New Kitten Ran From Vacuum, Lost In House

[knightoftime]

Hey, I have two about eleven week old kittens, which came home about two weeks ago. One of them is a very outgoing and confident boy cat, while the other is a bit more shy and only wants affection on her own terms.

I vacuumed with the louder vacuum for the first time (that the kittens have been here for) about an hour ago. I placed the cats upstairs in the guest bedroom so they would stay out of the way while moving rugs and furniture. The confident kitten came back downstairs but spent the time on the other side of the house, sitting in my daughter's lap, but the shy one is nowhere to be found. I've checked the usual hiding spots (under beds, under sofas/dressers/chairs, inside the closets, etc) and haven't found her yet. Her brother seems fine, he's sleeping a few feet away. I'm pretty sure the vacuum is what scared her.

I don't think there's any way she could have possibly gotten out of the house; the front and back doors were both shut securely, and the one time that someone came into the house, they were careful to ensure no cats escaped. All the window screens are secure and the windows without screens were closed. I'm hoping that if I give it a little while she'll calm down and come out on her own. She usually has no problems being out in the open and doesn't hide for extended periods of time. However, this is making me overthink and I'm getting scared that she might have somehow gotten out of the house.

Any advice would be much appreciated. I've tried shaking a bag of treats in each room, calling her name, and leaving out some tuna, but she has yet to make an appearance.

 

[ArtNJ]

Kittens that young can get places you wouldn't imagine. Under or behind appliances for example. A little girl recently died trying to get her kitty out from behind a washing machine. All that said...all you really need to do is be calm, patient and quiet.

If you skipped the step of installing them into a safe room for an adjustment period, learn the lesson for next time. If they have a safe room, that is usually where they go to hide, minimizing the dangers of going under/behind appliances and the like. But again, all will be well with patience. Relax, breathe deeply, this is something that kittens do.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! You said you put them in the guest bedroom, you didn't close the door?
She's not big enough/strong enough to go upwards, I don't think, but every nook and cranny could be a possibility. Use a flashlight when looking under furniture - it might help bring out those glowy eyes...
I would leave out the tuna, maybe put out more in other places. Also, try playing some low volume classical harp music or open the app Relax My Cat.
Best of luck!!

 

[knightoftime]

Kittens that young can get places you wouldn't imagine. Under or behind appliances for example. A little girl recently died trying to get her kitty out from behind a washing machine. All that said...all you really need to do is be calm, patient and quiet.

If you skipped the step of installing them into a safe room for an adjustment period, learn the lesson for next time. If they have a safe room, that is usually where they go to hide, minimizing the dangers of going under/behind appliances and the like. But again, all will be well with patience. Relax, breathe deeply, this is something that kittens do.

Thank you for your reply. They were in a safe room for a week and a half and were only recently allowed to explore the whole house. That's the room I put them in while vacuuming, but I forgot to close the door all the way. The reassurance does help.

She does have a tendency to meow and look for her brother if she doesn't see him for a bit, and they're very attached to each other, so I don't think she'll be hiding for more than a few hours.

 

[knightoftime]

Hi! You said you put them in the guest bedroom, you didn't close the door?
She's not big enough/strong enough to go upwards, I don't think, but every nook and cranny could be a possibility. Use a flashlight when looking under furniture - it might help bring out those glowy eyes...
I would leave out the tuna, maybe put out more in other places. Also, try playing some low volume classical harp music or open the app Relax My Cat.
Best of luck!!

Yeah, I forgot to close the door. I've looked under and around all the furniture in that room, but I think she might've come downstairs along with her brother and then hidden somewhere there. Thanks for the advice!

 

[catlover73]

Check all your cabinets, behind/under all appliances, under all furniture, behind any furniture against a wall, in any drawers even if they were closed. Hopefully she will calm down and start asking for her brother. Also maybe her brother will find her on his own. One of my cats decided to hide in a cabinet that was closed. There was a small hole under the cabinet that he used to get in there. This was an upper cabinet in my kitchen.

If you have beds where she can get access to the mattress if you can try to get under the bed and look into the mattress. She may have found or created a hole to hide in a mattress.

 

[ArtNJ]

She does have a tendency to meow and look for her brother if she doesn't see him for a bit, and they're very attached to each other, so I don't think she'll be hiding for more than a few hours.

Exactly! Ideally, you will see where the hidey spot is so you can close it if you deem it unsafe, but it would be a bad idea to make a lot of noise moving stuff around looking. Kittens can get out of 99.8% of the bizarre places they get themselves into, and in the unlikely event that help is needed, you'll likely hear the meows.

 

[Shane Kent]

catlover73 took the words right out of my mouth, or I guess I should say right out of my keyboard. I was going to say:

Is there a box spring part to the bed. My cats Kitty and Rusty would hide in the box spring of the bed in their safe room. There was a gap in the staples that held the material on the underside of the box spring that they would squeeze through.

 

[ArtNJ]

I've had the box spring issue too. Didn't realize that one was so common! But that isn't an all of a sudden thing, they would probably have noticed it before.

 

[knightoftime]

Check all your cabinets, behind/under all appliances, under all furniture, behind any furniture against a wall, in any drawers even if they were closed. Hopefully she will calm down and start asking for her brother. Also maybe her brother will find her on his own. One of my cats decided to hide in a cabinet that was closed. There was a small hole under the cabinet that he used to get in there. This was an upper cabinet in my kitchen.

If you have beds where she can get access to the mattress if you can try to get under the bed and look into the mattress. She may have found or created a hole to hide in a mattress.

catlover73 took the words right out of my mouth, or I guess I should say right out of my keyboard. I was going to say:

Is there a box spring part to the bed. My cats Kitty and Rusty would hide in the box spring of the bed in their safe room. There was a gap in the staples that held the material on the underside of the box spring that they would squeeze through.

There is not a box spring on the bed in the guest room. It's a bed on top of a board, with shelves as a headboard and drawers under the bed itself. I've taken the sheets off the mattress, looked on all sides of it, searched the drawers and shelves, and pushed the bed out from the wall to see if she's behind it. No luck so far.

I've checked drawers, under and behind furniture, cabinets, under and behind appliances, and in all the closets. I've checked two of the other mattresses and box springs. I'll make sure to look at the last two now. One of my children has suggested that she may have gotten into the basement, but in that case, the basement is so crowded with stuff that I don't think I have much choice but to just wait for the kitten to come out herself. The issue with that idea is that the door to the basement is almost always closed and I really don't want the other kitten getting lost down there as well, or, God forbid, getting out through the door to the garage. I'm beginning to worry that the kitten may have gotten out through that garage door, but I don't know what to do in the event that she did get outside.

 

[Furballsmom]

Well, I tell you what. It's possible that the noise of you looking, and your stress, is keeping her tucked away, since she's shy.
Try the music idea, leave out some nicely smelly food, and wait for a bit. Maybe contain little mister I'm-confident until sister shows up so you can leave the basement door open. I hate to say it and I'm definitely not suggesting it as a method to retrieve lost kittens, but in this particular case if by chance he starts to yell while you have him contained, that might bring her out...

 

[tinydestroyer]

I agree with Furballsmom that you should take a break, try and control all doors to the outside, and see if she comes out. My cats have the same dynamic (outgoing boy / shy girl,) and my girl hates the vacuum. I've panicked more than once trying to find her new hiding spot after vacuuming, to the point of starting to search outside frantically. I'll would end up looking everywhere three or four times, and she would always find somewhere new to sneak into. Pretty much as soon as I stopped shuffling and calling and moving stuff around, she would make an appearance (usually still a little nervous, and running low to the ground.) She stays cautious until everything is calm and quiet again. I put her in a high cat tree in her safe room when I vaccum now, and she pretty much stays put. Hopefully, your kitten is still inside, and she'll show up soon.

 

[ArtNJ]

Yep yep, cats (not just kittens) can hide for many hours. After all, once they calm down, they are already in a secluded spot, why not take a nap? Kittens are cats after all So have a listen at the closed basement door, maybe walk around outside once, but most of all, stay calm.

 

[knightoftime]

Good news! We found her! My two daughters went out to take a walk around the porch and see if she was outside, and as soon as it was a little quieter I set out some more tuna in an upstairs bedroom. I went back in to check a few minutes later and found her trying to climb out of a covered laundry basket. She's napping with her brother downstairs now. I'm very relieved.

Thanks everyone for your help! I hadn't even considered that she might be hiding at the bottom of the laundry basket when I first checked, I'd simply opened it and seen the clothes in it and closed it again. But getting the house quieter + some tuna did the trick and finally got her out. This has definitely been a learning experience. Tiny, that's a great idea with the cat tree, I'll definitely try that next time. Again, thanks for the advice everyone!

 

[tinydestroyer]

Yay! So glad you found her! My kitty has a box style enclosure on a top level of her cat tree. I put her in there and throw a blanket over it and 3/4 times she's still there, in the cat tree hidey hole. If not, the door to the safe room is closed, so I don't stress. Some people have luck with carriers or play pens too. I saw this suggestion from @PushPurrCatPaws on another TCS board about keeping cats safe during home construction:
Pet Gear Octagon Pet Pen
I'm sure you'll figure out what works best for you.

 

[Furballsmom]

But getting the house quieter + some tuna did the trick and finally got her out.