Question on leaving cat at home alone

[dendon]

Hubby and I are heading to CA for a weekend, leaving on Thursday @ 6 pm and coming home Sunday. When I put Slippers in her carrier, it seems like a traumatic journey for her from the house to the vet. Do you think it''s ok to leave her at home, with plenty of food and water?

 

[bee*]

I wouldn''t leave her for that long. If you are going to leave her at home, get a relative or a pet sitter to call around to her twice daily if possible or once daily at a must. What if she runs out of water, something falls on her or anything like that. Most cats hate their baskets but it''s a means to an end to get from a to b.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

I''m sorry, but I belong to the "independant/self-sufficient cat" school of thought. If you can guarantee that she has enough food and water to last (i.e., she''s not a glutton who eats ALL of her food in one sitting), then there''s is nothing wrong with leaving her for a weekend. A week or more, and I''d get a sitter.

 

[gwendolyn]

Date: 10/9/2008 12:29:32 PM
Author: bee*
I wouldn't leave her for that long. If you are going to leave her at home, get a relative or a pet sitter to call around to her twice daily if possible or once daily at a must. What if she runs out of water, something falls on her or anything like that. Most cats hate their baskets but it's a means to an end to get from a to b.

I'd go with Ms. bee* on this one since she works at the vet's office. Plus I did drop by and check in on the cat of some friends who were away and arrived one afternoon to find spots of blood all over the couch and floor. Turned out the cat had an intestinal infection that had been invisibly worsening for ages and finally had swollen to the point of almost tearing her abdomen apart! She had surgery in time and is fine now, but it came down to a matter of hours and if no one had been looking in on her, she wouldn't have made it.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 10/9/2008 12:29:32 PM
Author: bee*
I wouldn''t leave her for that long. If you are going to leave her at home, get a relative or a pet sitter to call around to her twice daily if possible or once daily at a must. What if she runs out of water, something falls on her or anything like that. Most cats hate their baskets but it''s a means to an end to get from a to b.

Ditto.

 

[dendon]

Thanks, just those few answers made up my mind, to the condo at the vets it is!

 

[bee*]

Date: 10/9/2008 12:56:51 PM
Author: dendon
Thanks, just those few answers made up my mind, to the condo at the vets it is!

hehe make sure she gets a window view at the condo

 

[Octavia]

If FI and I are away for longer than one night, we get someone to check on our kitty. Even when we leave him for Saturday morning through Sunday evening, I get kind of nervous, and he gets pretty angry with us. How well a cat takes it may depend on how social she is, but for all the reasons mentioned above, it''s not a good idea to leave them completely alone for multiple days. I''m glad you have a good alternative!

 

[hibiscus]

IMHO, cats are self-sufficient. I've left my 3 cats for a weekend many times. You might want to have another bowl of food and water in 2 other rooms in case they ran out of supply. We have great neighbors, so whenever we have to be away from a week to a month, they'll come over to the house to feed the cats their daily dose of wet food.

 

[swingirl]

We also used to leave our cat for several days at a time. Big bowls of water, several litter boxes, food. No cat is going to suffer from being alone, unless they are already ill or exhibit destructive behavior.

Once my mom left her 2 cats for a week. She left the water dripping into a bowl in the sink and left a ton of cat food. For her is was a necessity as she needed to check into a hospital unexpectedly and had no one to take care of them. They survived just fine and did not eat all the food and blow up (dogs would have!) It wasn''t an ideal situation but no one was harmed.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 10/9/2008 2:36:24 PM
Author: swingirl
We also used to leave our cat for several days at a time. Big bowls of water, several litter boxes, food. No cat is going to suffer from being alone, unless they are already ill or exhibit destructive behavior.

Once my mom left her 2 cats for a week. She left the water dripping into a bowl in the sink and left a ton of cat food. For her is was a necessity as she needed to check into a hospital unexpectedly and had no one to take care of them. They survived just fine and did not eat all the food and blow up (dogs would have!) It wasn''t an ideal situation but no one was harmed.

The thing is though you were lucky because if the cat became ill or got into trouble, then there is no one to help them.

 

[bee*]

Date: 10/9/2008 2:38:33 PM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 10/9/2008 2:36:24 PM

Author: swingirl

We also used to leave our cat for several days at a time. Big bowls of water, several litter boxes, food. No cat is going to suffer from being alone, unless they are already ill or exhibit destructive behavior.


Once my mom left her 2 cats for a week. She left the water dripping into a bowl in the sink and left a ton of cat food. For her is was a necessity as she needed to check into a hospital unexpectedly and had no one to take care of them. They survived just fine and did not eat all the food and blow up (dogs would have!) It wasn''t an ideal situation but no one was harmed.

The thing is though you were lucky because if the cat became ill or got into trouble, then there is no one to help them.

I''d agree with Lorelei. I would just be so afraid that they get ill, it can come on so quickly in cats.

 

[dendon]

Wish we had good neighbors we could depend on but here in Vegas, haven''t found too many friendly neighbors like back home in Boston. Also, our friends live pretty far from us to ask them to come over and they work long hours in the restaurant industry. I think I would enjoy myself more over the weekend knowing Slippers was safe in a condo! I tend to worry like crazy over my baby!

Thanks for all the replies though!

 

[kcoursolle]

For that length of time I always get a catsitter. I agree that it would be stressful taking her with you. Can you get a good neighborhood or friend to come by? I have a neighbor come by twice a day for 30 minutes and play with her, love her up, etc. This seems to work pretty well for us. She seems fine when we get home and much much less stressed than if we take her to the kennel or take her with us.

 

[Rhea]

I don''t leave the cat more than one night alone any longer because she''s older and I have family close by. When I was in college and used to go home for the weekends I''d leave her two nights by herself without any issues.

 

[VegasAngel]

I always leave my cat home when we travel, if it''s just a night or two I don''t worry any longer than that & we have someone check on her.

 

[deegee]

When hubby and I go away for a few days, we put down extra water bowls and an extra litterbox for the cats. The neighbor kids come over a couple times a day to feed and play with them.

 

[swingirl]

Date: 10/9/2008 2:38:33 PM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 10/9/2008 2:36:24 PM

Author: swingirl

We also used to leave our cat for several days at a time. Big bowls of water, several litter boxes, food. No cat is going to suffer from being alone, unless they are already ill or exhibit destructive behavior.


Once my mom left her 2 cats for a week. She left the water dripping into a bowl in the sink and left a ton of cat food. For her is was a necessity as she needed to check into a hospital unexpectedly and had no one to take care of them. They survived just fine and did not eat all the food and blow up (dogs would have!) It wasn't an ideal situation but no one was harmed.

The thing is though you were lucky because if the cat became ill or got into trouble, then there is no one to help them.

In my mom's case it didn't matter if the cat got ill. My mom WAS ill and had no one to care for her cats. She had no choice. It wasn't ideal but everyone survived.

 

[MishB]

I''ll leave my cats overnight home alone, with plenty of food and water, but not for more than one night. I wouldn''t place the responsibility on a friend to drop in on them, but we have a professional service that comes over, feeds and waters them, changes the litter, plays with them, brings in the mail, waters plants etc. For a flat fee for both cats, it''s much cheaper and easier for them and us than taking them to a boarding cattery. They have our key, so we just send an email and it''s all arranged. They send a text message that the cats are ok when they have visited, and leave us a note about what the cats were doing. It''s a great service.

 

[CJ2008]

I agree with not leaving them alone for more than a couple of days...it''s not about self-sufficiency...it''s about them getting sick or hurt and not being able to pick up the phone/get help - I think the likelihood is low, but it does exist...

 

[purrfectpear]

I can see why kitty isn''t wild about the carrier, much less the stay at the vets. Face it, vet offices just don''t give off good kitty/doggy vibes. The other animals are either stressed, sick, or whining about being left. Even if yours starts out OK, I think they pick up on the vibe at the vets.

If you had to be left alone without your family would you rather stay in your room, or be driven to a place where all the other people were crying about being left?

I''m for leaving them in the comfort/security of their own home with a neighbor or cat sitter to visit daily.

 

[applequeen]

I leave my cat at home when I'm gone. If it's just for a weekend I just leave plenty of food and water for her but if it's longer than that I ask a friend to check on her a couple of times.

She hates strange places/ people so I really think the lesser of the two evils is to leave her at home in her familar environment. I always worry about her but I'm confident she's happier at home than she would be stuck in a cage at the vet. She's never really been around other animals and just going to the vet for her shots and things scares her... I can't imagine what it would be like for her to be stuck there for an extended period of time. I picture her being stuck next to barking dogs which would terrify her.

A little side story... I first realized I loved my DH when I left for a trip very early in our relationship and asked him to please check in on my cat a couple of times while I was gone. When I called him while I was gone I found out he'd been to visit her every day (instead of just twice).

ETA.... my parents left their dog at the vets when they would go out of town... one time they picked him up and realized he'd caught a virus from one of the other dogs! The vet was treating him and he was OK (thank goodness)

 

[Icy Melona]

I used to cat-sit for my friend when she and her partner were on holidays. They''d bring their darling over with her fav toy, blanket, cushion and food. She always looked pretty content and would come out of her hiding hole for a cuddle within minutes. Is it possible to leave your cat with friends or relatives?

I have left my cat (bless her paws) alone for extended trips and have asked someone to come and check on her. I left her outside though as she prefers to be outdoors and not indoors. I''d leave with the garage window open so she could jump in for shelter and find her bed and down. But I guess it would depend on your cat''s personality/nature. My cat never strayed far from home. She just lounged around the garden sniffing the flowers so part of the worry was alleviated knowing that she didn''t like venturing out onto the roads and having someone check her food and water made her unlikely to go hunting for food.

 

[jewelerman]

I would not leave my cat for more then two days at the very most...thurs 6pm to sat morning...be safe and have someone look in on them...

 

[D2B]

I would not leave a cat alone for more than a weekend. A family memer left there cat alone for a few days, and when they came back the cat was in agony. She had somehow got her paw stuck in her collar (no idea how on earth that can happen- but that is the whole point of unforseen accidents. the leg was swollen up and painful, but luckily all was well in the end.


Hope you can find a sitter or place to take the cat

pb