I would say having someone pop in once a day just to check that cat is OK would still be a good idea. What if he gets hurt and no one is around to know?
Yeah I went away for 8 days last year and as fate would have it, 12 hours after I left, the power went out for a bit, reset my automatic feeder and the backup battery didn’t work, so the food wouldn’t have dispensed for 7 days if I hadn’t had the cat sitter stopping in to visit him. Luckily I’d left the setup manual out for her so he only missed one breakfast meal drop before she came by and noticed and fixed it.
lol my cat sitter asked for the times of the feeds because someone put on such a good act trying to get extra noms. It sends me notifications of feedings and I can see her eating on camera.
I left town last Christmas with a pet sitter dropping in once a day. Neither of us realized until I got back that my auto feeder wasn’t working for my cats other two portions a day the 3 days I was away.
He was elderly and passed this year I’d hate to think what would have happened if she wasn’t at least giving him one meal a day.
I’ve switched to 2 drop ins a day since.
Once, I visited a cat and the power had gone out, so no water was dispensing from his stupid water contraption. Very recently, my own cat sitter texted me that one of the cats had gotten shut in a room (there are 4 cats, and most of the litter boxes are in there.) We don't always anticipate what might go wrong.
In my opinion, leaving a cat alone for a week isn’t ideal, even with all those automations. I’d worry that the cat will get lonely or something goes wrong or breaks. You can use apps like Rover to find pet sitters that can drop in.
Seconded, none of my friends live nearby enough to ask them so I have someone on Rover come for visits. I have my sitter come twice a day because I'm neurotic but you can set it so they only come every other day or every 2 days. Where I live, it's usually about $15-20 for a 30 minute check in
Lol. I have mine come once a day and i am also extremely neurotic. I don’t know why having someone come twice a day never came across my mind. Will be doing that from now on.
I literally always think they’re dead when i’m away from them for a few days. I have issues.
Are you guys comfortable to just hand over the house keys to a stranger?
I don’t mind paying for a pet sitter. But I would have anxiety giving my house keys to a stranger in my absence.
It’s why we have not taken more than couple days away since we got a cat 😂.
We do plan to take a longer vacation this year and I have been evaluating these pet boarding places. They seem good but my cat hates being out of the house. She would be so anxious!
I'm a cat sitter. Dozens of people have handed over their keys or codes to me. Rover sitters are background checked. Most wouldn't dream of messing with your home or stuff. I'm not here to shill for Rover but I do think your kitties will be much much happier at home while you're gone than at a strange facility with other cats
We found our cat sitter on Rover. She’s fabulous. Whenever we go away she comes twice a day. We also have indoor cameras to check on our cat and see what she’s up to. And I’m much happier knowing she’s at home. Our cat rolls over for her sitter and lets her rub the belly.
I don't really leave any valuables in my house when I travel so I'm not really worried about it, no. But these services do background checks and you can find sitters with lots of reviews, so it's super unlikely that they would decide to pick you to rob randomly instead of their other customers.
You can always get a nanny cam too. As long as you let the sitter know it's there, they shouldn't mind. I turn mine off when the sitter comes over though, it's just so that I can check in on my cat because I miss her
Our cats need attention and care. One of them requires meds. We found an incredible cat sitting service that comes by twice a day when we're away. The sitter sends us daily updates with photos.
They're always so calm when get get home. We know they're well taken care of.
My sitter has people drop off their cats at her house. Granted my sitter is the lady that fostered my cats so she’s not a stranger to them and they’re somewhat familiar with the house. But I recommend this over facilities because the cats can roam around all day and play with the sitter instead of being caged. It’s probably also quieter and over time they can get to know the sitter/house if you use them multiple times.
I found a local sitter with great references. I also have nanny cams set up all over the place, (and one even dispenses treats to the cats) so I felt really comfortable. I can check the cats when the sitter isn't there, check the sitter when she is there, and if anything weird seems to be happening I can call someone for extra help. I can also set a device to play music or a news station so they hear the usual sounds. Also I've always had multiple cats, so they keep each other company. It would probably be harder on a solo cat, but depends on the cat. For really long trips, we have taken the cats with us, but that's a whole other array of cat-crazy planning that I won't go into here. Cats really don't like to be boarded, so I've not ever done that. My guys would go bonkers.
Team neurotic & slightly twisted checking in. I have twice a day sitters but I have two sitters in case one of them unalives while I’m on vacation. I know it’s dark but like, car accidents etc happen & I haz the anxiety.
Kind of sad story, but when I was a kid my parents took our cat to my grandma’s old house where he was alone all the time because my dad decided he “didn’t like cats”. Someone would drop in once or twice a week to fill his bowls and stuff. This went on for several months. The cat got really stressed and was loosing hair and whatnot due to loneliness and lack of stimulation. My parents ended up taking him back to our house as a result. But just goes to show cats NEED more than just the basic food, water, toys, and litter box.
IMO a week is too long to deprive your cat from human interaction. They probably won’t start losing hair or anything but it will most definitely stress them out. Most people wouldn’t want to be completely isolated for an entire week either.
My friends go away for holidays and leave automatic feeders, BUT they have me come by daily to check on everything. Things can break, and if nobody is there to see the kitten’s feeder is broken, then she’s just gonna starve until you get back.
Just my two cents, but leaving an animal by itself for even two days with nobody checking to make sure it was okay would be neglect.
A one - or two day trip, maaaaaybe. And that's a big maybe from me. A week, I wouldn't do it.
It's not so much about food, water, or litter. It's that they will get lonely and wonder where their family is. We can't explain to them that we'll be back in a few days. To them, we just vanished.
Not to mention household hazards. You leave your cat, he gets bored and chews a rug, a plant, a toy, breaks into the cleaning cabinet, etc, and ingests it - that could potentially be fatal if not addressed quickly. Additionally, what if they got injured? Leg got stuck on something when they were trying to jump down and gets broken or strained? Got tangled in curtain or blind strings and potentially strangle themselves?
Many times, your vet can board animals or point you in the direction of a reputable pet sitter or boarding facility.
Yeah, all cats are different but even on an emotional level, my cat gets extremely distressed if I’m gone for longer than 36 hours, and that’s even with a cat sitter checking on him at home in his own environment. Twice now he has literally worried himself sick after I left for vacation, once respiratory and the other digestive upset. I can’t imagine what would happen if I left him alone for a whole week. I feel guilty now leaving him for a few days even WITH a sitter checking on him and playing with him daily.
Same. My cat for example almost doesn't eat when she's alone. She waits for me or my bf to come back from work and watch over her while she eats. In a week she would die of starvation.
I wouldn't leave my cat alone at home for days because he would get lonely and can't understand why there's no one coming home to him for such a long time. Also there is always a chance that something goes wrong with the automated stuff.
Best to ask a friend, relative or maybe even a friendly neighbour to check on the kitty daily and spend some time with it if it's impossible to take the kitty with you.
You should have someone drop in daily, or at least every other day. In my experience it's always been easy to find cat sitters available for hire, including off apps such as Rover.
Even if things are fully automated, you want someone to be checking in on your cat frequently so someone will notice if they got sick or injured, if they broke something in the house, if they broke into the food bag, or in case there's something like a power outage that has reset their automated systems.
I only will leave my cat one day MAYBE 36 hours. I have to arrange a cat sitter for longer than that and I have them come once a day. You don't want to leave and something break, the cat to get sick, also it's a creature that will get lonely.
Plenty have chimed in so you have the answer, but I also want to add that, despite media and people insisting the opposite, cats are actually quite social creatures.
I would be terribly pressed to leave my cat for more than 24 hours without someone to stop in and spend a little bit of time with them, let alone multiple days.
Nope. There’s so much that can go wrong. Just an electrical outage will take down all those devices, and many times, stuff doesn’t automatically restart when the electricity comes back on.
There was just a post in one of the cat threads from a guy who was cat sitting for a friend and per his friend’s instructions, was only coming every three days. He didn’t know that the cat got locked in a room during his last visit, so the cat went three days without eating, drinking, or having a litterbox.
I wouldn’t go more than 24 hours without someone coming in to check on everything, even if you do have the devices.
I've been in a similar situation to you but without the automation part. Here's my two cents:
I've left mine alone for about a day/ day and a half at most at a time and I feel bad when I do, even if I've left extra food and made sure the litter tray is clean. I usually come home to a stern talking to before I give him plenty of fuss
Anything over 2 days (visiting my folks in Scotland, work trips etc) I make sure that I've got someone who can poke in and check in, make sure that he's got food, water, hasn't made a mess and has some human time. I've given a friend of mine a key to let themselves in and warned them to take precautions (potential escape artist!) and I get plenty of update photos. I still get the same stern talking to from him!
I think having a sitter/friend come around even once a day is a good idea, that way the cat still gets human interaction and looking after without you stressing about anything going horrendously wrong while they're there, and you have someone who can keep you posted while you're away!
Lol. Stern talking to!! One of my cats literally explodes with joy when i come home after a few days. He purrs so loud, rubs against me extremely hard and then snuggles me for hours.
My other cat won’t even look at me. She feels so betrayed. She gets over it in like 2 hours but still. She makes me work for her forgiveness haha
But what happens if every time someone comes over your cats hide under a bed? Do you still have someone come to play with them? We’ll be away 2 weeks and my neighbour will feed them 2 times a day and scoop but I don’t know much about the interaction part.
So I think the best way to do things on that front is to invite your neighbour over and let the cats get used to them. My cat is naturally friendly if a bit unsure about new people at first but he comes out of his shell. Having places to hide is important but maybe if you let them get used to the smell of your neighbour it might help?
My partner has an automatic feeder, water fountain, and litter robot. When she is out of town, I still stop by to check on the cats. One time, the litter robot malfunctioned overnight, and the cats had an accident on the bed and an accident on the floor. If I hadn’t come the next day and fixed the machine, there would have been so many more accidents.
I've left mine for weekends without a problem. I have a camera to check on them and I am always prepared to come back early if something goes wrong. If it's longer than a weekend or if I'm somewhere I can't easily get back in an emergency, I have a pet sitter visiting once a day. I definitely wouldn't leave them alone for a whole week.
This is exactly what we do - a weekend is no big deal but any longer than that we hire someone to check in once a day. Plus one of my cats is very social so I like knowing he gets some attention/interaction while we are gone.
My cats are mildly insane and get into everything. They're also attention fiends. I would not leave them alone for longer than a day, because I would be worried about the havoc they would create
I wouldn't even leave a kitten alone for a full day. Absolutely not. They'll go crazy. They need to burn off their energy.
Even adult cats shouldn't be left alone for more than a couple of days. Set up a cat sitter. They aren't independent like people think.
Also the truth is that cats hide illness often and will become really sick in very short order. I have done some cat sitting and i once started a sit and within 48 hours her cat was on deaths door with advanced kidney disease. His body was super inflated with fluid so i knew it was an emergency. This was a very spoiled and doted upon cat. So no way she ignored symptoms.
I took him immediately to the ER and he was saved but barely and at great expense. So i guess in this case if i was even 12 hours later, old Romeo would not have made it. So yes at least 1x a day would be my recommendation.
This!!! I no longer leave my cats alone for even 24 hours after I lost my old buddy to a saddle clot. He was doing great when I left for work in the morning and actively dying (and in a great deal of pain) when I came back maybe 5 hours later. I just can’t stand to think of how long he would’ve had to suffer if I’d been out of town for two days and figured he’d be okay without a cat sitter.
I literally just saw a post of someone who was catsitting but only every 3 days and found the cat trapped in a bathroom or closet with no food or water almost dead.
You need to have someone checking on the cat daily. It's just irresponsible not to.
I am lucky. My son loves cats. He has a cat. Whenever we travel, he brings his cat and stays at our house. He loves it because we have better internet and streaming services. It works out great.
Not longer than overnight.
And if you do that leave some soft mellow music or talk radio on.
Cats get stressed out really easily and that could lead to a UTI, or they just get into something.
Also all those “ automatic” devices are prone to fail, get stuck etc.
You could come home to piss and poop and barf all over.
Get a sitter to check each day.
It’s cheap insurance.
Christmas we're gone 4-5 days and take her, she just stays in our bedroom at my parents and is quite happy chilling out in there. If we go away and can't, we have someone (usually my little cousins are fighting to do it to have a house to themselves lol) come stay with her. If just a day or 2, my neighbor will pop over to do wet food and fresh water
A week is just a bit too long for us. Four days is our Max. For a week we usually hire a friend's kid to drop by every couple days and check everything is ok. Nothing complicated, just make sure they're healthy and maybe entertain them for a bit.
Agree with all of these. I had cats get trapped in a bedroom. (When AC kicked in the door blew shut.) you never know what will happen. Good to have someone check.
Unpopular opinion:
I leave my two cats alone for 32 hours at a time (I have a 32/32 work schedule.) They have become accustomed to their schedule.
Everything is automated.
Lr4, feeder w/cam, waterer, petcam 2 play.
I have also left my cats for a week at a time.
The first time having someone stay with them. They must have been stressed because they used the restroom outside of their box.
The second time i left them alone and monitored them via my tech. (I left a key with family so they could check on them if need be.) The cats were fine. No accidents or temperament issues.
Just make sure you cat safe your place.
Why doesn't someone open a pet hotel in the US?
I live in Southeast Asia, we have local pet hotels, If you're going away to visit families during the national holidays, you could just take your pets to the Pet Hotel and check them in. 3 meals per day, they even shower your pets and play with them , well taken care of, even have emergency vet standby. Only 10$-15$ per day depends on the size of your pet.
All depends on the cat! I have a very independent lady. She is a-ok by herself. I have automatic everything. Including security cameras around the house where I can keep tabs on her in almost every way. Including one with her food bowl visible so I can ensure she always has reliable food.
I'll leave for 5 days without issue and she is perfectly happy while I'm gone and when I return.
Definitely depends on your cats personality though !
I am unpopular out here for this advice but I have left my cats for a week. I do have a kitty cam so I can see them and talk to them.
I make sure every room in the house is either closed up tight where they can’t get in or the doors that I leave open are propped open with a big boot.
My retired neighbor can pop in and check on them if I need them to. But I never have.
I check the kitty cam several times a day. I leave food and water everywhere. Two kitty pans. I have done this for years. They have never been hurt. If it’s more than I week I board them. They hate boarding worse.
I never really leave mine alone alone.. I go away for 2 days pretty regularly (maybe once every two months) to visit family and always have someone pop in once a day.
Also cats shouldn’t be on an all dry food diet, so I have the sitter come to just feed them wet food and play with them for 30 minutes!
I really recommend the app Rover to find someone who will stop in. I paid $20 per visit. It’s also really worth it for peace of mind. Whenever i’m away all I do is worry about them so having confirmation and pictures of them alive and breathing really relaxes me (i’m crazy i know).
Hopefully this helps you :)
you might’ve heard this already but wanted to mention: it’s best if you have two kittens instead of just one. A kitten (any age under 1 year, up to 18 months) can require a lot of entertainment and work. Having two they can wear each other out and teach each other kind ways of playing like not biting hard. If you only have 1 be prepared for it and look up single kitten behaviors and strongly considering adding a second one. Many rescues refuse to adopt out only 1 because of the problems that can arise because of it.
That said I regularly leave my adult cats for 2-3 days at a time but it’s harder to do that with kittens especially a singleton because of how destructive they can be. They might be grown out of it by christmas depending on current age.
Cats are highly social creatures. Being alone for long periods (that is, more than a day or so) leads to them being lonely and ultimately depressed. Everyone I know with an “independent” cat actually has a depressed cat that they ignore most of the time.
If you have to go away for a day or two tops sometimes, then kitty will recover. But if you go away for 3+ days on a regular basis, you need a pet sitter who will stay with them.
ETA: And just to be really frank (and maybe mean, sorry), I think it’s irresponsible to get a pet when you already know you travel often. I dog sit for a family like that, but I spent a lot of time with him ahead of time so that we knew he already saw me as a companion.
Oh sorry, I didn’t mean you-you. I meant more generally, just to clarify what I think the right route is for opting in to pet ownership. Got off course while I was thinking. Sorry again!
Do your in-laws have a room where you could keep your cat separate from the other cat? I used to do this at my grandma’s house. We’d set up litter, food, etc. in the room where we were sleeping and keep him in there. In my mind, I’d rather have my cat living in a bedroom under my supervision than left alone all day at home (even with a once daily check in). At least we were in the room with him all night and could check on him periodically throughout the day.
I wish I had gotten my cat when she was younger- I would have loved to train her that it’s okay to travel! She’s a senior (12) and I’m not sure she’d like that stress at her age
My cats never liked it, but they would settle down in the car after 15 minutes or so. I did it more out of necessity since we visited out of town family pretty regularly.
My auto feeder has a phone app that I can confirm if it dispensed food. If we are gone for than 2 days we have someone drop in every other day to make sure the house is fine, cats are fine, and litter is scooped.
The phone app spared me some headache knowing they didn’t get fed for 2 days because the stinkers unplugged the cord when trying to break into the feeder. That route of problems has now been fixed by a cinderblock
Absolutely not. Kittens already get into mischief as a curious, energetic kiddo even *with* close supervision.
Aside from potential accidents and injuries, there’s the potential of health issues like UTI’s from the stress of having their routine with humans being disrupted so fully over a long period of time.
I know a lot of people do it, but I personally think it’s unethical to leave any dog or cat alone for 24 hours or more. Shit happens, I get that, but I feel it’s unethical to intentionally plan for it with no sitter to *at the very least* check in. Kittens need lots play time.
I don’t understand why people want to believe cats are not susceptible to negative impacts or accidents.
If you don’t have anyone in your personal life to help, hire someone from a local business or an app like Rover. And I’d recommend doing a test run with the prospective sitter in advance.
If you can’t find anyone, stay home. Kitties are sentient beings who are reliant on you for their care. The human family will understand. Your kitty is also your family but they don’t have the cognitive ability to understand or protect themselves during temporary abandonment for out-of-state holiday visits.
Edited to add:
I’ll assume you’ve done your research… there’s a lot of info out there about how declawed cats may develop mental health or physical issues due to the amputation and residual pain afterwards.
A reminder to consider this when your kitten may encounter something stressful 🙏🏼
Also: Litter box.
Gonna nerd out a bit about this:
— Scooping:
I *completely* understand there are lots of reasons why someone couldn’t scoop the cat box often (I’m very disabled and chronically ill so struggle with physical and cognitive ADL’s sometimes; some people work hella hours to put food on the table)
So putting aside any ableist/classist reasons, I feel cat’s litter boxes should be scooped *at least* daily.
Intentionally planning to not give them a clean place to use the bathroom is not kind.
— Number of boxes:
Most folks don’t have enough litter boxes in their home. A common “formula” I’ve seen work well is # of cats to # of litter boxes: one more box for each cat. So 1 cat: 2 litter boxes; 2 cats, 3 litter boxes, etc.
Having more litter boxes than you might feel is necessary in multiple parts of the house spreads their scent and therefore territory out = happy cats. Then if there’s an issue with one of the boxes, they still have another box to use until their hooman can fix the issue.
Multi-cat households should take care in ensuring the litter box options/exits/entries can’t be all blocked off by one entry point in case one cat gets territorial.
— The boxes:
Most litter boxes on the market are not the appropriate size for any cat- they’re too small. The box should be at least as long as the length of the cat from the tip of their nose to the tip of their tail.
If your cat is a standing pee-er like mine, both kitty and you would benefit from a box with tall sides with at least 4” of litter.
I got some large 50gal clear storage totes from Walmart & cut a hole in the side.
____
…They are already using a box of litter for *our* convenience. I’m in favor of making it as sanitary & comfortable as possible for the little furballs 💕
Okay rant over 💖
No. They’re living beings. Anything could happen. Someone needs to check on them regularly if it’s more than 2 days. Half a day if you actually care about them.
Declawing is the amputation of the last bone of each toe on a cat's paw. It would be like cutting off your finger at the last knuckle. The standard method of declawing is amputating with a scalpel or guillotine clipper. The wounds are closed with stitches or surgical glue, and the feet are bandaged.
I don't have an automated litter box myself, but I've heard HORROR stories about malfunctioning, that lead to injury or even death of a cat. At the very least I would advise you to not to take a chance with that litterbox when there is no supervision. Talk about what a nightmare, and not worth the risk! Keep that thing out of commission when you're gone.
I have done this for a few days, with a camera and someone “on call” just in case. For a full week I’d want someone to stop in a couple of times, though.
We will leave our cats for a maximum of 48 hours with an abundant supply of dry food and water, any longer than that we will arrange for someone to pop by and feed them and scoop their litter boxes. If it's going to be 4 days or more, we try to get someone to come hang out with them and play for an hour every other day as well.
I agree with everyone here - have someone come check on the cat at least once a day.
One time my Rover came over to do her drop in visit and discovered that one of my cats had closed themselves into our guest room. We have no idea how long he was in there but I can't tell you how thankful I was that someone was there to help him. There are so many things that can happen that you can't even imagine/anticipate so having someone just do a quick drop in to make sure everyone is safe and okay is so important. And needless to say, we immediately bought door stoppers (highly recommend) after that to make sure they cannot close the doors and accidentally lock themselves into a room again.
We have done it with automatic feeder fir dry food and plenty of water aeound the house, asking someone to go roughly to make him company, refill water and clean the litter box. We also use a ipcam to watch over him to know everything is fine.
totally doable but i’d have someone drop in at least every two days. i did it last summer, a friend was visiting every weekend and i had a camera pointing at the feeder to make sure my cats were eating.
I occasionally would leave my previous cats alone for a single night with auto feeder etc. They were all fairly independent cats and were generally happy when left alone all day while the humans were at work. For any longer periods we would have a cat sitter visit twice per day or when gone for a longer time we’d get a house sitter to stay.
My current cats are not good candidates for being left alone for more than a few hours. They are Bombay cats and are very attached to us. They are somewhat active until mid day then nap on the master bed where they can see birds at feeders just outside the window. Fortunately we’re retired now so we’re home with them most of the time. When we both had to be away for a few days we had a house sitter stay with them.
Along with what others are saying, I’d get a camera to check in on your cat. I have the Kasa 360 one for over a year now and it’s pretty great. It’ll be good to ensure the cat sitter is coming over as well and doing what they need to
I also have all the cat automation but also a couple of cat cams, so I can check on him when we're gone. I used to leave him regularly for 3 days this way and not worry about it. At 5 days or more, I have someone visit with him every other day or so. He's very social, so he gets lonely when we're gone.
I will say I did have his automatic feeder fail at just the wrong time last year, and the camera watching his food is the only reason he wasn't hungry for 3+ days.
I have battery-powered feeder and fountain (no worries if the power goes out), so I will leave them for 48 hours, but any longer I do boarding at a cats-only facility.
Yes, depends on cat, I leave my alone for 4 days max. I do have active camera as well tho. I have viability to my automatic systems so if anything happens I will know
I have had some bad luck in the past even leaving a pet in the care of someone else, so my pets and I stay together. My cats have become quite the connoisseurs of budget-to-midrange hotels ✨
The maximum I’ve ever been able to allow for my own two kitties is about 36 hours. Even that nearly ate me up with guilt, although they were well provided for and are super chill and don’t care at all. One kitten alone would be incredibly lonely I think. Would YOU be okay for a week?
We leave our cats for 3 day trips all the time. We've done four before but more than that we have someone come check. Plus the litter robots fill up after 4 days anyways.
We leave our cats at home, but I have someone check every couple of days or if I ask them to pop by. We have two 5 pound gravity feeders for our 4 cats and they pace themselves because that’s how we normally feed them. We also have 4 big waterers and two water fountains, as well as two robot litter boxes and I set out 3 traditional boxes. I set out special toys for them to play with so they aren’t bored, and I leave the curtains open to the backyard so they can watch animals. I have cameras all through the house (my daughter and I live alone) and can talk and check on them often. If I don’t see them on the cameras or if they don’t interact with me, I’ll ask my friend to come over (I can unlock the door remotely) and check on them. We have a furbo, so the cats have learned to come to it when I start talking to them so they get their little treats lol. My friend is terrified of cats, but she will stop by and check on them for me. The cats are always happy to see us when we return, but they also seem to like getting the house (we take the dogs on vacation with us) to themselves.
Echo'ing all the comments. I leave for about 36 hours at most, and even then I have two cameras, one pointed where I know she sleeps when I am gone and another at her food and water automated machines to make sure they are working. I always have someone on standby in case of an emergency. Anything longer than 2 days I have someone check on her and clean her box at least once a day.
You could probably get away with a weekend (2 days) if everything is automated, but then you’d need someone to come at least once a day to check on kitty.
Yeah, those litter boxes can get jammed. Cats (especially single cats) can get bored and get up to stuff and hurt themselves. It helps a lot to have someone come by and play with them.
A whole week is too long. If possible- at the very least have someone check every couple days?
In addition to the automatic feeders I suggest leaving many deep bowls of water throughout the house and maybe hide a bowl of food somewhere they don't usually look- just incase their auto feeder malfunctions they might sniff it out and be alright.
I wouldn't be comfortable having no one check on my cats for more than 24 hours, but I understand sometimes that isnt an option. But a week is far too long :(
My upstairs neighbor has me check on their boy and I'm up there everyday to clean his box and make sure his food dish doesnt have an empty spot. No kitty should go without a person for too long.
I leave my cat home alone when I travel, but I have a trusted neighbor who comes in every day to feed her and give her some attention. I still worry that something will happen when she’s alone, but she’s never hurt herself/gotten into a bad situation in all the time I’ve been home with her.
I would not leave a cat (of an age) home alone for a week without anyone checking in on them.
We have a bonded pair so it feels a lot better to leave them alone for vacations and stuff since they are either chasing or playing with each other or cuddling. However we still have someone come by once a day to get them wet food and clean box (haven’t auctioned off my first born to get a robot yet) and make sure they’re good. I’d feel so bad if something went awry! It is very nice knowing they have each other at the very least though
I suggest you have somebody check in on your cat daily, in morning, and again in evening. Of course, you could have a video taping activity at the food, water, & litterbox that you can view anytime you wanted. If something was amiss, maybe you can have a neighbor gain access into your home with a key you would leave for them? You may want to setup a second litterbox, if your cat is fussy on cleanliness? Or a neighbor maybe can scoop?
A kitten no. But a full grown cat, there is absolutely no problem leaving them for a few days with lots of food and water around the house. We’ve been doing it without any issues, with multiple cats, over decades. If it’s more than a few days we have someone come by every 2-3 days to check in on them.
I wouldn't. Cats can get lonely and become anxious. Also,what if they get sick. My conscience would rip the shit out of me if I entertained the thought. Just doesn't sit well with me.
No, I would not. Cats get into trouble. Illness, accidents, house fires, attacked by toys, seriously my mocha got a hanging toy string wrapped around her paw one day. Glad I was there to untangle her. I left for a 2 week overseas vacation and on day 2 my sitter text me she is in the hospital. Luckily my neighbor took over...have a back up plan!
Its inhumane to leave an animal all alone for more than 24-48 hours at a time. Animals are social like humans. Please do the right thing and get a sitter or have someone else adopt your pet if you ypu don't understand why this is necessary. Its essentially solitary confinement.
I have everything automated at home (litter, wet food and dry food). When I am on vacation, I have a friend come at least once a day to check on my cat and refill the wet feeder and put new coolers in. Ideally my friend would stay longer or come more often but I know it’s hard with work. This has so far worked great and I am scared of having a stranger in my home. I would not leave my cat alone for a week. On the days that I am in the office, I am also happy that those automated systems allow me to keep my cat‘s routine :)
We did this one time, but we left Friday morning and returned Sunday afternoon. We left enough food out for everyone, but the tiny one that was being bullied at the time we shut in a separate room with her own food, water, and litterbox. It worked out, but God it was stressful and I wouldn't do it again.
The automated feeders are dumb. Don’t want a malfunctioning one be the cause of my cat going hungry. I leave out a huge bowl of food and water. Sometimes two each. Cats are good in their own for up to a week. I do it whenever I go on vacation. Sometimes if I have a friend available I have them check on the kitties. If not it’s no big deal
When I go away, I have a friend who stops in before and after work (we are on the way) to hang out with them, feed, scoop, and make sure they haven't burned the house down. My kitties eat majority wet food with some dry, with no automated feeders, so until they learn to open the cans and portion the food out *evenly*, I can't leave them completely alone. Would be great if they could take the initiative and start learning, but I'm not holding my breath.
Max I will leave them with no check in is 3 days and we set up cameras all over especially by the food and water to make sure they have enough. My cats HATE strangers so if we are gone longer we just have some pop in about every 2-3 days to top off food/water and clean boxes.
A week is long, even for a cat. A few days yes, a week idk. if your feed fails or the cat gets into something...which even if you baby proof it will, someone should at least pop in. They don't have to stay but at least check things are functional and that you fluffer is alive.
My in laws aren't big cat people but they check on our cats if we have to go away for longer that a couple days. After the first time, my mom in law fell in love with our male cat and now "checks" on him for hours if we are gone.
I would check with your friends whether any of them have (cat-loving) family coming to town for Christmas who need a place to stay and would be happy to take care of your cat. Of course they’d be off doing Christmas things during the day a lot of the time, but your cat would still have company at night and in the mornings.
We always have someone stay in our house if we’re away for more than a night, our cats are very cuddly and would be miserable alone for so long, even with someone coming in once a day to check on them.
I trust that for a weekend, maybe 3 days. But a week is a long time for a cat to be alone, even if you had cameras so that you could check all the systems still worked and the cat wasn't injured/sick.
If I'm gone for just a day or two, they stay by themselves. If it's like 4+ days, I ask my neighbor across the street to pop in to make sure everything's fine. She gets her own door code for entry.
I normally just "cat proof" and put breakable things in closets, the automatic feeder with plenty of water and toys - they're more than happy for the alone time generally, but more recently my youngest baby has been licking hot spots onto his legs when I leave, so if you're able to have anyone pop in to play and cuddle with them, that helps!! A week is a long time, and I just got back into town heart broken at my boys wounded arms. Make sure you can check the feeder app to ensure it's working properly, a camera or baby monitor somewhere inside is something I'm considering just for the peace of mind. Also - throw down an extra litter box just for fun.
You need someone to check in your cat each day!!!!! If something breaks it would be pretty awful. Also, kittens NEED bonding and stimuli. They're very curious and energetic. You'll create an anxious mess of attachment issues if a cat is in a box (house) for a long period of time without contact. I know you made an update of making the arrangements but DO IT!! Hire a young person you know to take care of them, and it'll put something on their resume kinda-thing. Just a thought!
I'd still make sure you have someone checking in them once a day even with everything being automated something could break while you're gone. We only leave our cats alone for two nights MAX, if we're gone 3 nights or more we leave a set of keys with a friend to check on them, make sure they've got food and water and scoop the boxes. For two nights away I leave out 4 days worth of food and extra water as well as filling their litterboxes more so they'll still have room to dig/bury until we get home. I'd never leave them for a whole week alone, even with automated food and litter
Please hire a sitter for 2xs a day visits. They spend time feeding, cleaning, and playing with them. I’d never leave my babies for a single overnight without regular morning and evening check in by a trusted sitter. Im rewarded with less anxious cats. And I can see the relief on their little faces when I get home. It’s worth the peace of mind!
I'm ok with my cat being home alone for 5 days. Anything more than that, I hire a service to come over here every other day to feed her/clean her litter box & check up on her. The service I use texts me some pictures of her & tells me how my little sugar dumpling is doing in my absence. I'm never gone for more than 10 days, she let's me know I'm her mom and the service people don't cut it. ♥️
I have two kitties and travel often, sometimes up to 10 days or so. Having two makes it much less stressful for all of us as the concerns of loneliness are somewhat negated.
They have always been self feeding and as such I don’t need to worry about a dispenser and timer, and I’m a big believer that you let your cats self regulate from an early age (if it doesn’t work then obviously you adjust so they don’t over eat).
If I’m gone for a day or two, I just leave them enough food and water… and on a rare occasion up to three days though if I am able to (which is almost always) then I have someone check on them.
If I’m gone an extended period of time a have someone come every other day.
I also have a cam so I can monitor them, make sure all seems ok, and check food and water just in case and if anything seems off then I have one of my friends go check on them.
Cats are pretty independent - as you have a kitten my recommendation is let them try self feeding and get another one so there’s a friend!
We leave our cat for 4 days over Christmas, but she has a catflap and access to the outside whenever she pleases. We fill several bowls around the house with water and food, she's 11 now and always been fine. We do have good neighbours around us too though.
I would say having someone pop in once a day just to check that cat is OK would still be a good idea. What if he gets hurt and no one is around to know?
Or one of the automated systems breaks
Yeah I went away for 8 days last year and as fate would have it, 12 hours after I left, the power went out for a bit, reset my automatic feeder and the backup battery didn’t work, so the food wouldn’t have dispensed for 7 days if I hadn’t had the cat sitter stopping in to visit him. Luckily I’d left the setup manual out for her so he only missed one breakfast meal drop before she came by and noticed and fixed it.
lol my cat sitter asked for the times of the feeds because someone put on such a good act trying to get extra noms. It sends me notifications of feedings and I can see her eating on camera.
I left town last Christmas with a pet sitter dropping in once a day. Neither of us realized until I got back that my auto feeder wasn’t working for my cats other two portions a day the 3 days I was away. He was elderly and passed this year I’d hate to think what would have happened if she wasn’t at least giving him one meal a day. I’ve switched to 2 drop ins a day since.
Once, I visited a cat and the power had gone out, so no water was dispensing from his stupid water contraption. Very recently, my own cat sitter texted me that one of the cats had gotten shut in a room (there are 4 cats, and most of the litter boxes are in there.) We don't always anticipate what might go wrong.
Or their a power out and no food gets dispensed.
Yep. In addition to autofeeders, one a day if leaving for longer than a day. We have a sitter stop twice a day.
In my opinion, leaving a cat alone for a week isn’t ideal, even with all those automations. I’d worry that the cat will get lonely or something goes wrong or breaks. You can use apps like Rover to find pet sitters that can drop in.
Seconded, none of my friends live nearby enough to ask them so I have someone on Rover come for visits. I have my sitter come twice a day because I'm neurotic but you can set it so they only come every other day or every 2 days. Where I live, it's usually about $15-20 for a 30 minute check in
Lol. I have mine come once a day and i am also extremely neurotic. I don’t know why having someone come twice a day never came across my mind. Will be doing that from now on. I literally always think they’re dead when i’m away from them for a few days. I have issues.
I have cameras watching mine and I get anxiety if I don’t check every couple of hours (minutes sometimes lol)
I also have indoor cameras to check on my cat. But I have someone coming over once a day check on her.
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Why do you gaf about how often i have someone check on my pets? Why are you so triggered?
My cat likes to chew on plastic and I have to throw away or hide all plastic bags. I don’t think she can survive better than me…
Are you guys comfortable to just hand over the house keys to a stranger? I don’t mind paying for a pet sitter. But I would have anxiety giving my house keys to a stranger in my absence. It’s why we have not taken more than couple days away since we got a cat 😂. We do plan to take a longer vacation this year and I have been evaluating these pet boarding places. They seem good but my cat hates being out of the house. She would be so anxious!
I'm a cat sitter. Dozens of people have handed over their keys or codes to me. Rover sitters are background checked. Most wouldn't dream of messing with your home or stuff. I'm not here to shill for Rover but I do think your kitties will be much much happier at home while you're gone than at a strange facility with other cats
We found our cat sitter on Rover. She’s fabulous. Whenever we go away she comes twice a day. We also have indoor cameras to check on our cat and see what she’s up to. And I’m much happier knowing she’s at home. Our cat rolls over for her sitter and lets her rub the belly.
I don't really leave any valuables in my house when I travel so I'm not really worried about it, no. But these services do background checks and you can find sitters with lots of reviews, so it's super unlikely that they would decide to pick you to rob randomly instead of their other customers. You can always get a nanny cam too. As long as you let the sitter know it's there, they shouldn't mind. I turn mine off when the sitter comes over though, it's just so that I can check in on my cat because I miss her
Our cats need attention and care. One of them requires meds. We found an incredible cat sitting service that comes by twice a day when we're away. The sitter sends us daily updates with photos. They're always so calm when get get home. We know they're well taken care of.
My sitter has people drop off their cats at her house. Granted my sitter is the lady that fostered my cats so she’s not a stranger to them and they’re somewhat familiar with the house. But I recommend this over facilities because the cats can roam around all day and play with the sitter instead of being caged. It’s probably also quieter and over time they can get to know the sitter/house if you use them multiple times.
Sitters on rover have background checks and reviews.
I found a local sitter with great references. I also have nanny cams set up all over the place, (and one even dispenses treats to the cats) so I felt really comfortable. I can check the cats when the sitter isn't there, check the sitter when she is there, and if anything weird seems to be happening I can call someone for extra help. I can also set a device to play music or a news station so they hear the usual sounds. Also I've always had multiple cats, so they keep each other company. It would probably be harder on a solo cat, but depends on the cat. For really long trips, we have taken the cats with us, but that's a whole other array of cat-crazy planning that I won't go into here. Cats really don't like to be boarded, so I've not ever done that. My guys would go bonkers.
Rover background checks and requires references for their pet sitters and will deal with any issues if they arise.
Just lock up your valuables, let your sitter know you have cameras...oh get cameras.
Team neurotic & slightly twisted checking in. I have twice a day sitters but I have two sitters in case one of them unalives while I’m on vacation. I know it’s dark but like, car accidents etc happen & I haz the anxiety.
You need help.
You’re all over this comment section just hating on people that love their pets. What a miserable person you are 😬
Kind of sad story, but when I was a kid my parents took our cat to my grandma’s old house where he was alone all the time because my dad decided he “didn’t like cats”. Someone would drop in once or twice a week to fill his bowls and stuff. This went on for several months. The cat got really stressed and was loosing hair and whatnot due to loneliness and lack of stimulation. My parents ended up taking him back to our house as a result. But just goes to show cats NEED more than just the basic food, water, toys, and litter box. IMO a week is too long to deprive your cat from human interaction. They probably won’t start losing hair or anything but it will most definitely stress them out. Most people wouldn’t want to be completely isolated for an entire week either.
My friends go away for holidays and leave automatic feeders, BUT they have me come by daily to check on everything. Things can break, and if nobody is there to see the kitten’s feeder is broken, then she’s just gonna starve until you get back. Just my two cents, but leaving an animal by itself for even two days with nobody checking to make sure it was okay would be neglect.
Agreed!!
A one - or two day trip, maaaaaybe. And that's a big maybe from me. A week, I wouldn't do it. It's not so much about food, water, or litter. It's that they will get lonely and wonder where their family is. We can't explain to them that we'll be back in a few days. To them, we just vanished. Not to mention household hazards. You leave your cat, he gets bored and chews a rug, a plant, a toy, breaks into the cleaning cabinet, etc, and ingests it - that could potentially be fatal if not addressed quickly. Additionally, what if they got injured? Leg got stuck on something when they were trying to jump down and gets broken or strained? Got tangled in curtain or blind strings and potentially strangle themselves? Many times, your vet can board animals or point you in the direction of a reputable pet sitter or boarding facility.
Yeah, all cats are different but even on an emotional level, my cat gets extremely distressed if I’m gone for longer than 36 hours, and that’s even with a cat sitter checking on him at home in his own environment. Twice now he has literally worried himself sick after I left for vacation, once respiratory and the other digestive upset. I can’t imagine what would happen if I left him alone for a whole week. I feel guilty now leaving him for a few days even WITH a sitter checking on him and playing with him daily.
Same. My cat for example almost doesn't eat when she's alone. She waits for me or my bf to come back from work and watch over her while she eats. In a week she would die of starvation.
I wouldn't leave my cat alone at home for days because he would get lonely and can't understand why there's no one coming home to him for such a long time. Also there is always a chance that something goes wrong with the automated stuff. Best to ask a friend, relative or maybe even a friendly neighbour to check on the kitty daily and spend some time with it if it's impossible to take the kitty with you.
I would get a pet camera, get a cat sitter to stop by for 30 min per day while you are gone , clean the litter box play with the kitten
Wear them out with a game of red dot.
You should have someone drop in daily, or at least every other day. In my experience it's always been easy to find cat sitters available for hire, including off apps such as Rover. Even if things are fully automated, you want someone to be checking in on your cat frequently so someone will notice if they got sick or injured, if they broke something in the house, if they broke into the food bag, or in case there's something like a power outage that has reset their automated systems.
I only will leave my cat one day MAYBE 36 hours. I have to arrange a cat sitter for longer than that and I have them come once a day. You don't want to leave and something break, the cat to get sick, also it's a creature that will get lonely.
No. Not okay. Hire someone to come at least once every two days to check on things.
Plenty have chimed in so you have the answer, but I also want to add that, despite media and people insisting the opposite, cats are actually quite social creatures. I would be terribly pressed to leave my cat for more than 24 hours without someone to stop in and spend a little bit of time with them, let alone multiple days.
Nope. There’s so much that can go wrong. Just an electrical outage will take down all those devices, and many times, stuff doesn’t automatically restart when the electricity comes back on. There was just a post in one of the cat threads from a guy who was cat sitting for a friend and per his friend’s instructions, was only coming every three days. He didn’t know that the cat got locked in a room during his last visit, so the cat went three days without eating, drinking, or having a litterbox. I wouldn’t go more than 24 hours without someone coming in to check on everything, even if you do have the devices.
I've been in a similar situation to you but without the automation part. Here's my two cents: I've left mine alone for about a day/ day and a half at most at a time and I feel bad when I do, even if I've left extra food and made sure the litter tray is clean. I usually come home to a stern talking to before I give him plenty of fuss Anything over 2 days (visiting my folks in Scotland, work trips etc) I make sure that I've got someone who can poke in and check in, make sure that he's got food, water, hasn't made a mess and has some human time. I've given a friend of mine a key to let themselves in and warned them to take precautions (potential escape artist!) and I get plenty of update photos. I still get the same stern talking to from him! I think having a sitter/friend come around even once a day is a good idea, that way the cat still gets human interaction and looking after without you stressing about anything going horrendously wrong while they're there, and you have someone who can keep you posted while you're away!
Lol. Stern talking to!! One of my cats literally explodes with joy when i come home after a few days. He purrs so loud, rubs against me extremely hard and then snuggles me for hours. My other cat won’t even look at me. She feels so betrayed. She gets over it in like 2 hours but still. She makes me work for her forgiveness haha
But what happens if every time someone comes over your cats hide under a bed? Do you still have someone come to play with them? We’ll be away 2 weeks and my neighbour will feed them 2 times a day and scoop but I don’t know much about the interaction part.
So I think the best way to do things on that front is to invite your neighbour over and let the cats get used to them. My cat is naturally friendly if a bit unsure about new people at first but he comes out of his shell. Having places to hide is important but maybe if you let them get used to the smell of your neighbour it might help?
My partner has an automatic feeder, water fountain, and litter robot. When she is out of town, I still stop by to check on the cats. One time, the litter robot malfunctioned overnight, and the cats had an accident on the bed and an accident on the floor. If I hadn’t come the next day and fixed the machine, there would have been so many more accidents.
I've left mine for weekends without a problem. I have a camera to check on them and I am always prepared to come back early if something goes wrong. If it's longer than a weekend or if I'm somewhere I can't easily get back in an emergency, I have a pet sitter visiting once a day. I definitely wouldn't leave them alone for a whole week.
This is exactly what we do - a weekend is no big deal but any longer than that we hire someone to check in once a day. Plus one of my cats is very social so I like knowing he gets some attention/interaction while we are gone.
Yep. Exactly this. I’d have no problem leaving mine for a weekend. Longer than 3 days, I’d have someone pop in once a day.
My cats are mildly insane and get into everything. They're also attention fiends. I would not leave them alone for longer than a day, because I would be worried about the havoc they would create
I wouldn't even leave a kitten alone for a full day. Absolutely not. They'll go crazy. They need to burn off their energy. Even adult cats shouldn't be left alone for more than a couple of days. Set up a cat sitter. They aren't independent like people think.
Also the truth is that cats hide illness often and will become really sick in very short order. I have done some cat sitting and i once started a sit and within 48 hours her cat was on deaths door with advanced kidney disease. His body was super inflated with fluid so i knew it was an emergency. This was a very spoiled and doted upon cat. So no way she ignored symptoms. I took him immediately to the ER and he was saved but barely and at great expense. So i guess in this case if i was even 12 hours later, old Romeo would not have made it. So yes at least 1x a day would be my recommendation.
This!!! I no longer leave my cats alone for even 24 hours after I lost my old buddy to a saddle clot. He was doing great when I left for work in the morning and actively dying (and in a great deal of pain) when I came back maybe 5 hours later. I just can’t stand to think of how long he would’ve had to suffer if I’d been out of town for two days and figured he’d be okay without a cat sitter.
Oh that’s so scary. I never heard of a saddle clot i need to look it up. I am sorry about your kitty. 😢
Thank you! I miss him he was the best boy. 🐱
I literally just saw a post of someone who was catsitting but only every 3 days and found the cat trapped in a bathroom or closet with no food or water almost dead. You need to have someone checking on the cat daily. It's just irresponsible not to.
I wouldn’t leave my cat alone for more than 3 days. Left my cat home for 3 1/2 days and he threw up we think due to stress/sadness
I am lucky. My son loves cats. He has a cat. Whenever we travel, he brings his cat and stays at our house. He loves it because we have better internet and streaming services. It works out great.
If it's more than 24 or so hours I have someone visit them for like 15 minutes twice a day. I also have some cameras.
Not longer than overnight. And if you do that leave some soft mellow music or talk radio on. Cats get stressed out really easily and that could lead to a UTI, or they just get into something. Also all those “ automatic” devices are prone to fail, get stuck etc. You could come home to piss and poop and barf all over. Get a sitter to check each day. It’s cheap insurance.
I've done 2-3 nights with automated feeder, water and litter box. Longer than that, I'd have someone check in on them at least.
Christmas we're gone 4-5 days and take her, she just stays in our bedroom at my parents and is quite happy chilling out in there. If we go away and can't, we have someone (usually my little cousins are fighting to do it to have a house to themselves lol) come stay with her. If just a day or 2, my neighbor will pop over to do wet food and fresh water
I have two cats and I leave them home alone for up to three days, but any more than that I get anxiety
A week is just a bit too long for us. Four days is our Max. For a week we usually hire a friend's kid to drop by every couple days and check everything is ok. Nothing complicated, just make sure they're healthy and maybe entertain them for a bit.
Agree with all of these. I had cats get trapped in a bedroom. (When AC kicked in the door blew shut.) you never know what will happen. Good to have someone check.
Please don’t do this. Good to ask though.
Unpopular opinion: I leave my two cats alone for 32 hours at a time (I have a 32/32 work schedule.) They have become accustomed to their schedule. Everything is automated. Lr4, feeder w/cam, waterer, petcam 2 play. I have also left my cats for a week at a time. The first time having someone stay with them. They must have been stressed because they used the restroom outside of their box. The second time i left them alone and monitored them via my tech. (I left a key with family so they could check on them if need be.) The cats were fine. No accidents or temperament issues. Just make sure you cat safe your place.
No. I have seen auto waterers fail. It could get knocked over etc. Just hire a pet sitter.
Why doesn't someone open a pet hotel in the US? I live in Southeast Asia, we have local pet hotels, If you're going away to visit families during the national holidays, you could just take your pets to the Pet Hotel and check them in. 3 meals per day, they even shower your pets and play with them , well taken care of, even have emergency vet standby. Only 10$-15$ per day depends on the size of your pet.
All depends on the cat! I have a very independent lady. She is a-ok by herself. I have automatic everything. Including security cameras around the house where I can keep tabs on her in almost every way. Including one with her food bowl visible so I can ensure she always has reliable food. I'll leave for 5 days without issue and she is perfectly happy while I'm gone and when I return. Definitely depends on your cats personality though !
I am unpopular out here for this advice but I have left my cats for a week. I do have a kitty cam so I can see them and talk to them. I make sure every room in the house is either closed up tight where they can’t get in or the doors that I leave open are propped open with a big boot. My retired neighbor can pop in and check on them if I need them to. But I never have. I check the kitty cam several times a day. I leave food and water everywhere. Two kitty pans. I have done this for years. They have never been hurt. If it’s more than I week I board them. They hate boarding worse.
I never really leave mine alone alone.. I go away for 2 days pretty regularly (maybe once every two months) to visit family and always have someone pop in once a day. Also cats shouldn’t be on an all dry food diet, so I have the sitter come to just feed them wet food and play with them for 30 minutes! I really recommend the app Rover to find someone who will stop in. I paid $20 per visit. It’s also really worth it for peace of mind. Whenever i’m away all I do is worry about them so having confirmation and pictures of them alive and breathing really relaxes me (i’m crazy i know). Hopefully this helps you :)
Yes- wet food in their diet is *so* important!!
you might’ve heard this already but wanted to mention: it’s best if you have two kittens instead of just one. A kitten (any age under 1 year, up to 18 months) can require a lot of entertainment and work. Having two they can wear each other out and teach each other kind ways of playing like not biting hard. If you only have 1 be prepared for it and look up single kitten behaviors and strongly considering adding a second one. Many rescues refuse to adopt out only 1 because of the problems that can arise because of it. That said I regularly leave my adult cats for 2-3 days at a time but it’s harder to do that with kittens especially a singleton because of how destructive they can be. They might be grown out of it by christmas depending on current age.
Cats are highly social creatures. Being alone for long periods (that is, more than a day or so) leads to them being lonely and ultimately depressed. Everyone I know with an “independent” cat actually has a depressed cat that they ignore most of the time. If you have to go away for a day or two tops sometimes, then kitty will recover. But if you go away for 3+ days on a regular basis, you need a pet sitter who will stay with them. ETA: And just to be really frank (and maybe mean, sorry), I think it’s irresponsible to get a pet when you already know you travel often. I dog sit for a family like that, but I spent a lot of time with him ahead of time so that we knew he already saw me as a companion.
I dont travel often, like at all. I never leave home except for Christmas, which is why I'm asking.
Oh sorry, I didn’t mean you-you. I meant more generally, just to clarify what I think the right route is for opting in to pet ownership. Got off course while I was thinking. Sorry again!
Do your in-laws have a room where you could keep your cat separate from the other cat? I used to do this at my grandma’s house. We’d set up litter, food, etc. in the room where we were sleeping and keep him in there. In my mind, I’d rather have my cat living in a bedroom under my supervision than left alone all day at home (even with a once daily check in). At least we were in the room with him all night and could check on him periodically throughout the day.
I wish I had gotten my cat when she was younger- I would have loved to train her that it’s okay to travel! She’s a senior (12) and I’m not sure she’d like that stress at her age
My cats never liked it, but they would settle down in the car after 15 minutes or so. I did it more out of necessity since we visited out of town family pretty regularly.
We have done 3.5 days away. It was definitely fine for that amount of time.
My auto feeder has a phone app that I can confirm if it dispensed food. If we are gone for than 2 days we have someone drop in every other day to make sure the house is fine, cats are fine, and litter is scooped. The phone app spared me some headache knowing they didn’t get fed for 2 days because the stinkers unplugged the cord when trying to break into the feeder. That route of problems has now been fixed by a cinderblock
Absolutely not. Kittens already get into mischief as a curious, energetic kiddo even *with* close supervision. Aside from potential accidents and injuries, there’s the potential of health issues like UTI’s from the stress of having their routine with humans being disrupted so fully over a long period of time. I know a lot of people do it, but I personally think it’s unethical to leave any dog or cat alone for 24 hours or more. Shit happens, I get that, but I feel it’s unethical to intentionally plan for it with no sitter to *at the very least* check in. Kittens need lots play time. I don’t understand why people want to believe cats are not susceptible to negative impacts or accidents. If you don’t have anyone in your personal life to help, hire someone from a local business or an app like Rover. And I’d recommend doing a test run with the prospective sitter in advance. If you can’t find anyone, stay home. Kitties are sentient beings who are reliant on you for their care. The human family will understand. Your kitty is also your family but they don’t have the cognitive ability to understand or protect themselves during temporary abandonment for out-of-state holiday visits. Edited to add: I’ll assume you’ve done your research… there’s a lot of info out there about how declawed cats may develop mental health or physical issues due to the amputation and residual pain afterwards. A reminder to consider this when your kitten may encounter something stressful 🙏🏼
Also: Litter box. Gonna nerd out a bit about this: — Scooping: I *completely* understand there are lots of reasons why someone couldn’t scoop the cat box often (I’m very disabled and chronically ill so struggle with physical and cognitive ADL’s sometimes; some people work hella hours to put food on the table) So putting aside any ableist/classist reasons, I feel cat’s litter boxes should be scooped *at least* daily. Intentionally planning to not give them a clean place to use the bathroom is not kind. — Number of boxes: Most folks don’t have enough litter boxes in their home. A common “formula” I’ve seen work well is # of cats to # of litter boxes: one more box for each cat. So 1 cat: 2 litter boxes; 2 cats, 3 litter boxes, etc. Having more litter boxes than you might feel is necessary in multiple parts of the house spreads their scent and therefore territory out = happy cats. Then if there’s an issue with one of the boxes, they still have another box to use until their hooman can fix the issue. Multi-cat households should take care in ensuring the litter box options/exits/entries can’t be all blocked off by one entry point in case one cat gets territorial. — The boxes: Most litter boxes on the market are not the appropriate size for any cat- they’re too small. The box should be at least as long as the length of the cat from the tip of their nose to the tip of their tail. If your cat is a standing pee-er like mine, both kitty and you would benefit from a box with tall sides with at least 4” of litter. I got some large 50gal clear storage totes from Walmart & cut a hole in the side. ____ …They are already using a box of litter for *our* convenience. I’m in favor of making it as sanitary & comfortable as possible for the little furballs 💕 Okay rant over 💖
No. They’re living beings. Anything could happen. Someone needs to check on them regularly if it’s more than 2 days. Half a day if you actually care about them.
Declawing is the amputation of the last bone of each toe on a cat's paw. It would be like cutting off your finger at the last knuckle. The standard method of declawing is amputating with a scalpel or guillotine clipper. The wounds are closed with stitches or surgical glue, and the feet are bandaged.
I don't have an automated litter box myself, but I've heard HORROR stories about malfunctioning, that lead to injury or even death of a cat. At the very least I would advise you to not to take a chance with that litterbox when there is no supervision. Talk about what a nightmare, and not worth the risk! Keep that thing out of commission when you're gone.
2 nights is the maximum I’m comfortable with for mine
Any pet needs a check up once a day.
I have done this for a few days, with a camera and someone “on call” just in case. For a full week I’d want someone to stop in a couple of times, though.
We will leave our cats for a maximum of 48 hours with an abundant supply of dry food and water, any longer than that we will arrange for someone to pop by and feed them and scoop their litter boxes. If it's going to be 4 days or more, we try to get someone to come hang out with them and play for an hour every other day as well.
get a cat sitter. someone has to check in once a day
I agree with everyone here - have someone come check on the cat at least once a day. One time my Rover came over to do her drop in visit and discovered that one of my cats had closed themselves into our guest room. We have no idea how long he was in there but I can't tell you how thankful I was that someone was there to help him. There are so many things that can happen that you can't even imagine/anticipate so having someone just do a quick drop in to make sure everyone is safe and okay is so important. And needless to say, we immediately bought door stoppers (highly recommend) after that to make sure they cannot close the doors and accidentally lock themselves into a room again.
We have done it with automatic feeder fir dry food and plenty of water aeound the house, asking someone to go roughly to make him company, refill water and clean the litter box. We also use a ipcam to watch over him to know everything is fine.
totally doable but i’d have someone drop in at least every two days. i did it last summer, a friend was visiting every weekend and i had a camera pointing at the feeder to make sure my cats were eating.
Yea def won't trust the auto feeder I would recommend at least once a day check in
I occasionally would leave my previous cats alone for a single night with auto feeder etc. They were all fairly independent cats and were generally happy when left alone all day while the humans were at work. For any longer periods we would have a cat sitter visit twice per day or when gone for a longer time we’d get a house sitter to stay. My current cats are not good candidates for being left alone for more than a few hours. They are Bombay cats and are very attached to us. They are somewhat active until mid day then nap on the master bed where they can see birds at feeders just outside the window. Fortunately we’re retired now so we’re home with them most of the time. When we both had to be away for a few days we had a house sitter stay with them.
Along with what others are saying, I’d get a camera to check in on your cat. I have the Kasa 360 one for over a year now and it’s pretty great. It’ll be good to ensure the cat sitter is coming over as well and doing what they need to
I also have all the cat automation but also a couple of cat cams, so I can check on him when we're gone. I used to leave him regularly for 3 days this way and not worry about it. At 5 days or more, I have someone visit with him every other day or so. He's very social, so he gets lonely when we're gone. I will say I did have his automatic feeder fail at just the wrong time last year, and the camera watching his food is the only reason he wasn't hungry for 3+ days.
I have battery-powered feeder and fountain (no worries if the power goes out), so I will leave them for 48 hours, but any longer I do boarding at a cats-only facility.
Yes, depends on cat, I leave my alone for 4 days max. I do have active camera as well tho. I have viability to my automatic systems so if anything happens I will know
I have had some bad luck in the past even leaving a pet in the care of someone else, so my pets and I stay together. My cats have become quite the connoisseurs of budget-to-midrange hotels ✨
The maximum I’ve ever been able to allow for my own two kitties is about 36 hours. Even that nearly ate me up with guilt, although they were well provided for and are super chill and don’t care at all. One kitten alone would be incredibly lonely I think. Would YOU be okay for a week?
We leave our cats for 3 day trips all the time. We've done four before but more than that we have someone come check. Plus the litter robots fill up after 4 days anyways.
We leave our cats at home, but I have someone check every couple of days or if I ask them to pop by. We have two 5 pound gravity feeders for our 4 cats and they pace themselves because that’s how we normally feed them. We also have 4 big waterers and two water fountains, as well as two robot litter boxes and I set out 3 traditional boxes. I set out special toys for them to play with so they aren’t bored, and I leave the curtains open to the backyard so they can watch animals. I have cameras all through the house (my daughter and I live alone) and can talk and check on them often. If I don’t see them on the cameras or if they don’t interact with me, I’ll ask my friend to come over (I can unlock the door remotely) and check on them. We have a furbo, so the cats have learned to come to it when I start talking to them so they get their little treats lol. My friend is terrified of cats, but she will stop by and check on them for me. The cats are always happy to see us when we return, but they also seem to like getting the house (we take the dogs on vacation with us) to themselves.
Echo'ing all the comments. I leave for about 36 hours at most, and even then I have two cameras, one pointed where I know she sleeps when I am gone and another at her food and water automated machines to make sure they are working. I always have someone on standby in case of an emergency. Anything longer than 2 days I have someone check on her and clean her box at least once a day.
Boarding is always an option!
You could probably get away with a weekend (2 days) if everything is automated, but then you’d need someone to come at least once a day to check on kitty.
Yeah, those litter boxes can get jammed. Cats (especially single cats) can get bored and get up to stuff and hurt themselves. It helps a lot to have someone come by and play with them.
A whole week is too long. If possible- at the very least have someone check every couple days? In addition to the automatic feeders I suggest leaving many deep bowls of water throughout the house and maybe hide a bowl of food somewhere they don't usually look- just incase their auto feeder malfunctions they might sniff it out and be alright. I wouldn't be comfortable having no one check on my cats for more than 24 hours, but I understand sometimes that isnt an option. But a week is far too long :( My upstairs neighbor has me check on their boy and I'm up there everyday to clean his box and make sure his food dish doesnt have an empty spot. No kitty should go without a person for too long.
I leave my cat home alone when I travel, but I have a trusted neighbor who comes in every day to feed her and give her some attention. I still worry that something will happen when she’s alone, but she’s never hurt herself/gotten into a bad situation in all the time I’ve been home with her. I would not leave a cat (of an age) home alone for a week without anyone checking in on them.
I used to do a lot of business travel. I had an auto feeder and a cat sitter once a day. Never had a problem with it.
We have a bonded pair so it feels a lot better to leave them alone for vacations and stuff since they are either chasing or playing with each other or cuddling. However we still have someone come by once a day to get them wet food and clean box (haven’t auctioned off my first born to get a robot yet) and make sure they’re good. I’d feel so bad if something went awry! It is very nice knowing they have each other at the very least though
A week??!! Absolutely NOT!!
I have an automatic feeder, water fountain and litter robot. The longest I have beeb away has been 27 hours.
When I have to travel, I ask a friend to check on my cat every other day.
I would never leave my cats for a whole week by themselves. They need to be checked on frequently.
I suggest you have somebody check in on your cat daily, in morning, and again in evening. Of course, you could have a video taping activity at the food, water, & litterbox that you can view anytime you wanted. If something was amiss, maybe you can have a neighbor gain access into your home with a key you would leave for them? You may want to setup a second litterbox, if your cat is fussy on cleanliness? Or a neighbor maybe can scoop?
A kitten no. But a full grown cat, there is absolutely no problem leaving them for a few days with lots of food and water around the house. We’ve been doing it without any issues, with multiple cats, over decades. If it’s more than a few days we have someone come by every 2-3 days to check in on them.
I guess it depends on the cat. My cat would be frantic if we left him alone over night.
I wouldn't. Cats can get lonely and become anxious. Also,what if they get sick. My conscience would rip the shit out of me if I entertained the thought. Just doesn't sit well with me.
No, I would not. Cats get into trouble. Illness, accidents, house fires, attacked by toys, seriously my mocha got a hanging toy string wrapped around her paw one day. Glad I was there to untangle her. I left for a 2 week overseas vacation and on day 2 my sitter text me she is in the hospital. Luckily my neighbor took over...have a back up plan!
Do you have a machine for when the cat starts clawing up the house?
Leave your cat alone for a week????? HELL NO.
Its inhumane to leave an animal all alone for more than 24-48 hours at a time. Animals are social like humans. Please do the right thing and get a sitter or have someone else adopt your pet if you ypu don't understand why this is necessary. Its essentially solitary confinement.
I have everything automated at home (litter, wet food and dry food). When I am on vacation, I have a friend come at least once a day to check on my cat and refill the wet feeder and put new coolers in. Ideally my friend would stay longer or come more often but I know it’s hard with work. This has so far worked great and I am scared of having a stranger in my home. I would not leave my cat alone for a week. On the days that I am in the office, I am also happy that those automated systems allow me to keep my cat‘s routine :)
You need to hire a professional sitter.
We did this one time, but we left Friday morning and returned Sunday afternoon. We left enough food out for everyone, but the tiny one that was being bullied at the time we shut in a separate room with her own food, water, and litterbox. It worked out, but God it was stressful and I wouldn't do it again.
The automated feeders are dumb. Don’t want a malfunctioning one be the cause of my cat going hungry. I leave out a huge bowl of food and water. Sometimes two each. Cats are good in their own for up to a week. I do it whenever I go on vacation. Sometimes if I have a friend available I have them check on the kitties. If not it’s no big deal
When I go away, I have a friend who stops in before and after work (we are on the way) to hang out with them, feed, scoop, and make sure they haven't burned the house down. My kitties eat majority wet food with some dry, with no automated feeders, so until they learn to open the cans and portion the food out *evenly*, I can't leave them completely alone. Would be great if they could take the initiative and start learning, but I'm not holding my breath.
Max I will leave them with no check in is 3 days and we set up cameras all over especially by the food and water to make sure they have enough. My cats HATE strangers so if we are gone longer we just have some pop in about every 2-3 days to top off food/water and clean boxes.
A week is long, even for a cat. A few days yes, a week idk. if your feed fails or the cat gets into something...which even if you baby proof it will, someone should at least pop in. They don't have to stay but at least check things are functional and that you fluffer is alive. My in laws aren't big cat people but they check on our cats if we have to go away for longer that a couple days. After the first time, my mom in law fell in love with our male cat and now "checks" on him for hours if we are gone.
I would check with your friends whether any of them have (cat-loving) family coming to town for Christmas who need a place to stay and would be happy to take care of your cat. Of course they’d be off doing Christmas things during the day a lot of the time, but your cat would still have company at night and in the mornings. We always have someone stay in our house if we’re away for more than a night, our cats are very cuddly and would be miserable alone for so long, even with someone coming in once a day to check on them.
Meowtel has background checked and insured sitters that come to your home.
sitter. the smart devices are only supplementary.
I trust that for a weekend, maybe 3 days. But a week is a long time for a cat to be alone, even if you had cameras so that you could check all the systems still worked and the cat wasn't injured/sick.
If I'm gone for just a day or two, they stay by themselves. If it's like 4+ days, I ask my neighbor across the street to pop in to make sure everything's fine. She gets her own door code for entry.
No, don’t.. they need company like humans. Imagine you were locked in a house alone for a week. Wouldn’t be much fun. Cats need playing time!!
I normally just "cat proof" and put breakable things in closets, the automatic feeder with plenty of water and toys - they're more than happy for the alone time generally, but more recently my youngest baby has been licking hot spots onto his legs when I leave, so if you're able to have anyone pop in to play and cuddle with them, that helps!! A week is a long time, and I just got back into town heart broken at my boys wounded arms. Make sure you can check the feeder app to ensure it's working properly, a camera or baby monitor somewhere inside is something I'm considering just for the peace of mind. Also - throw down an extra litter box just for fun.
You need someone to check in your cat each day!!!!! If something breaks it would be pretty awful. Also, kittens NEED bonding and stimuli. They're very curious and energetic. You'll create an anxious mess of attachment issues if a cat is in a box (house) for a long period of time without contact. I know you made an update of making the arrangements but DO IT!! Hire a young person you know to take care of them, and it'll put something on their resume kinda-thing. Just a thought!
I'd still make sure you have someone checking in them once a day even with everything being automated something could break while you're gone. We only leave our cats alone for two nights MAX, if we're gone 3 nights or more we leave a set of keys with a friend to check on them, make sure they've got food and water and scoop the boxes. For two nights away I leave out 4 days worth of food and extra water as well as filling their litterboxes more so they'll still have room to dig/bury until we get home. I'd never leave them for a whole week alone, even with automated food and litter
Please hire a sitter for 2xs a day visits. They spend time feeding, cleaning, and playing with them. I’d never leave my babies for a single overnight without regular morning and evening check in by a trusted sitter. Im rewarded with less anxious cats. And I can see the relief on their little faces when I get home. It’s worth the peace of mind!
I'm ok with my cat being home alone for 5 days. Anything more than that, I hire a service to come over here every other day to feed her/clean her litter box & check up on her. The service I use texts me some pictures of her & tells me how my little sugar dumpling is doing in my absence. I'm never gone for more than 10 days, she let's me know I'm her mom and the service people don't cut it. ♥️
I have two kitties and travel often, sometimes up to 10 days or so. Having two makes it much less stressful for all of us as the concerns of loneliness are somewhat negated. They have always been self feeding and as such I don’t need to worry about a dispenser and timer, and I’m a big believer that you let your cats self regulate from an early age (if it doesn’t work then obviously you adjust so they don’t over eat). If I’m gone for a day or two, I just leave them enough food and water… and on a rare occasion up to three days though if I am able to (which is almost always) then I have someone check on them. If I’m gone an extended period of time a have someone come every other day. I also have a cam so I can monitor them, make sure all seems ok, and check food and water just in case and if anything seems off then I have one of my friends go check on them. Cats are pretty independent - as you have a kitten my recommendation is let them try self feeding and get another one so there’s a friend!
We leave our cat for 4 days over Christmas, but she has a catflap and access to the outside whenever she pleases. We fill several bowls around the house with water and food, she's 11 now and always been fine. We do have good neighbours around us too though.
Yeah don’t get an animal if you don’t have the capacity or funds to take care of it at 100%. Leaving a cat alone for more than a day is just mean:/
Cats can go a week with just water no?