Leaving cat for the first time alone

We are leaving our one cat Bodie alone for the first time in the house for 4 days in a month.  We are ready to get the automatic feeder, and water bubbler. But most threads on the topic are for houses with multiple cats.  Will just the UFO looking feeder, and a regular bottle top water work for just one cat for a 4 day trip?  Any other tips to get him ready?

Do you already have the feeder and waterer?  If you do, put about a day's worth of food and water in them and see how he reacts.  Is there anyone you can trust to look in on him every other day?

We had to leave Casper for 5 days a couple of years ago, because our neighbor, who said they would watch him while we were on vacation, forgot about it and wound up going away themselves.  We were stuck at the last minute, couldn't cancel and didn't know anyone else nearby at the time to watch him.

We purchased an auto feeder (make sure there are fresh batteries) which goes for 5 spins and a very basic water one which holds certainly enough water for that amount of days, can't remember off hand what the capacity is.  We put in the full amount of kibble needed per day into each part of the food feeder and set it to open in the morning each day.  The day we left, we fed him ourselves, so in actuality, he had some extra just in case we had a delay in getting back for some reason.  I think we may also have put a bowl of kibble and water somewhere else in the house now that I think of it, maybe our bedroom?  It was somewhere he frequents as another assurance.

Had we thought about it, we probably would have purchased an extra litter box too, but we were knocking on the neighbor's door up until the last minute hoping they were home.  It just never occurred to us they would forget.

Anyway, while in retrospect we wouldn't do it again, he was fine.  Everything worked out ok and he was happy as can be to see us when we got home.  However, we really felt awful the whole time we were away, we thought about him all the time wondering if he was ok or not.  It wasn't an ideal situation. It was the first time either of us had ever left a pet alone for that many days.  We now have found someone who pet sits professionally lined up to watch him and Cocoa when we go away next time.

I'm sure if you get a feeder with several containers, and a large enough waterer, he'll be fine. Better if you can manage to locate someone to come and check up on him of course, but it should work out.

When I leave my cats I leave lots of food and water out for them.  I don't have an automatic waterer, but I leave one bowl next to Alafair's bed like normal, one in Stella's room, and two next to each of their food bowls.  I take one or two bowls the size that you would eat soup out of (depends on how long I'll be gone) and fill them with dry food.  This way they will have food and water available even if they knock over one or two of the bowls.  I'm not too worried about Alafair as she is older and has been left for a considerable amount of time in the past, but I haven't left Stella alone for a full weekend yet without having someone check in on her.  If I'm gone for the weekend I'll leave Friday around noon, have someone check on them Saturday evening to give Stella a little social interaction and give them a wet food meal (I keep the little pouches to make it easy) and then I'll come back sometime Sunday evening. 

I'm going to be gone this weekend, but the girl that I know who usually looks in on them moved.  I had a falling out with the other guy who has checked up on them.  Another one that I asked is going to be out of town, and someone else seems iffy as to whether or not she can.  I would try letting them stay alone, but I recently got a couple of ferrets who I definitely want to be looked in on!  I may have to end up asking the guy that I know who charges for petsitting...
 

Don't know how much you want to spend on a feeder, but we bought a programmable one on Amazon when we had to leave ours for 6 days. (We had someone checking in on them once a day, but she really didn't have to do anything)  We actually use it all the time now for their kibble, not just when we're away, so they get their breakfast on the weekends and I get to sleep in! You can set it for up to 4 times a day,  1/4 cup to 2 1/2 cups,  for how ever many days you want or non-stop.  Has a large capacity so it kinda doubles as storage. We set it up a couple days before we left so we could watch it and make sure it worked right. It has worked great for us.  

What about the litter box situation? Wouldn't it be better to have someone check on him once a day and scoop the boxes and put down some fresh food/water? 

http://www.petsit.com/

Thanks for that link Sugar!

While we now have someone to come and watch out kitties (the woman who runs the rescue agency that we got Cocoa from also pet sits); it's always good to have back ups.  I never knew about that organization before.  Wish we had the last time we went on vacation.  It would have given us peace of mind knowing Casper was being looked up on.  Now that we have two, it's even more important.

Can wet food be put on the UFO type of automatic feeder? 

Can wet food be put on the UFO type of automatic feeder? 

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There are some that have ice packs for refrigeration, but I don't think they'll keep the food cold more than 24 hrs or so.  For example:   .  This one actually only says it keeps it fresh 8 or 12 hours, depending on where you look on the page.

Sugarcatmom said:

What about the litter box situation? Wouldn't it be better to have someone check on him once a day and scoop the boxes and put down some fresh food/water? 

http://www.petsit.com/

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  I agree.  Four days is a long time to leave a cat alone.  Too many things can happen, either with the kitty himself or with the apartment/house (heating, plumbing problems, etc.)

  I strongly recommend you hire a petsitter if you don't have a reliable friend or neighbor to look in on your cat.  Fresh food and water,  a clean litterbox, and a friendly presence at least once a day will be to your cat's benefit and will also help your place continue to look "lived in".   Besides, someone turning lights and a radio on and off will go a long way toward keeping your cat comfortable.

For your peace of mind and to ensure your cat's safety and well-being please find someone to care for him while you're away.

KTLynn said:

  I agree.  Four days is a long time to leave a cat alone.  Too many things can happen, either with the kitty himself or with the apartment/house (heating, plumbing problems, etc.)

  I strongly recommend you hire a petsitter if you don't have a reliable friend or neighbor to look in on your cat.  Fresh food and water,  a clean litterbox, and a friendly presence at least once a day will be to your cat's benefit and will also help your place continue to look "lived in".   Besides, someone turning lights and a radio on and off will go a long way toward keeping your cat comfortable.

For your peace of mind and to ensure your cat's safety and well-being please find someone to care for him while you're away.

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! If I'd go away for four days, I'd board my kitty at my vet's where I know she'd be safe. I've left my cat alone overnight before but never four days. Anything could go wrong in that amount of time.

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