I used to have a cat that hid away from us. He did not hide for as long as this cat, but he hid for about two or three months.
My uncle’s cat gave birth to five kittens, and he brought me one. I really wanted a cat at the time, and he decided to surprise me. It was a long time ago, I didn’t take photos as much as I do today haha, but I do have one photo of him.
His name was Blackie, and he was super scared when my uncle brought him. I don’t know if it was the car ride or the separation from his mama cat… but he hid away in my basement for two or three months.
I would leave him food and water around until he followed the food bowl all the way out, and I closed the door so he would stay in the house.
He hid under the couch, and on the stairs… and eventually, once he saw that we weren’t bothering him or trying to hurt him in any way, he came to me on his own.
Let’s see how this woman succeeded with her cat, after so much time.
Meet Gia, The Cat That Hid Away From Her Foster Mommy For A Whole Year
Stacia, the woman that took Gia in order to foster her for a short time before she was ready to move on to a furever family… but things took an unexpected turn.
Gia was extremely scared and hid away in Stacia’s bathroom for a long time.
Gia found the highest spot there, which was above the bathroom mirror, as you can see. She would sometimes fall in the sink when she’d hear Stacia come up there.
So, Stacia put a cat bed in the sink to break her fall.
“The first couple of days were difficult, but the next couple of days she explored at night.”
This gave Stacia the opportunity to learn more about Gia so she could try to help her. She did her best and Gia started to go downstairs but she still hid under the couch all day until she heard Stacia go to sleep.
Then she would crawl out from under the couch, and explore around the house. Stacia installed a camera so she could see what Gia was up to.
Gia would eat, sniff around, and play with the toys Stacia left for her.
“I started to feel like ‘Ok, she’s enjoying her life a little bit.’”
However, she would still crawl right back under the couch once morning came and stay there until Stacia went to bed at night again.
Nevertheless, Stacia thought she’d try to play with Gia because she had seen her play at night.
“I started trying to play with her because I saw her playing at night. She would stick a paw out and play here and there throughout the day.”
It really makes you wonder what kind of a life she used to have when she was so frightened, especially when Stacia was doing her best to provide her with a loving home.
“You can’t help but think of what her life was to make her so untrusting and scared.”
Gia started coming out from under the couch, but she would always run far away from Stacia. She would get anxious and nervous if Stacia got near her.
“She was essentially hiding for a year. She has made progress over that time, but she would still spend all day under the couch.”
Stacia didn’t know what to do. She was starting to feel hopeless. She felt she wasn’t doing a good job with Gia, so she connected with a woman named Suzy, who she remembered as the “cat whisperer”.
Suzy suggested that she should begin by blocking the couch, so Gia wouldn’t go back under it. This way Gia would be accessible to Stacia, but Gia is a cat after all… After just a few weeks, she found her hiding in a window instead.
Then, Stacia tried Suzy’s second piece of advice, which was chicken baby food. She put some of it on the end of a wooden spoon and fed it to Gia. She had to touch Gia’s mouth so that she would start licking it and eventually eat the food.
Then, Stacia moved her hand closer and closer to Gia. She started playing with her as well as petting her.
“I started giving her little pets on the top of her head with the wand of a toy. It was then that I realized that she enjoyed pets.”
She proceeded to pet Gia, moving her hand closer to Gia every day until it was Stacia petting her, and not the wand.
Gia soon started to climb into Stacia’s lap and after a few more months of hard work, Stacia was able to pet and cuddle Gia. Gia relaxed and regularly climbed into her lap.
After all of this, Stacia could not let her go…
“When I thought about uprooting her after her building up to this, I was like ‘this is her home.’ She’s been here for a year, she is mine.”
It truly is a remarkable story about what love and perseverance can do. Stacia continued to love and care for Gia. You can check out their Instagram profile for more cute photos, like this one:
Just look at her now:
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