it may swallow medications used to treat the wound in the postoperative period).

3. A wide bandage allows you to limit the flexibility of the animal, thereby reducing the risk of seams coming apart;

4. From a fresh wound after surgery, bloody discharge (ichor) is released for several days, drying on the fur. During the hot summer period, this can attract blood-sucking parasites to the animal, which are sources of dangerous infectious diseases.

How many days a cat should wear a blanket after sterilization must be approved by a veterinarian, who bases his conclusions on a clinical examination of healing wounds. In most cases, the postoperative bandage is removed from the animal after the external sutures are removed. During this time, the wound has time to heal, and even if the animal licks the surface at the site of the cut, it will not be able to cause significant harm.