Cats and even dogs can hide themselves so cleverly. I hope your cat gets comfortable and comes out from hiding permanently.

Tell me about it. One of the times I took care of litter box and feeding for my neighbors cats while they were away, one was missing entirely - whole trip. She had two indoor Himalayans and a mixed breed outside cat. One of the inside cats was supposed to have a little dose of a paste to lick for a cough. I never saw the cat to medicate her, even though I'd seen more of that house that week than I'd ever intended, even crawling under beds and looking in closets, behind furniture. If there had been dust bunnies, I'd have discovered them. I was friends with this neighbor, hardly sisterly close where I was comfortable peeking into private places ;0) But I kept putting out food, calling, sitting on the floor and waiting - never ever saw that large longhaired shy girl. Big colonial older home with lots of nooks and crannies.

I even called her vet and asked what I should do. He said put the medication on the edge of the food plate and just hope the correct cat out of two got some of it.

ETA: And Lucille! Congratulations. How does the new apartment feel....

I've been there and done that with 2 cats over the years :) Behind the fridge was a fav place for one cat and the other one I never did find his special hiding place.

I found my cat to be extra affectionate last night. He was rubbing my hands and snuggling his head in my palm. It was so nice. Then I remembered that I began using a Rosemary/Mint hand soap. Isn't catnip part of the mint family ? LOL

Mine used to crawl up into the gas stove in the kitchen! It's an old 40's, 50's Magic Chef. Somehow she was able to jump up and crawl through an opening in the back and lay under the stove top with the bottoms of the burners. I'd have grab, prod, and push her to move out. She mostly did this when company came. Lately, not so much - that I know of.

One time I was cleaning the library and moved the heavy, dark green, velvet drape back, the bottom was covered in white cat hair. Another hiding spot.

Behind the velvet drapes..sounds warm and cozy! Don't they just find the sweetest little places. :-)

I hope you find the new place to your liking and get settled in soon.

Our cat likes to hide in the two master closets behind the bottom rack of clothes. She also hides under my lounger. She also likes to lay on anything that wasn't there previously like the clean laundry I folded or my dirty towel pile I had piled up to wash.

I LOVE my new apartment. It is cute and small. There is a leak in the tub faucet, tomorrow they are going to try installing one last cartridge and if it doesn't work they are going to have to shut the water down in the building and install a new valve. I couldn't stop thinking how delighted I am that it is their problem.

I just saw the kitty in the living room, I'm sure in a week or two she will be her usual self.

I have a sweet little calico named Chloe. She has some secret hiding place that I can't figure out. It's a small house and I have six cats (long story). She is the only one that I sometimes just cannot locate. She's also the smartest one!

My cats hid out for weeks when we first moved in. Check a dresser drawer, or between the mattress and box spring. Yes, mine did that. I couldn't believe it. Lol

Lucille, sorry that your cat is having issues.

But...how are you doing in your new apartment?

Inside the box spring? That is sassy!

Socks, I was just going to suggest checking out the box springs! This was the favorite hiding place of the late, great Marvelous Martha, a gorgeous long haired calico cat we had many years ago. I can't tell you how many times, when traveling with all the pets, we had to remove the mattress at a motel and then turn the box springs on its side, and dig out Martha.

My sons cat hid inside his couch for a day. His girlfriend was beside herself thinking she accidentally let him out of the house. The cat has feline cerebral palsy and cannot survive outside of the house. After hours of searching in the house and outside, he crawled out from inside the couch!

last fall, around Halloween, had unfortunate "pleasure" of spending several days in the hospital... totally unexpected, in fact called for 911 myself. honestly at that moment, LAST thing i was thinking about was poor Ms J! I called brother and sister from hospital explaining what was happening. asked brother to come over and do some "dirty work"... take care of litter boxes and make sure plenty of clean water and dry food. He said he never even saw more than a quick flash go by... she's friendly but very shy... and probably a bit traumatized by EMTs hauling me out on a stretcher. sister came to take me home after 4-5 days in hospital and play nurse. She brought her ancient, sweet beagle... did nothing but sleep in middle of living-room floor. first day/night... NO signs of cat. Once I went to bed, she came out of hiding and became VELCRO. think it took an unpleasant experience to bring out the lap-cat in her!

Once when we had company my little tortie cat went missing. I was sure she slipped out as they were leaving, so all night I went up and down the street and alley with a flashlight calling here kitty kitty. Hours later I heard a scratching sound. Here she had crawled into a tall file drawer in our kitchen (before remodel) and someone closed the drawer not knowing she was there.

I had gotten 2 new adult cats. One was fine, and anyway too big at 18 pounds to hide anywhere. The other vanished for 4 days. I suppose she must have come out to eat, drink and poop - couldn't tell, because her brother was definitely doing all three - found her behind books in a bookshelf!

Reminds me of my last cat, I still lived at home when I first got her and had a bedroom set with two dressers and a desk in which a board underneath the bottom drawers created a cat cubby space between them and the floor. She disappeared under the bed when I opened the carrier after bringing her home the first night, but when I looked there again each day and night, no cat. I knew she had to be somewhere in the house as food and water disappeared, litter box being used, but it wasn't until she'd gotten too big for the cat cubbies and couldn't get herself back out that I discovered where she'd been hiding and then moved the dressers and desk closer to the wall to prevent future issues.

The same cat, years later, was nearly trapped permanently inside the bathroom wall - luckily I figured out where she was and took down the wallboard that had gone up in preparation for the tile tub/shower surround.

I have had the same experience and every time I panic! We have a couple of super timid cats and on more than one occasion have torn the house apart looking for one or the other, hoping they didn't manage to get out of the house.

ElizabethA, that is funny your cat was extra snugly with your hands! I used to use a peppermint foot cream before going to bed, and my cat at the time would go nuts for it, trying to bite and lick my feet, even through socks. I had to quit using it.

You ought to ask Mr. Mistoffelees............... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOxOADua4X8 

There never was a cat so clever..........

A friend thought her cat got out in the midst of a move. Around 10 o'clock that night. she found her. She had found a little tear in the dust covering on the underside of a boxspring mattress and had spent the day inside it asleep.

Once when we moved into a new apartment one of the cats went missing. That night I could hear her in the dining room wall! There was a small area in the kitchen that was missing the kick plate and she had gone in there and ended up between the walls. She did come out the next day and we blocked that opening until maintenance could install the kick plate.

My sister had a cat that required medication several times a day. So when we traveled to a family event, we got a hotel that was pet friendly. Going out for dinner, she left him uncrated inside the room. What could happen?

We came back and he was nowhere to be found. We tore that hotel room apart, then she started down the halls. We couldn't imagine how he might get out of the room, and she was frantic.

After about 15 minutes, I found him behind the desk. It had a board that would be in front of your knees if you were sitting. It didn't go all the way up underneath, maybe 4-5" clear. He had managed to get in behind that and was completely hidden.

Ours use to love to climb up in the box spring. So much so that when we bought our new bed, DH stapled thin wooden door skins to the bottom knowing that the kitties would open it up and be in there in no time otherwise.

My 20lb orange tabby was a great hider. If he got scared, there was no telling where you might find him. He was great at opening cabinet doors and letting himself in, so I eventually learned to look through cabinets if he went missing. He was lightening fast at getting into a cabinet and having the door close behind him. You could follow him into the kitchen and not see where he went.

My hider did the box spring disappearance two mattresses ago, went down through a hole in the parents' kitchen floor when it was being gutted for renovation, and I put child cabinet locks on all the cabinets in the bathroom to keep her off the towels and extra toilet paper. In addition to the cubbie trick and the wall incident. :p

A friend adopted an older, large cat. He disappeared for a few days and they searched high and low for him. Finally found him when they opened a kitchen drawer! I think they were so startled they didn't think to take a picture of him in there. I would've loved to have seen how he fit! He was fine from then on.

It would seem that cats have a fondness for boxes...and box springs. Also, drawers.

Open up a can, and my cat will appear as if out of air.

LOL Scott, that's the truth!

This morning I noticed that my husband hadn't completely closed one of the dresser drawers after getting a pair of pants out. I reached to close it, then saw something move. Bruno had wiggled his way into it and was snoozing with just an occasional twitch of his tail, which is a good thing, because if I had closed it, I guarantee nothing good would have come of it.

I don't know if you are familiar with Maru (I always assume all cat lovers are). I love this video of his "magic trick".

Maru's magic trick

Keeping with the theme of small spaces:

Maru in narrow box

Maru never gives up

And just in case you don't know him....but want to go down the kitty video rabbit hole...(it starts out slow, but stick with it especially to the last ones...he's hysterical)!

Maru's greatest hits

I once lost an indoor only cat. We'd propped up a ladder, and he climbed up into the ceiling. Luckily, if you called him, he could come. We just kept calling, and he followed the voices back out.

I LOVE Maru. Have you seen him get into it "artistically"?

Rob, I watched that one again last night as I was searching for links to Maru....I stayed up way too late laughing at that one and so many more. What an amazingly wonderful cat and owner. They are both so lucky to have found each other....she appreciates his eccentricities and captures them perfectly. I was thinking perhaps he's no longer living, but would be too sad to actually research it. Then, just now I found a new video of him and Hannah climbing a ladder into a tree that was posted on Sept. 7. He looks good. I think they have made a fortune on youtube from this cat and it's nice that they have a home now with a place outside for the cats.

Another small box...Maru again.

Maru is a cute kitty. That tail...

Then, there was the time I was doing laundry. I tossed everything from the washer to the dryer and closed the door. Stuck a second load in the washer and ran that. Decided not to run the dryer as there was still room for more clothing from that next load (some things I hang up to dry.)

Went upstairs for the wash cycle.

Came back down later to transfer more stuff from the washer to the dryer....

A cat sleepily sauntered out of the dryer!!! Thankfully, I hadn't run it!!

When we first got Bud (he was Mom's cat, but just too active for her, so we took him), we couldn't find him for a couple of hours. Then we hears scrambling behind the fridge. He loved being up high, and had jumped on the frig and down behind. We had to pull it out, and out he sauntered.

Then I couldn't find him again, and looked everywhere (we live in an apartment). I looked up.......