Cat suddenly started hiding.

[rxheadkicks]

I've got a neutered male a little over a year old. We moved into a new house two months ago and he has been behaving fine until yesterday. We brought home some new couches and removed the old ones. I noticed he was hiding. I found him inside the box spring under our mattress and he will not come out without force. He's got terror in his eyes and won't let me hold him. I don't know what to do! Help!

 

[rxheadkicks]

Btw I've had him since he was 5 weeks old and this has NEVER happened.

 

[lamiatron]

i think the moving of the furniture and change in his environment freaked him out

i re arranged my bedroom one time and my girl Jet freaked out so bad. she was trying to hide, but we moved the bed, so she had no idea where the bed was which made her get even more frantic, and she was bouncing off the walls! knocking stuff over and everything. hissing and spitting the whole time. it was so horrible. she hid under the bed (when she finally found it) for 3-4 days. coming out only to eat and use the litter box.

give your kitty space he'll come around. 

i would suggest some calming treats for him. give them to him whenever he does come out. it will help with his stress. if he's not coming out at all, chop it up and mix it with his wet food. 

just monitor his food intake and litter usage to make sure its all normal. 

he should be good in a few days to maybe a couple weeks. all cats vary. 

 

[ritz]

It sounds as though something really really spooked him, and I'm not convinced it's connected with the new sofas. By the wording of your post, I am assuming YOU (not strange delivery men/women) brought in the new sofas. You could try spraying the new sofas (or the area around it) with something like Feliway--it comes in a spray form.
Can he see outside--maybe a new cat, sound?
If he is eating/peeing/pooping normally (perhaps at night when you don't see him), I'd wait a few days to see if he calms down. If he refuses to move from the box springs, and doesn't eat (or pee) for 24 hours, then you need to be proactive to get him to eat, even if it means putting food under the bed. Otherwise, he is at risk for fatty liver disease.
And of course you can't rule out if he is pain and hiding because of it--cats in pain generally don't eat.
Keep an eye on him, and post with updates.

 

[rxheadkicks]

He came out and layed on the bed with my wife and I last night while we slept but my wife turned over and he took off under the bed again. We were the ones that brought the new furniture in, just my wife and I. We brought his box into the bedroom last night and put his food and water at the food of the bed. I woke up a few times throughout the night because I heard him eating. This morning I saw that he had used the box as well. He is still hiding though. But I am glad he is eating. It had been 24+ hours since he had eaten or peed. As far as new cats or smells we always have our blinds down so he rarely looks outside. I have the next couple of days off and I'll update you guys. Thanks for the replies.

 

[ritz]

Glad he is eating, sounds like something spooked him. And you may never know what. Some cats react much more strongly to change than other cats.

 

[lamiatron]

Glad he is eating, sounds like something spooked him. And you may never know what. Some cats react much more strongly to change than other cats.

totally agreed.

when i rearranged furniture in my bedroom, Jet reacted so badly. as described above. 

but Charlie was like "aiite cool. new domain to conquer" lol. he was unphased.

Glad your kitty has been eating and doing his kitty thing while you guys are asleep OP.

give him some time and he'll come around