New Home Hiding: 3 Days, 1 Spot per Room

A cat that hides for 3 days in a new home is not broken; it is doing the correct thing. The mistake is pulling it out on day 1. Give 1 quiet room for 3 days, 1 hiding place in every room it can reach, 7 days to expand at its own pace, and you cut the odds of a 6-week fear problem.

Days 1-3: 1 room, no handling

Set the cat up in 1 room with the door closed: litter box, water, food, and 1 covered hiding spot within 2 m of the food. Sit in the room for 10 minutes, 3 times a day, reading aloud, and do not reach for the cat. No visitors, no other pets, no vacuum for 72 hours. Open the door on day 3 only if the cat is eating, using the box, and out of hiding while you are in the room.

Handling in the first 72 hours is the single most common reason a new cat stops eating. If you must move the cat, use a towel and keep it under 30 seconds.

1 hiding place per room

A hiding place is a container with 3 sides and a roof, big enough to turn around in, placed at 1 of 3 heights. Cats under stress pick height over softness, so a 40 cm shelf beats a plush bed on the floor. One per room, no more: 6 spots in 1 room turns the room into a maze and makes the cat harder to find, not safer.

Room	Hide type	Height	Distance to food
Bedroom	box with 1 cut door	floor, 0 cm	2 m
Living room	cat tree cubby	90 cm	3 m
Kitchen	chair with blanket	45 cm	1.5 m
Hall	cardboard box	floor, 0 cm	2.5 m
Bathroom	behind the door, 20 cm gap	floor, 0 cm	4 m

The 7-day exploration map

Day 1-3: 1 room. Day 4: door open, cat chooses. Day 5: second room, 2 short visits with you sitting still. Day 6: main living area for 20 minutes, then back to the base room. Day 7: whole house access with 1 door left closed for a retreat. A cat that explores 3 rooms on day 4 is fine; a cat that stays put for 7 days is also fine, as long as it eats.

Food, water, litter: the numbers that matter

Put the food bowl 2 m away from the litter box, and the water 1.5 m from the food; cats drink more when water is not next to food. Offer 3 water stations in a 100 square meter home, 1 per floor. Serve 30 to 40 g of the food the cat already ate, in 4 small meals a day for the first week, and leave 1 bowl out overnight. Litter: 1 box per cat plus 1, at least 40 cm long, filled to 4 cm, scooped twice a day.

Reading the hide: normal fear vs a problem

Normal: the cat hides 14 to 20 hours a day for the first 48 hours, comes out at night, eats, and uses the box. Not normal: the cat is in the box 24 hours a day, the food is untouched for 24 hours, or the litter is dry for 24 hours. A new cat that hides with its head up on its paws is watching; a cat pressed flat with ears back and pupils wide is frozen, and that cat needs the room quieter, not more company.

If the cat is still under the bed at week 3, hiding under the bed covers the 4 changes that matter.

Adding a second cat later? Introducing a new cat has the 3-day scent swap and the 1.5 m feeding gap.

If the cat is still hidden on day 3

Do not pull it out. Move the food closer in 50 cm steps, sit 3 m away instead of 1 m, and dim the room to 1 lamp. Try 1 interactive toy for 5 minutes at dusk, then leave. If the cat eats only at night after 5 days, that is still progress: track grams eaten, not minutes seen.

Week 2: 3 rooms, 2 sessions

By day 8 to 14, run 2 play sessions of 5 minutes, at dawn and dusk, and 1 brushing session of 2 minutes if the cat asks for it. Add 1 new object per day, no more: a box, a paper bag, a mat. Keep the base room set up for 4 weeks even after the cat has the run of the house, so there is always a 1-room retreat.

What not to do in week 1

Do not pick the cat up to show it the litter box, do not move the box for 2 weeks, and do not invite 4 friends over on day 3 to prove the cat is fine. Do not bathe a new cat, and do not start a diet in the same week as the move: 2 changes at once is how a 6-day hunger strike starts. Leave the carrier open in the base room so it becomes furniture.

Guests, kids, and a second cat

Children under 6 need 1 rule: the cat comes to you, you do not go to the cat. Keep visits to 2 people, 15 minutes, seated, with 1 toy on a string. For a second cat, swap bedding for 3 days, then feed on 2 sides of a closed door 1.5 m apart for 5 days, and only then book a 5-minute visual session through a gate.

Three medical lines

Line 1: no food for 24 hours, or no water for 12 hours, in a cat that arrived within the last week. Line 2: no urine for 24 hours, or 2 days without stool, especially in a male cat, where a blocked bladder can turn fatal in 24 to 48 hours. Line 3: breathing over 40 breaths per minute at rest, open-mouth breathing, or a temperature above 39.5 C (103.1 F). Also call for 3 vomits in 12 hours, or a cat that cannot use a hind leg.

Five steps for this week

Close 1 room today, with box, water, food, and 1 hide within 2 m.
Set 3 sitting times of 10 minutes, and keep your hands to yourself.
Place 1 hide in every room the cat can reach, at 3 different heights.
Weigh the food bowl at 08:00 and 20:00 for 7 days to track grams eaten.
Leave the base room set up for 28 days.

Frequently asked

How long should I leave a new cat alone in one room?

Plan on 3 days in 1 closed room with litter, water, food, and 1 hiding spot within 2 m. Sit in the room 10 minutes, 3 times a day, without reaching for the cat, and open the door on day 3 only if the cat is eating, using the box, and coming out while you are there.

Is it normal for a new cat to hide all day for a week?

Hiding 14 to 20 hours a day for the first 48 hours is normal. Hiding all day is still workable if the cat eats at night and uses the litter box. It is not normal if food is untouched for 24 hours, the box is dry for 24 hours, or the cat breathes over 40 times a minute at rest.

When does hiding in a new home become a vet problem?

Call the clinic for no food in 24 hours, no water in 12 hours, no urine in 24 hours, no stool for 2 days, breathing over 40 breaths per minute, open-mouth breathing, a temperature above 39.5 C, or 3 vomits within 12 hours.