“She meowed, then stared at the closet—I almost screamed when I opened it”: A first-time cat mom panics after a mysterious disappearance, only to discover a secret nest hidden in the closest corner of the house

Author image for Laurent Shinar
Laurent Shinar • Writer and Editor
Aug 9, 2025 2:00 PM EDT

The cat distribution system and feline rescues are often harrowing affairs, that take place in the cold wet night, which is ironic considering how much cats despise the cold and the wet, yet always seem to find themselves embroiled in some sort of action when the weather is so. But thankfully, today's story takes place entirely inside one household, which begs the question of how did the kittens get lost in the first place if they never left the house?

Well, we will tell you, not how it happened, but that this story stands as testament to the incredibly sneaky hiding powers of cat-kind and the lengths to which they will go to make sure that their litter is safe and sound. To the relief of the hooman pawrent, her cat momma gave up the location of her kittens rather easily and quickly, but those moments in between must have been a living nightmare. 
 

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  • 01
    my cat gave birth to five kittens about a week ago. i've been weighing them regularly, making sure they're ok and healthy. (dont worry im gonna spay my cat soon, i couldn't afford it before but now i have enough)i
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  • 02
    weighed them one last time, then went to sleep. then 4 hours later i woke up to my sister telling me, "the kittens are all gone, where did they go?" and i looked inside the box my cat nested them in, and they're not there.
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  • Holy guacamole, that is about the last thing that you want to hear right after your cat child turned cat momma has given birth to a bundle of kittens. We can only hope that the perpetrator is not Edgar from the Aristocats, that guy had some serious feline related issues.

  • 03
    i assumed the mama must've placed the kittens somewhere else for safety, so i literally turned the house upside down looking under every couch, closet, pile of clothes, everywhere. not one found. i can't even
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    hear any distant meowing. my cat is going about her day, chilling and laying down, asking for food and such. she found the box where the kittens once were and she was sniffing it. she also
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  • 06
    meows at me every now and then. i was waiting to follow her, see where she might've placed them. but she just lays down in random spots, chilling like she never had kittens in the first place.
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  • 07
    i'm so so confused. did she eat them? should i keep looking? it feels like i'm in the twilight zone.
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  • 08
    i'm very upset because i was committed to taking care of these babies with her but now they just vanished. i have a huge heart for cats so this is making me feel awful.
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  • 10
    i don't have any other pets, i don't let her go outdoors either. it's unlikely she ate them because the towel in the box they usually sleep in
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  • 11
    is completely unstained and smells fresh since i changed it last night (i expected there would be some blood if she ate them). my dad tells me he
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  • 12
    fed her this morning and didn't hear any meowing or kittens meowing so he doubted she was carrying them around.
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  • Oh jheez, things are not looking all too good at this point. We can only hope that things will turn around. And as they often do in feline rescue stories, the original poster offered us an update on the missing kittens situation, so hopefully we have some good news waiting for us there…

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    update: wow. i did not expect this many comments or views. its amazing how many of you guys are helping out. thank you all for the tips and advice, i just got back to this post after hours of searching.we did not find
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  • 15
    them at all yet. a few relatives came over and helped me search, one of them helped move the couches and such, looking through every crack, nothing. mama cat
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  • 16
    has been napping, she even hopped inside the box where she was nesting and seemed confused herself. i was suspicious one of my relatives must've taken them, but even they helped me look for hours.
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  • 17
    everyone i know is in complete shock, including me. UPDATE!!!: FOUND THEM! after 17 hours, theres this closet near the laundry room nobody really touches, its just fancy
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  • 19
    decorations/comforters/it ems for when guests come over. its usually open because my mom sometimes grabs something and forgets to close it. i was looking for mama cat cause she was meowing for food earlier, then noticed she was
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  • 20
    staring at the closet. my sister was there and told me "shes been staring at that for a while. just look through it, i dont think they're there but worth a try". i almost screamed in
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  • 21
    shock, because they were in the corner!!! all huddled up sleeping in a very tight corner, i had to remove this heavy box of holiday decorations, i don't know how she got in there! my parents woke
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  • 22
    up to me and my sister squealing. then they both playfully punched my arm cause i was the one accusing them for secretly taking the kittens LOL you guys were so right about how cats can hide in the most tightest and unknown spots, i did not expect them to be there.
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  • 23
    thank you all so much for the advice and support! it means so much! i'm so relieved and happy. all five kittens and mama cat are okay!
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secret nest cat mom mysterious closet disappear discovery reddit story stare scream hidden cat story meow first time mom
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