Cats love to hide and they’re good at it. Your cat might hide during a play session with you so she can practice her hunting maneuvers—you know, the one where she jumps out when most unexpected and attacks a toy or your hand or your ankle.
But sometimes they hide from you for hours at a time—
maybe not intentionally. They might just need to get away from the household sounds and the bright sunlight coming through the windows and just curl up alone in the dark.
Smokey, (my mothers cat and my model for Rags in the Klepto Cat Mysteries), used to hide in the garage. And 
he was good at it. He was an indoor/outdoor cat. Sometimes Mama would call for him to come in for “supper” over and over again with no response. Finally he would appear on his own schedule. Other times she would spot him tucked amidst her flowers in the backyard, or in the rafters in the garage. 
Once he somehow got closed in the car in the garage. That was puzzling. And there were times when she was sure she saw his form in the garage rafters, so she closed the kitty door, only to have him show up outside at the sliding door meowing to be let in.
Does this sound familiar to you? I think we’ve all had similar experiences with an indoor/outdoor kitty who was supposed to be indoors by dark-time.
But cats hide in the house, too. Just when you think you’ve discovered all of your cat’s hiding places, she will find another one. Cats love to hide. I think they 
enjoy knowing they have the power to drive us crazy looking for them. Don’t you feel a bit silly when you’ve spent several minutes frantically calling for and looking for your cat, only to finally see her crawl out from 
under a sofa you were sure she no longer fit under or from atop the refrigerator?
Cats bring many things into our life and many surprises. Just after writing this, I saw Olivia trot to the office door which opens into a hallway. She crouched and waited there for a few seconds, then leaped out and attack our older cat, Sophie who Olivia evidently heard walking slowly down the hallway. Oh! Olivia.
