My cat is scared and hiding after a fright. How can I help her?

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Kitty Mucher. If she spends time outdoors, then I worry that she sustained an injury. Cat bite wounds are common and could explain her abrupt change in behavior. If she is not acting normal by the time you return home today, then she will need to see her veterinarian. If she does have a wound (and they can be hard to find), she will require treatment. I hope this information helps!

When cats get spooked or frightened by something, it often takes them a few days to completely calm down again - so this is not unusual. The best thing to do is leave her alone and give her space. You can try using a Feliway pheromone diffuser and/or a daily calming supplement like Anxitane to help reduce her anxiety, if you want to.

I'd put Sophie in her own room with food, water, and litter box. Close the door, and let her stay there overnight. This may help calm her down. Let her out in the morning to see if she is more relaxed. She may just need some time to herself. I hope this helps!

This takes lots of time and patience to improve. You can try a Feliway pheromone spray or diffuser. That often relaxes cats and reduces their anxiety. If she enjoys grooming brush her for a short time each day. Usually then they will start coming out to get groomed and be with you. The loud noises are hard and there is not much to be done other than act calmly like you are doing. I never force a cat to come out or do do things that make them anxious as this will only worsen the problem. Make sure she has a quiet, private 'safe' place to go. With time she should improve, it's hard to get over bad kitten experiences. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Princess.

Poor girl! There could be something that has spooked her. Or she could be not feeling well. Or there could even be an internal conflict with another cat in the household. The first thing I would do is make sure she is healthy. I would see if your vet can look at her and make sure she isn’t painful, no infection, no fever, no urinary tract infection, etc. if she isn’t feeling well, this definitely can cause a change in behavior. If everything is normal then I would make sure she is getting along with everyone in the house. Make sure there are plenty of litter boxes as this is something they commonly will become territorial over. You can even put out some feliway diffusers which are pheromones they help calm down cats. Unfortunately these don’t work on everyone. You make also look into vetriscience composure treats as a natural calming supplement. I hope this helps!

Oh no, poor Pepper! That must have been very scary for her, and she is probably very stressed out by it. It's good that she is ok and safe, and I would leave her be for now. Make sure she has plenty of food and water, and is kept warm and comfortable. Should she still be acting funny in the morning, then I would take her into a vet for a health check. Good luck, I hope this helps and she feels better soon :-)

I'm sorry to hear your can't find your kitty! This would be stressing me out too! If you are able to hear her but and she sounds like she might be in some trouble, I would be looking in some really small places that she might have been able to get in but not necessarily get out of. I would be looking in any place that she might have been able to get behind a wall or into a ceiling. Otherwise, if you think she might just be hiding somewhere that she doesn't want you to find her, starting leaving out some stuff that she would normally come running for on any other normal day. Hope this helps!