Orange Cat Goes 'Missing' for 2 Hours, Then Casually Watches Owner Panic

At the time, Simba was an eight-month-old orange cat who knew exactly how to scare his owner, Bruna Rodrigues. The little guy hid himself and made Bruna search for him for two whole hours. Not knowing what else to do, she burst into tears. But the little rascal was hiding in plain sight. Classic cat behavior—I guess!

Bruna shared the video of this little mischief on her Instagram (@bruna.rdgs) on January 31.

Many viewers related to the video, having gone through similar situations with their own cats.

In the video, Simba is seen on top of the wardrobe, looking down at his owner, who was crying in the bedroom because she couldn’t find him.

“Me, after listening to my human search for me for TWO HOURS just because I changed the spot of my afternoon nap.”

Simba, Simba, Simba… don’t do that to your human—you nearly scared her to death! Thankfully, it was just mischief and nothing bad happened to you—but don’t do that again, kitten!

“Simba came into my life in October 2022. I saw a post from a vet offering several kittens for adoption, and that same day, my boyfriend and I went to pick him up,” Bruna told Amo Meu Pet (our Brazilian pet news website).“At the time, I had just moved out of my parents’ house—I had two cats there who stayed with my mom—and I really missed having a cat in my new apartment.”

Hiding is natural feline behavior, so Simba didn’t do anything wrong—but being gone for two whole hours? That’s a bit much. My heart couldn’t take it!

“Every time I left the house and came back, he’d be hiding somewhere—usually under the couch, sleeping. But that day, I got home and he wasn’t there. (Until then, he had never climbed onto the wardrobe.) I looked everywhere, called out, shook his food bowl—nothing.”

According to the animal welfare organization Battersea ONG, there are many reasons why cats like to hide—it could be that they want to feel safe or are trying to protect themselves from something they find dangerous or stressful.

If your cat hides for long periods, it could also mean they’re stressed by something in their environment—like the presence of other cats or a person who interacts with them too much.

In Simba’s case, we know exactly why he disappeared—he was just taking a nap. What a character!

“When I heard a meow and looked up, there he was—his face all scrunched from sleep, just casually watching me,” she recalled. “By the way, he only meowed because he wanted to get down and didn’t know how—so he needed my help.”

Simba’s little prank went viral! It racked up over 13 million views, 976,000 reactions, and thousands of comments from people sharing similar stories.

“My orange boy has made me shed many tears, thinking he’d run away and wouldn’t come back. But he’s always hiding somewhere in the house—and to this day, I haven’t figured out where. He has the perfect hiding spot and no mercy for me,” wrote Daniel Fah.

“Two laps around the block, and our little sunshine was out like a light—cuddled up with the teddy bears,” commented Marcia Rosa.

“Mine was inside the oven (laughs). He was two months old at the time. I searched the entire street,” said Rúbia Marinho.

Check it out:

I just can’t handle Simba’s little face! What about you? Have you ever experienced something like this? Share it in the comments!