Drives you insane, doesn’t it? When you call and call and he won’t answer.
Hiding.
You know he’s hiding.
But he won’t come out for (insert your favorite technique here): the laser, clicking the flashlight on and off, rattling the treat bag, wadding up a piece of paper or foil for him to chase, screaming “Kitty! Kitty! Kitty!” at the top of your lungs, the list goes on and on.
At least, you think he’s hiding.
Then, you’re worried to death. What if he got out? What if he’s been in a fight? What if someone picked him up?
Then, he appears, as if an apparition. Peeking his head out from under the blanket on the loveseat, right next to where you’ve been reading. Blinking his eyes as he ventures out of the darkness into the light.
Or, maybe he’s been deep inside your closet, behind a hundred pairs of shoes.
Or, a place a client clued me in to a few weeks ago: inside the bedsprings. Yep. Either there was a hole in that thin netting material that’s stapled to the bottom of a mattress bedspring, or she clawed the hole herself. She has figured out that it makes a terrific hiding place. Not only can you not see her while she’s there, there’s almost no way you’re going to retrieve her, either.
And, unless you’re a he-man, you can’t move the mattresses to expose her.
Our Martha was a master of hiding. After 18 years of life, she had some hiding places we never did discover. Pitch black without a white hair on her, she could hide like no cat we’ve ever had. Add to that, the fact that many of the black accents Brenda has chosen for our furniture, sometimes we would “see” her when she wasn’t actually there.
Maxx’s third birthday is coming up next month, and, despite his youthfulness, he has a few tricks up his sleeves, too. He has the run of the house night and day, but it’s not unusual for me to look for him when I arise at 5 AM and be completely stymied as I search. I’ve discovered a few of his favorite hiding places, but he has eluded me several times, so I know my sleuthing isn’t finished.
Besides, Maxx is a devout door-darter. Let your concentration lapse for just a moment and he will dart through an open door. So, when he can’t be found, fear doesn’t creep in, it’s there from the start.
We would love to hear your cat-hiding stories. Just leave them in the Comments section below, and we will publish a collection of the best ones.
And, we don’t want to discriminate against dogs, either. Just the other day a lady brought in her little black dog for a routine examination. When I inquired about the bell on his collar, she said, “We had to put that on to know where he is. All of our furniture is black, so he blends right in!”
