I'm 99% sure he can't get outside. Pix will be posted eventually, I promise...

I couldn't find mine for an hour the other day. Turns out they'd figured out how to open the linen closet door (which opens like an accordion) and he was laying behind some tablecloths on a shelf. His other favorite place is wayyy under the futon. Both my cats are black so they're really tough to see in shadows.

My family's cat's favorite hiding places:

The tippy-top shelf of the bookcase. The top shelf of the closet. Between or behind the washer/dryer. Basically, anywhere that was remotely cool and dark.

dammit, my link should have gone here. sorry...

My cat is almost always in a closet when I can't find her, hiding among shoes or clothing so thoroughly that I'll often miss her even when I do look in there.

Or, in this particular apartment, she's behind the stove, because it's warm there.

Also, this sounds odd, but if you have a friend who's particularly allergic to cats, they might be able to "sniff him out," as it were.

Have you looked under your bed? That's usually where my missing socks end up, and cats are remarkably like socks.

cmonkey, does that mean you're accumulating massive numbers of cats as well?

I know of one cat that manages to shimmy under the toe-kick of a chest of drawers. The hole seems way too small, but, nevertheless....

My kitties favorite under the bed, under the sofa and in the closet.

Unsolicited advice for the growling - have you tried sitting a "safe distance" (per the kitty's needs) away from the food dish when it's presented? Wait quietly - maybe reading a book - while the kitty eats? This will help associate you with a good thing = provider of food. You're not forcing the issue this way, so it's not a threat. It only works when you're not leaving food out free choice and works best when the food offering is something good and smelly and the kitty is motivated by hunger.

I only suggest this because it's how we caught one of our kitties when she was a wild kitten... Now, she's a love bug. Caveat: she was still a kitten.

cmonkey, does that mean you're accumulating massive numbers of cats as well?

Every time I go to the laundromat I come home and find a new cat mixed in with my laundry, it's quite incredible, really.

thanks for the suggestions so far - I particularly like the idea of torturing an allergic friend...

I had a plan in place for catching him for V.E.T. purposes in one of his previous hiding places - but now he only goes there in the evening. It's like he's spying on me.

boy was that sentence unclear. Time to call it a day, alto, it's been 10 hours already.

Our current foster cat is completely feral, yet he started using the litterbox right away. It's probably because of something they put in the litter.

You might be able to catch him using a transport cage. Just leave it out for a few days and put his food in there. Not sure if you can use this trick for a second time, though.

One of my mother's cats, Lancie, liked hiding in the back of the cupboard. He was black, and so I'd be looking for soup or something and suddenly THERE WERE YELLOW EYES STARING BACK AT ME. Creeptacular.

He's hanging out at my house. We're watching MTV. Good times.

Once I couldn't find my cat and she was in the impossibly narrow area behind the stove.

My old cat once crawled up inside a reclining chair and couldn't seem to find her way back out. The only way we found her was because of a bell on her collar. If we hadn't...well, it wouldn't have been pretty.

I had a disappearing cat for years. Boo would vanish for hours and hours, until we were running around frantically calling her, sure she'd gotten out and run off or been abducted by catnappers or something.

Turns out there was a hole in the box springs which was accessible from beneath the bed.

I discovered this by flopping down on the bed after work one night and the bed screamed.

Some cats need their Invisible Time, I guess.

BOP, the image of the bed screaming has me giggling uncontrollably.


I have one skittish cat who will find a way to the top of the kitchen cabinets. Or once found his way in the cabinets - imagine the surprise when you went for a cup and found a cat instead.

Ohh, Ohh, my brother's cat has been known to pull off the cover on the heat duct (forced air ductwork grille - 4"x7")and climb into the duct. They have secured these in place now... She's also managed to get into the wall cavity - they had to bust out the drywall to extract her. And, she's not scared, just adventurous. They call her squishy kitty because she gets into all kinds of unimaginable places.

Places I have found my cat when he's gone missing:
- In the 1950's "accordion door" style sideboard. God knows how he opened and closed that thing.
- In the basement. Passing two locked doors to get there. He must have followed me like a ninja.
- In the fridge. He's freaky fast, that ninja.
- In the linen closet, on the shelf waaaay up top spreading hair on all the clean sheets.
- Inside a suitcase, in the closet.
- In the windowsill - a dead obvious spot but for some reason I kept overlooking it!
- Behind the washing machine.
- In the tub.
- In my bookshelf. All still and no noise makes cat look like some decorative stuff between books.
- Behind my vinyl in the records and turntables shelf.

I discovered this by flopping down on the bed after work one night and the bed screamed.

*Moahahhaha* I had a mom-cat with five kittens suddenly decided that her kitten-lair wasn't a good enough spot, so every night she carried three kittens to a new spot and promptly forgot about the other two (I'm convinced cats can only count to three). So I'd get up, fetch the other two and she'd look all surprised when I put them in her new spot. The next evening she'd decide "this isn't a good spot, they know about it" so she'd do the move three kittens thing again. Finally after a sleepless week for me, she decided to hide in exactly that spot under my bed. I fetched the other two kittens and snuck them in there all 'cat-ninja' like when her back was turned and she thought the place was still undiscovered by humans. For the next three months I slept over a bed that peeped little kitten peeps at all hours.

Here's some more of my probably useless advice:
i made the Bees her own little apartment in my apartment, a legless cushioned chair on its back under a table in an inaccessible corner. It doesn't mean she doesn't have two or more of her own other private hidey hole places, but you could make the special place the preferred place (by adding things he likes) and the others less desirable (some recommend coffee grounds. i don't know if it works for others.)
You gotta let him have at least one hidey hole he thinks just is (keep it clean when he's looking) but know where they are. Sneaking a toy in there when he's not looking or taking one) is an acceptable headfuck and can be an amusing diversion.
He will eventually seek you out. Cats are social and like company. Let him come to you. It's time and eventual affection.
As for the vet, lure and grab. Always hold firmly and securely. Always. Be loving and kind while he is immobilized. It's just the way it is.
First comes futility born respect, then desperation's need for some affection. Then maybe grudging genuine respect. Then some accidental appreciation. Or maybe survival's path of least resistance. Occasionally frustrated tolerance.
Swap these around. They may just apply to you.
Love can be learned, or earned or grown.

Yeah, the Bees never had these problems. She's sitting my my lap now. i could give her a manicure and put funny hats on her, but she's weird.

(keep it clean when he's not looking)
Don't let him on the laptop. They can cut and delete like a mofo.

Man, my boo (uh, Fry) never hides -- he's always trying to get my attention. Well, sometimes if he's already comfortable downstairs he doesn't come to bed with me, and half the time he sleeps in my jeans instead of the bed, but he really wants my company, I guess.

Don't let him on the laptop. They can cut and delete like a mofo.

HA! True. So true. I'm blaming my cat for all my weird spelling mistakes from now on, so there.