Leaving the kitty at home alone.

[AmandaChan]

DH and I are leaving tomorrow for 6 days and we are leaving the cat (our baby) home alone for the trip. The mother in law will be checking up on her every other day. This is the longest we have ever left her and I am so worried about her. She's a big momma's kitty and I really hope that it doesn't emotionally traumatize her. Does anyone else leave their kitties at home for a week or more while on vacation? Is every other day enough for a cat to be checked on??? :cat:

[wildernesslady]

I know where you are coming from. Mine is my shadow. We have left them home before and a neighbor checks on them daily to feed and play. They are fine when we get home. Enjoy your vacation. Your cat will be fine.

[Mickey'sGirl]

You are bound to get all kinds of answers, and my gut tells me that, Yes your kitty will be fine.

That said, we board our lizard as well as our dogs whenever we go away....

[caryrae]

We have had to leave our doggie alone on many vacations and he was always fine but then again with a dog he needs someone to let him out 2 or 3 times a day so he had visitors a couple times a day. He is gone now:(

We now have a kitty and have left him alone for weekend vacations and he was fine. We have watched my MIL cat a few times when they were gone for a week or 2 and we went every couple days for food, water, and clean litter box and she was fine after they got home.

[Tick-Tock]

We leave our cats home alone when we travel, though not more than a week (longer than that, my mom stays at our house). We have a reliable petsitter who comes in twice a day so they stay on their feeding schedule. They are happy to see us when we get back, but are otherwise fine.

Think of it this way - she's a lot happier at home, even by herself, than she would be at a kennel or at someone else's house. Unlike dogs, most cats don't adapt well to visiting!

[TennesseeTink]

Cats definitely prefer to stay at home rather that stay at a different home or a kennel. Our cat will only eat dry food, so as long as we fill up her big, self-feeding container, fill the large water purifier thing, and change the litter box before we leave, she's good to go for several days. My sister drops by every couple of days to check her food and water and give kitty some love, but otherwise I think she likes having the house to herself without the 2 dogs to bug her.

[Dulcee]

We've left our cat alone for weekend trips. While I'm sure your cat would be happier with a visitor once a day, she will be home, safe and fed. While she may not be very happy she'll be safe. Can't ask for much more then that.

[PixieMagic]

Your cat child will be fine:mickey: I have a momma's kitty too and although he yells at me for hours after we return home, everything is back to normal in a day or so! Just make sure you cat proof the house, set out some of it's favorite play things (for us it's a toy plus a paper bag and a soda box), and plenty of food and water. We you have your mother check in on him, give her some of his favorite food to give him. Have fun and just be excited to see him/her when you get back! :paw::paw::cat:

[sassafras]

We're leaving our kitty alone next week also while we're at DW. We've done this before. Just make sure he has a clean kitty box (we usually put a second one next to the one she uses), extra food out, and a few extra bowls of water. Like the previous poster said, ours will follow us around telling us about it for about a day when we get back, but she's always done fine! (we also usually set the heat/ac where it will kick on or off should it get too hot or too cold)

[g8rgirl29]

Just make sure he has a clean kitty box (we usually put a second one next to the one she uses)

We did this for our cat one year so no one would have to clean out the box if they were squeamish. Our crazy cat designated one for poop and one for pee!! It was crazy trying to break him of it, I think he did it to get even!! We have not had any problem and we usually had a friend come in every other day. We used a continuous feeder and the 2 liter bottle water feeder. Our friend would check to make sure everything was working fine, change the water and check the aforementioned box. She would also stay and play with him for a bit or just watch a tv show and give some cuddles.

[caryrae]

Has anyone tried one of those self cleaning litter boxes? Do they work well and/or worth the money?

[thrillme]

Self cleaning litterbox. I have a friend that had one. At first the cat found it to be more of a toy...but quickly got used to it. Depends on your cat. I have one that won't use a covered litterbox and another that won't use an "open" one. You still have to regularly remove the "dookie" resovoir.

YES...we've left our cats for a week to 10 days. Cats are VERY independent animals. One of my cats especially doesn't quite realize he's a cat. He gets a little upset when we leave. For about 2-3 weeks after we get back he's SUPER cuddly and doesn't like to leave his humans. When he was a kitten and we'd come home he'd literally bound off the stairs and jump into my arms. Tiger can be very weird. When we get back he demands to be cuddled with your arms around him like you would a teddy bear...

Cats do NOT do kennels or traveling well. (Although I do know of some RV cats that LOVE to travel but they've kinda got to be brought up that way). I'd just make sure somebody comes over like you have planned to take care of them every other day is quite sufficient.

[LauraF]

My cats are fine with being left alone. I usually ask my sister or a close friend to look in on them if I'll be gone longer than a week, just in case something may have happened. (Like the time they knocked a dozen glass knick-knacks off a shelf . . .) I've left them alone as long as 2 1/2 weeks before.

My cat sitter often plays with them a bit, and then checks the food, water and litter. My cats get a little grumpy when I'm gone for long, but they've always been fine after a few hours.

[Wrigley]

We always leave our cat home alone while gone for both weekend trips and week long trips. He has always done fine. We just have someone come every 3 days to check on him and refill his bowls of food and water. We leave him 2 very big full bowls of both food and water, and the person we have check on him says that they are never empty when they come to see him. We always feel very comfortable leaving him home alone, and he is very happy to see us when we get home!:mickey:

[Disney Doll]

We always leave our kitties home alone when we vacation. Honestly I just think a kennel would be too much stress on them. They do not like strangers or strange surroundings. We usually have someone stop by every other day to refill the food/water and scoop the litter. They are always happy to see us, but don't seem to mind the temporary abandonment. ;)

[TheRustyScupper]

1) Cats are pretty darn independent.
2) They don't care about us - as long as they are fed and litter box is clean.
3) We leave our two cats alone frequently.
4) We just have a sitter twice a day to feed them and clean boxes.
5) We have learned that they allow us to co-exist in the same dwelling.

[Tinkerfreak]

When I got my cat I started getting her used to Grandmas house right away. I took her for visits all the time and she loved it there so when we would go away we would pack her "Going to grandmas house" suitcase with food and treats (grandma always bought her some special ones too). Grandma kept a litter box and everything there and would fill it before we brought kitty and empty and clean it when she left. It was really no stress on the cat at all. She was so used to being there she felt comfortable and my Mom spoiled her rotten. The biggest problem was getting grandma to give her back when we got home:blush::D

[c&d]

We have a professional sitter come in and watch Spot. She feeds her, cleans her litter box, changes her water and plays with her once a day. We've been using her for about 5 years and when we get home we find a daily log of everything that she did and how Spot was doing. We pay her about $12/day and we've been really happy with the service.

[sweetsavannah]

:balloon:When we went to Disney World a few weeks ago, it was longest we've been away from our cats (8 days). My mom checked on them/fed them daily and cleaned the litter box every other day, but my boy cat peed in a corner in the kitchen! I think he wanted to let me know he was mad. He had to warm back up to us for a day or so. Next trip: litter box in the kitchen corner as well! They might get a bit upset, but they'll be FINE!!

[ChipDale2708]

We have always left our cat at home while we are away. Our neighbor comes in twice a day to feed and play. However this year, we have two new kitties and haven't left them alone yet. We plan to do a couple one or two nighter trips this summer, but head to Disney :mickey: in Sept/Oct for a week. I think I'm having anxiety over leaving them alone for the first time. They will be just a year old when we go this fall and both are completely attached to me. I'm sure they'll be fine...me, not so sure.:unsure:

[AmandaChan]

They will be just a year old when we go this fall and both are completely attached to me. I'm sure they'll be fine...me, not so sure.:unsure:


Ours is just over a year old. She's a big baby and talks to us and cuddles with us constantly. I don't know how I'm going to get through the nights without a fuzzy kitty on my neck :( I know she'll be okay though. I set out three bowls of water for the morning and two big bowls of food. DH-MIL should take good care of her.

[forever a child]

We always leave our kitty home alone when we go. She is very anti people and wont come out for anyone other than us, so even if we do have someone stop by to visit her, she wont come out for them.:hide2:

She usually drags on of DD's stuffed animals or something out into the living room or middle of the floor to be naughty.:thedolls: And she meows at us for a few hours upon our return as if she is telling us off. Other than that, she settles back into her normal routine very quickly!:thumbsup:

Your kitties should be fine!:cat: Enjoy your trip!

:mickey:

[Mousemates]

Our cat does fine for a week at a time...big bowl of dry food on the floor...lots of water...clean litter box...and no problems in 24 years of a marital bliss....if only my kids were that easy.

[maxrebo77]

Kitties will be fine. be prepared though, when you get home. I'm sure you know that kittens adjust easily to change. Don't be surprised if they come running to the door expecting the neighbor and run to hide when they see you with a bunch of scary luggage. Also if anyone has a Siamese in the mix, be prepared to get yelled at for awhile.

[Donald A]

I have left my cats alone for several days. I would imagine your cat will be fine, especially if someone is looking in.

[MushuGrl]

My first week-long Disney trip, we boarded our kitty at the vet's office. He promptly went on a bath strike. :D

Kitty will miss you and be puzzled a bit, but will be MUCH better at home.

[BluewaterBrad]

Your loving cat will be fine!! Have fun!!:mickey:

[Mickey's Pals]

:balloon:When we went to Disney World a few weeks ago, it was longest we've been away from our cats (8 days). My mom checked on them/fed them daily and cleaned the litter box every other day, but my boy cat peed in a corner in the kitchen! I think he wanted to let me know he was mad. He had to warm back up to us for a day or so. Next trip: litter box in the kitchen corner as well! They might get a bit upset, but they'll be FINE!!

My cats Spooks & Whiplash get mad at me too while I am away. They pee in the bathroom sink though (either one or both, I'm not quite sure). Makes for easier clean up.

But I always leave them at home. My babies were strays/rescues and get super anxious when they go to be boarded, so like most of the others, I leave them at home on all my trips, and for those longer than 3-4 days, I hire a pet sitter to check on them daily.