I will be returning to full time work next week (after not working for six years) and am worried about my cat. She's about 7 years old and was a stray here before I got her to come in. BW and I have been the only two in this house for those 6 years. She is very attached (as am I ) and I am worried about suddenly leaving her alone for so long. She is extremely timid and shy and runs under the couch at the first sound of any noise she doesn't know or if a person comes to the door. If I leave for a couple of hours I come back to find her hiding under the couch and the signs are that she hasn't left her spot. I leave her plenty of toys - which she doesn't play with, food, etc. None of which are touched. She doesn't even use the litter box. I've tried to have several people cat sit but she runs out the door at the first chance and won't come back in until I get home. The last time it took me two hours to get her back in the house. I've read through other posts and it says that their cats sleep most of the day but mine doesn't. She is awake up until about 1:00 pm and then she sleeps until dinner time around 5:30 or so. I've got her accustomed to sleeping at night with me. Is it ok for her to hide under the couch for 9 hours until I get home? I tried to bring in another cat and she wasn't having any of that. She let me know she wasn't happy about the situation. Sorry this is so long but I want to do what I can before I go to work. I know some of this is just wait and see but she's so anxious sometimes I don't want to contribute additional stress!