How long to leave alone on vacation

House hunting I dont want to leave them at all but I dont think they would enjoy being dragged along with me. So how long would you leave your cats alone? And what would you do about litter boxes? I could bring them with me but they would be in their carriers all day any I think it would be better and more comfortable for them if they were left home.

Are you just going to be gone one night? I'd put out extra food/water and a few extra litter boxes.

Is there a friend/family/neighbor you trust that could come by for half and hour or so to check the cats, clean the boxes, feed them and play with them. Twice a day would be nice. Or, see if there's a pet sitter in the area who could come by (they'll also switch lights on and off and bring in the mail).

You could probably get away with just leaving food (dry!) and lots of water out, along with a couple of extra boxes if it's just for the weekend.

Good luck with everything!

I'll probably be linched for saying this, but I think letting cats be alone for the weekend is fine. I litter my house with water bowls, leave plenty of food out, and they are fine.

If a cat gets into a closet or a drawer with string or finds some poision hidden by a previous tenant, or gets outside without anyone to let it back in, or gets suddenly ill, then the cat could die while you are gone. But how likely would a cat-sitter be to catch each of these things?

I actually had someone come over when I was gone for something like 5 days, but he really thought my cats would be fine without anything done to them, and he didn't end up doing anything. They were fine. (They're fantastic with using litter boxes and I don't remember how many I put out, but it was a lot.)

My current preference is for cat sitters to come over once every other day, but the one I used a few weeks ago came over every day (and I have cat sat by going to other people's houses twice a day).

There are many systems that work.

Leaving cats home alone for the weekend can be one of them.

It would only be a night or two. I live way out of town so there arent pet sitters in my area. A neighbor yes but then I would worry about one of them escaping or something like that- most people arent as attentive to my critters as I am. Gosh I'd worry like crazy leaving them alone over night, but Im glad that it wouldnt make me a terrible owner if it comes to that.

Hi !
I leave my cats alone for TOP a week. Lots of water, food and a WC full of litter boxes. They do fine.
I would not leave them for any longer though...

They do perfectly fine.

If I leave for longer then I have to bring someone to care for them.

I'd leave them no more then 2-3 days with plenty of extra water bowls and dry food. We've gone to cat shows where we left on Friday and home on Sunday and they have been fine. Anything longer, and you'd do better to have someone come in and check on them and be sure there is food/water and get them to scoop the littler box too.

Personally, I think the biggest issue to leaving them alone is the litterbox! You can leave out plenty of food and water but, if your cat is like mine, if her box gets too dirty she'll start peeing on the floor! We had to leave ours alone for 4 days and learned the hard way.

Originally Posted by ChloeKitty98

Personally, I think the biggest issue to leaving them alone is the litterbox! You can leave out plenty of food and water but, if your cat is like mine, if her box gets too dirty she'll start peeing on the floor! We had to leave ours alone for 4 days and learned the hard way.

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Oh no! Not a nice smell to come home to! Ive got so many boxes that Im not too woried about that part...that and mine have been peeing in the bathtub (ARGH!) Ok, now I need tips on how to keep from worrying like crazy, lol.

That's why you need a few litter pans - so they can use one and have a clean one too