cats that hide

Question
yes i was wondering why cats hide?i was told it was because she was not getting enough love.what could it be i really look forward to hearing from you.
                  thanks
                 Laura Delaney

Answer
Hi Laura,
I'm no vet but have an older rescue (7) that was given to a local group because she went into hiding after multiple children were born into her home.  When we rescued her, it took me many weeks to talk her out from under a bed in our spare bedroom - and the door was open!  She was the most tense cat for months.  I'm happy to say Olive is now 9 and one of my more loving animals!  

I don't think it is a lack of love.  I've noticed that different breeds (even the mixed ones) have different personalities.  Some are more friendly than others, some more afraid in general.

Does she hide all the time, or only certain times of the day?  I'd like to hear more about why/when she goes into hiding.  Let's see if we can figure out what is causing this - stress, her breed, or her age.  I'm sure you love her or you would not be trying to help her! : -)

Did you recently get your cat?  In some ways, I treat mine like "kids".  Not using food to coach them out, or do particular things, but patience and praise.  You could try this as I've found it very effective when I bring a new one home.  Though I'm forbidden to bring anymore home LOL, I can happily say that having patience and praising my tense Olive when she did come out of hiding, worked here!

Thank you for caring about your loved cat!  I'll look forward to hearing when and why you think she goes into hiding so we can figure out ways to break this habit.

Debbie