How long will my cat hide after a move?
Usually days to a couple of weeks before her first steps back into the open, and not in a straight line. Count the trust moments — the first meal eaten, the first room explored — rather than the days. Some cats resettle fast and some slowly; yours is not behind.
There’s no fixed clock, because a cat isn’t counting days — she’s rebuilding a map of what’s safe, one scent-marked corner at a time. Moving her own scented things — scratchers, beds, blankets — into the new space is what makes it start smelling claimed (Galaxy, Total Cat Mojo, ch.8; Bradshaw & Ellis, The Trainable Cat, ch.3). The first cautious steps out often come within a few days to two weeks, but it moves in fits and starts: a good day, then a hide-again day, then two good ones. That’s normal, not a relapse.
So watch for firsts, not dates — the first meal she eats in the open, the first time she explores a new room on her own, the first evening she settles somewhere visible. Those tell you far more than “it’s been a week.”
Full walk-through: my cat is hiding since we moved.
Behaviour and wellbeing only. Nothing here diagnoses or replaces a veterinarian — if something about your cat worries you physically, that’s a call to your vet.
New articles, as we publish them
The everyday moments and the behaviour questions — and first word on what we make, offers included. From Deni & Helen.