First Vacation!

Hello all! This is my first post here ... I searched for similar topics but didn't really find what I needed so here goes:

We are going on vacation for 7 days. My cat Murphy moved in with us a few months ago - he is now about 10 months old. The move was traumatic for him, and long story short, boarding him is completely out of the question.

We plan to leave him at our house (he's an indoor-only cat). Below are the precautions & plans we will have in place.

Now, I'm really worried because he's SUCH a social kitty. We play every morning when I wake up and when I get home from work each night, he has "baby time" followed by hide & attack. He talks all the time, follows us from room to room ... I'm really afraid it might be traumatic for him to be alone so much! Also, my husband is a full time grad student and is usually home all day. ONe friend of mine suggested "weaning" him of so much attention.

So anyway, here are our plans, please add any suggestions or let me know other tips about leaving kitty home alone for the first time!! Thank you in advance!

-- My friend will be coming over once a day to replenish water and food, do the litter, and play with him, hopefully for about an hour. I plan to pay her $100, so she should be happy to spend time with him! She has two cats also.
--We'll put away all the things he could hurt himself on (he gets his soft claws stuck in the rug fringe all the time, for instance! little dork!) or things he could chew on out of boredom (read: stereo wires)
--We'll put out LOTS of water to drink.
--We'll crack a window upstairs and duct tape the screen in real well. Leave a couple other chairs by windows so he can look out. Leave all his toys out of course.
--Set lights and a radio on a timer for the evenings.
--Next door neighbor (we live in a townhouse) will have friend's phone number in case the cat starts yowling ...
--Last resort, friend can take Murphy to her house if he seems distressed. ...
--This will be in two weeks, so the house shouldn't get too hot or too cold.



AHHHHHH!!!

I'd say you are doing more for your cat than most people would. Cats are a lot more independent than you might think, even though he may love play time, he will adapt to having time to himself and before you know it you will be back and he will have forgot all about it. Tell yourself he is sleeping 18 hours a day anyway

I think you will be ok

I'm probably freaking out too much. But the cat can't even stand when I'm on the phone for too long, let alone 7 days! OMG

Sounds pretty good to me - if your friend could come in the morning and evening it would be better to check on things, but once a day is fine

Have a good vacation....btw where you going on vacation?

sounds like you are pretty well organised. I do pet sitting and everything you planned sounds great. As goldenkitty said if you could get your friend to do it twice a day would be better especially as he's such a sociable cat, but most cats i look after seem fine even if it is only once a day! Have a great holiday!

That sounds fine to me. I just left my cat for a week, with a once-a-day sitter, and I was very nervous about it. But he seemed quite relaxed and happy, both when my sitter visited him and when I got home. He was a little more affectionate than usual, but still, it was humbling. I think when cats are contented overall and used to their home, the most they experience is a little boredom.

Young cats do tend to want more attention and play time, though.

I wouldn't try to wean him off your attention... that would probably just make him unhappy.