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Longest you would leave cats home alone?

post #1 of 29
11/21/06 at 5:42am
Thread Starter 
I would like to know what is the longest time you would leave your cats home alone while you go on vacation? This is of course with someone coming everyday to tend to their needs?

Is two weeks too long?
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post #2 of 29
11/21/06 at 5:45am
Personally, two days is the most I would leave my cat alone. I would rather board her with the vet than have anyone in the house to take care of her.
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post #3 of 29
11/21/06 at 5:47am
I won't even leave my girls over night.
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post #4 of 29
11/21/06 at 5:54am
Well the most I have left my kitty-crew with carers is 5 days. My carers are personal friends and just love to care for my crew. They come twice a day - more if they think Dino is out and about - he normally stays in but sometimes goes AWOL so they come back to let him in. They stay about 1hr, to feed, clean and play with them. So I know they are OK.
I must admit, I feel terrible and I am always thinking about them, all the usual stuff, will they be lonely, will they fight, what if.. BLAH, BLAH, BLAH.
When I get home all is just as normal

As long as you feel comfortable with the carer and you are satisfied that your kitty (ies) are catered for, then they will be fine. Lets face it they are in familiar surroundings, know the smells, are safe and warm ...etc......and if they already know the carer then that should be fine too. Sometime a trip to a cattery can be more stressful (and costly) for all involved.

Good Luck
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post #5 of 29
11/21/06 at 7:31am
I've left my girls while i've been away, but it's always someone who they know.

When i just had Rosie i boarded her when she was only 4 mths, but the woman who ran it fussed over her more with her being a baby, but the following year when she was older she went to the same place, and when i returned she said Rosie hid under her blanket for the whole time Rosie can be very timid so i think this was the reason, but i vowed after that i would keep them in their own environment and it works fine
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post #6 of 29
11/21/06 at 7:37am
I left mine when I went on an 11 day cruise...My friend lives across the street and basically hung out with them all the time...I thought I would just die being away from them that long!!! But I knew they were in good hands!!!
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post #7 of 29
11/21/06 at 7:48am
I left Katie and Gracie alone for two weeks when I traveled to Italy a couple of years ago. (This was before I adopted Peter and Claire.) I hated being away from that long, but they had someone I trusted spending time with them everyday, checking their food and water and scooping the litter box. They were fine and extremely glad to see me when I got home.
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post #8 of 29
11/21/06 at 8:07am
I would hire Pet Sitters to come in now that Humble has to have a benazepril every day. I would not trust anyone else to give him the pill. Or.....I would board them with the vet.
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post #9 of 29
11/21/06 at 8:21am
The longest we've been away from our girls is ten days. We have a good pet sitter, who comes in daily, sees to their needs and spends play time with them, is qualified in pet first aid, etc, etc. She leaves us a little diary and checks in once we're home. I miss them terribly, but I know they are cared for, so I don't worry.
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post #10 of 29
11/21/06 at 8:24am
It scares me to think of leaving them alone for even 24 hours.
So much can happen.
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post #11 of 29
11/21/06 at 8:57am
Two days. If any longer, I'd board them at the vet's. There's no one I'd trust to look after them, so a professional would be the best bet.
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post #12 of 29
11/21/06 at 9:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by rosiemac View Post
Rosie hid under her blanket for the whole time Rosie can be very timid so i think this was the reason

I'd prefer to keep Pudge at home for this very reason. She does this with the blanket I put in her carrier when we're at the vet's, and spends most of the exam time trying to hide under my armpits.

If we rearrange the furniture in the house she hides a lot as well.

I know noone I'd trust with her care at the house, so I'd have to board her. I dread ever having to do this, as she'd probably come back with 80% less hair (nervous shedding) and a stress-induced illness of some kind.
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post #13 of 29
11/21/06 at 9:32am
I think a lot of people under estimate how well cats do .. even left alone, as long as they are in their own familiar environment. Especially if they have other cats in the house to keep them company. I would NEVER board my cats.. no matter how long I am away (though I have never left them alone for more than 3 days w/someone taking care of them ). You could hire a 'pet sitter' to come over.. there are a lot of very nice ones out there that genuinly care for animals. I do understand if you dont have anyone you trust to take care of them, but to me, taking them out of their home is far more stressful than leaving them alone.
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post #14 of 29
11/21/06 at 10:49am
I'd leave them alone and unattended for up to 24 hours but would feel a bit uncomfortable doing it for more than 12. Longer than that and I'd want someone coming in twice a day. If I go away for a weekend I'll leave them with someone coming in to check up on them as I don't think it's worth the stress of putting them in a cattery for a couple of days - they'd barely have time to relax and get used to it before they were bundled into their carriers for the trip home. If it's more than a few days though they always go into a cattery.

Whether home or cattery is the best depends a lot on the individual cats. Yes it's stressful, but some cats are outgoing and love the attention. They will get more stimulation from having people around all day keeping an eye on them, albeit less space to move around in. Jaffa is a timid cat but I think he still does best at the cattery as he gradually gets used to the routine and the people and I know he gets more attention than he would if he was home alone. When someone comes by to feed him etc he just hides under the bed which means that Mosi eats his food and he gets no attention! I feel happier knowing he's being looked after at the cattery. They're very good with him and spend a lot of time bringing him out of his shell.
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post #15 of 29
11/21/06 at 10:53am
We left Radar with a close friend looking after our flat for a week whilst on honeymoon and Epona rang at least four times a day
If we go clubbing the cat is still never alone for more than eight hours....

I worry about what he gets up to
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post #16 of 29
11/21/06 at 10:55am
I've left for a month and had someone else take care of them. Yeah, it was hard but I really trusted my family to take care of them and I needed to be gone that long.

As far as leaving them alone with no caretaker...I usually have a "24 hours" rule, except for when Raphael was being medicated, then someone obviously had to be there to medicate him every 12 hours. Now that they're healthy, I will leave them for 24 hours or less or hire a petsitter/recruit a family member.
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post #17 of 29
11/21/06 at 11:05am
I agree with the other poster(s) who said that it is much more stressful for cats to be boarded than to be left at home. IMO. I have left mine from Friday night to Sunday morning without being checked on, but any longer than that and I would definitely have someone come in, at least once a day.
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post #18 of 29
11/21/06 at 1:32pm
I cat-sat for three cats for Upstairs Neighbours while they were in Africa for one month. The biggest cat, Jacques, cried for his daddy but everyone was happy to have me taking care of them and very happy to be at home. They were delighted to see their owners when they returned. There was only one 'accident' on a rug during that whole time; otherwise, the cats were just fine.

I'd infinitely rather have a friend look after my cat than put them in a kennel. Gizmo was just looked after for five days while I was in Seattle. After a long kitty lecture I was greeted with open paws and loud purrs last night.

It helps if you have a friend whom the cat knows. The next best choice would be a bonded cat carer who came to your home.
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post #19 of 29
11/21/06 at 1:39pm
I wouldn't trust a cat sitter or anyone who didn't have cats (preferably indoor cats) not to let them out by accident. It's so easy to do if you're not used to doing the cat owners shuffle as you enter and exit! I feel much more relaxed knowing they're safe in a cattery. It will be interesting to see how Mosi gets on this xmas as it will be his first time. he's a very outgoing, friendly little lad so I think he'll be fine and will love all the attention he'll get. I would worry about leaving him at home without someone to spend several hours a day playing with him - he'd get up to all sorts of mischief.
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post #20 of 29
11/21/06 at 2:13pm
At home with their own stuff and all the plastic bags picked up off the floor, two days, max.
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post #21 of 29
11/21/06 at 2:30pm
I've only left Meeker and Draco for a week at most, but that's because I never had anywhere to go that would cause me to be gone longer. I had my very good friend cat-sit while I was gone, and I know that he loved the cats and would stay with them literally all day.
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post #22 of 29
11/21/06 at 2:33pm
The longest we've left our cats was 10 days.
BUT, that was with my best friend...the person that has Gracie and Lizzie's Mom...coming in twice a day to clean the litter boxes, give them food and fresh water and play with them.
They love her, she loves them so I felt comfortable leaving them in her care.
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post #23 of 29
11/21/06 at 3:25pm
The longest Ive left them totally alone was 5 days. They had food left over when I came back. The longest I left them with someone coming and checking on them was 3 1/2 weeks.
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post #24 of 29
11/21/06 at 3:38pm
I may be extreme, but I wouldn't leave them alone overnight. Hubby and I took separate vacations this year (which wasn't altogether a bad thing, since I got to visit more with my family than we usually do when we travel together).
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post #25 of 29
11/21/06 at 3:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by gizmocat View Post
It helps if you have a friend whom the cat knows. The next best choice would be a bonded cat carer who came to your home.
I so agree- we have a close friend who is a cat lover that spent a week terrorised by Radar
Arranging for a cat to stay at home with friends in the house has to be easier than a cattery imho
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post #26 of 29
11/21/06 at 4:39pm
My own personal experience...

I will leave mine for the weekend with my MIL checking in on them at least once. When we got married we left them for 2 weeks with a co-worker playing with them (and feeding them, etc) once a day. I think Baylee would not have handled leaving the house and staying in an unfamiliar plcae... and she really warmed up to our catsitter by the end of it.

But every cat is different, so...
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post #27 of 29
11/22/06 at 9:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by 4crazycats View Post
The longest Ive left them totally alone was 5 days. They had food left over when I came back. The longest I left them with someone coming and checking on them was 3 1/2 weeks.
We've left our cats alone for 4 days, though it was unplanned. We had gone away for a weekend and left instructions for our normal cat-sitting friends to check in on them but after one day, they had a family emergency and had to leave, at the same time we had a death in the family, the cat-sitters didn't know who else to trust, so they put out tons of food and water and the extra litter boxes and when we came back they were fine. Still had food and water in the bowls and one of the 3 litter boxes was barely soiled.
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post #28 of 29
11/22/06 at 9:23am
We've only ever been gone overnight, but mostly just due to lack of vacation time, not because I'm afraid to leave my kitties home alone. We have a bunch of very good friends who are all cat people and all of them know (and are known by) our cats, so we have people we can trust to take care of Spike and Oz. When we're gone overnight, we'll have friends come in to feed the cats in the evenings and then again in the morning, and that's always worked out just fine.
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post #29 of 29
11/22/06 at 10:23pm
Indefinitely, as long as someone was coming in once or twice a day. The only time I've ever boarded my cats was when I moved and had to be out of my old place before my new place was ready so I had to spend a couple of nights on a friend's sofa. Otherwise, cats are so territory oriented that they are much better off in their own homes.

I definitely wouldn't leave a cat for more than 24 hours without anyone checking in, especially a male cat. Urinary blockages can come on suddenly and they're fatal if untreated. I've seen enough that I'm totally paranoid about this!
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