Cat owners tend to accept hiding as fixed personality. 'She's just shy.' Often she is not shy; she is under-resourced.
Hiding is the strategy, not the problem
A cat's primary stress response is to remove itself. Given a good hiding place, most cats regulate themselves quickly and reappear once the room settles. Given a bad one — under a bed, cornered, with no exit — the cat stays in a state of alert the entire evening.
So the question is not how to stop the hiding. It is whether the hiding place is doing its job.
What makes a good hiding place
- Elevated. Cats feel safer with height. A shelf beats under the sofa.
- Two exits. A cat that can only leave the way it came in never fully relaxes.
- Away from the front door and out of the main traffic line.
- Already in use. A spot introduced on the night of the party is not a safe place; it is another new thing.
The signs of a cat that isn't coping
- Not eating while guests are in the house
- Using the litter box less, or having accidents afterwards
- Over-grooming in the days that follow — bald patches on the belly or flanks
- Spraying or scratching in new places
- Reappearing only after everyone has gone to bed
Those last-mentioned after-effects are the giveaway that the event was not neutral.
Practical setup before people arrive
Feed before guests arrive. Put a litter box in the safe room so the cat is never forced to cross a crowded space. Tell guests not to approach or pick up the cat — let the cat initiate. And keep the door to the safe room open, not shut with the cat inside.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Sudden changes in litter box behavior can indicate a medical problem — see your veterinarian.