Cat won't come out of hiding place or poop - is it OK?

[mdicig]

Hi, All. I am babysitting a cat I do not know and it crawled beneath the stairs shortly after it came (about 40 hours ago) and won't come out. Opening is about 2.5 inches high and very wide - head and front paws get through fine but cat resists too much for me to try pulling it out without undue trauma. I put food and water in there - it's eating, drinking a bit but not pooping. Could it be trapped? It is silent in the day and meows a bit at night, and it's bed is going unused.

Should I be worried?

Thanks!

[catlover2]

Can you saw the opening larger so the cat can come out? This is an unfortunate situation. The cat should have been confined to one room with litter box, water and food and not allowed freedom of the house. Is the space she's in under the stairs confined to one space or does it go somewhere else. Because the cat is so afraid in a strange place with a strange person it is unlikely to be cooperative about coming out. If it's confined there you may have to be content just giving it food and water until the owner comes back to pick her up. She may come out for a familiar voice. How long before her owner comes back? If you can borrow a live trap, put some food in, she may be able to wriggle out and go into the trap likely at night. She got through the hole once, so she should be able to come back out. Ask a local humane society if they have one. Good luck!

[mikischo]

It is not unusual for a cat to try to find a place to hide when it finds itself in a strange place with strange people, but it will usually come out when no one is around.

However, the height of that opening does very much concern me and it could very well be that, although in his fear, with the adrenaline flowing, he somehow managed to squeeze himself in, he may be finding it quite impossible to get back out.

I would definitely not try to pull him out through such a small opening. As you said he could become seriously injured by attempting to do that. You may very well end up having to enlarge the opening somehow as catlover2 suggested. At least he is able to eat and drink and I hope there is a reasonable amount of space inside there for him to move around in the meantime. You could try doing what catlover2 suggested with a live trap. If it is possible for him to squeeze back out, he will.

You might first want to try leaving some really irresistable food (canned tuna or temptation treats for example, which most cats love) just far enough out of reach that he will have to come out to get it and see if that will encourage him to squeeze himself out of there. Hopefully you won't have to resort to demolition work on your stairs. Good luck and please let us know how things work out.

[Love4himies]

I would be worried that the cat feels she can't come out, or was injured trying to get into an opening only 2.5 inches. Like mikischo stated, It is one thing when a kitty is under a lot of stress and the adrenaline is flowing when she got inside, another when she has calmed down a bit. I agree with leaving the stinky food outside of the hole to see if the kitty will come out during the night.

Good luck and keep us posted.