For those feeding wet food, please help with question.

Hey guys,

First of all I have learned a lot from this wonderful site, thank you all.

One of the things I learned was wet food is better than dry for many reasons (water content, protein, carbs, etc)

Right now I am feeding NV's Instinct.

The question I have is: what do you guys do when you have to leave your  cats alone for a day or two? (a weekend for example). I know ideally you would have someone  go to your place, but that isn't always possible.

Thanks guys!

EJ, sometimes we just get stuck due to circumstances we cannot control.  My advice is to leave some kibble in your cat's bowl.  Think of it as a "go pack" or the emergency backpacks that many of us keep at our homes and offices as a result of the September 11 tragedy.  Also, ensure that there is ample water available.

All dry for a few days isn't going to hurt your cat, just make sure there's plenty of water and if you can get a feeder for the dry good that'd be great.
My cat eats mostly a wet diet but when we go on vacation she eats only dry, because obviously it doesn't go bad and it doesn't require someone else getting it for her. She's never had any problems at all.

One thing I would add is do NOT switch to kibble only for a couple of days if your cat is on a 100% raw diet....at least, not unless you want to come home to a a kitty diarrhoea attack Sudden changes from wet to dry (or vice versa) are very likely to cause digestive upset. Far better to invest in a timed feeder that will accommodate an ice pack to keep the food from going bad.[article="32402"][/article]

Columbine said:

One thing I would add is do NOT switch to kibble only for a couple of days if your cat is on a 100% raw diet....at least, not unless you want to come home to a a kitty diarrhoea attack

Sudden changes from wet to dry (or vice versa) are very likely to cause digestive upset.

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Yes that would not be great. So if I were to feed him 50/50 usually, and then when I am off, I could switch to 100% kibble without any upset correct?

Besides being  cost effective, sounds like a good idea for when you have to leave town for a week and leave your cat at a boarding facility it is easier for me to trust them with kibble than with canned food no?

Thanks guys

You should NEVER leave your cat alone for more than two nights at most. Personally, even if I was only away for ONE night I'd want someone to at least be coming in to check on my guys, scoop the litterboxes, give them a little attention and refresh the food and water. Part of responsible cat ownership is making sure they'll be ok when you're away. My first choice would be a reputable pet sitter or friend/family member who the cats know and trust to come at least once (preferably twice) a day to care for them while I wasn't around.

100% kibble for a day or so shouldn't cause too many issues, but I really would at least invest in an automatic feeder so they could have some wet too.

If we are gone more than one night, we have someone come in to check on our cat and feed her.

As far as wet vs dry when they are at a boarding facility, you are paying the place to feed them what they are used to and they should have provisions for all types of food. Your cat will be out of sorts enough and it is probably best to feed them what they are used to.

Columbine said:

You should NEVER leave your cat alone for more than two nights at most. Personally, even if I was only away for ONE night I'd want someone to at least be coming in to check on my guys, scoop the litterboxes, give them a little attention and refresh the food and water. 
 

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Yes  2 nights would be the most, and only until she has grown a bit more. Agreed, we need to be responsible for their life and the quality of it.

Columbine said:

100% kibble for a day or so shouldn't cause too many issues, but I really would at least invest in an automatic feeder so they could have some wet too.

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would love to, I didn't know there were automatic feeders for wet food. What kind would you guys recommend?

I am guessing it has some  sort of refrigeration equipment no?

AbbysMom said:

If we are gone more than one night, we have someone come in to check on our cat and feed her.

As far as wet vs dry when they are at a boarding facility, you are paying the place to feed them what they are used to and they should have provisions for all types of food. Your cat will be out of sorts enough and it is probably best to feed them what they are used to.

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Thanks AbbysMom, in theory yes, maybe I am too paranoid. It is just hard to trust people with my little one. But i guess you are right

EJ x said:

Columbine said:

You should NEVER leave your cat alone for more than two nights at most. Personally, even if I was only away for ONE night I'd want someone to at least be coming in to check on my guys, scoop the litterboxes, give them a little attention and refresh the food and water. 

 

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Yes  2 nights would be the most, and only until she has grown a bit more. Agreed, we need to be responsible for their life and the quality of it.

Columbine said:

100% kibble for a day or so shouldn't cause too many issues, but I really would at least invest in an automatic feeder so they could have some wet too.

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would love to, I didn't know there were automatic feeders for wet food. What kind would you guys recommend?

I am guessing it has some  sort of refrigeration equipment no?

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First of all, sorry for the stern tone of my last post - I misunderstood what you were saying about boarding facilities :doh3: :ftmth:

I've never used automatic feeders myself (not sure how well they'd work around my dogs.....I have a sneaking suspicion that I'd have a very full and smug labrador and two affronted and ravenous cats :lol3: ), but I know others here have used them with no problems. Whilst I'm not aware of any automatic feeders that incorporate actual refrigeration, some (such as this Cat-Mate one) do accommodate ice packs. This should be absolutely fine for an overnight and, depending on how warm your house is, might even be ok for a weekend. It occurs to me that you could possibly freeze half the wet food if you wanted it to last two days - the combination of the ice packs an the food itself being frozen should ensure that it's still fresh on day two. I should add that I've never tried this myself, and I'd strongly recommend that you do a trial run when you're home to be sure it worked ok before doing this whilst away

Hope that all makes sense Don't forget to check out the Reviews section for other automatic feeder options

I have been so fortunate to have a neighbor look in on my cat twice a day when I am gone and I return the favor for her cat when she's gone. I am assuming you cannot do this for whatever reason. I suggest you ask your vet if he/she knows anyone who could preform this service for you. My vet has an employee who sometimes does this.

I would definitely recommend a test run if you want to try an automatic feeder. My roommate tried to use an automatic feeder once, and his maine coon managed to pry it open and eat all the food.   

I can't even find a decent feeder for wet food. They are cheap, timers aren't reliable, lids are easy to pry open. Please, if you ever find one that actually works tell us. If I leave town it's 1. Family 2. Neighbor 3. Care.com

lifeofreilly said:

I can't even find a decent feeder for wet food. They are cheap, timers aren't reliable, lids are easy to pry open. Please, if you ever find one that actually works tell us. If I leave town it's 1. Family 2. Neighbor 3. Care.com

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I really like the Petsafe 5 compartment one. The tray rotates under the lid so there's nothing for a cat to pry open. You do have to seat th tray correctly onthe rotating thing so it actually will work. I put the the tray on and use the manual rotate button to make sure that the tray will rotate properly.

I wouldn't leave my cat alone for two days without someone to come feed the cat and take care of the litter box. Cats should have consistency in their diet and the litter box needs to be scooped twice per day. If you want to spend the night somewhere without a pet sitter to take care of your cat it's best to leave in the late afternoon so your cat still would have been fed twice that day and had the litter box scooped. You can come back early the next day, before noon and take care of your cat. Anything more than that, sorry you need another person to help you out.

That's why I rotate between canned and kibble. In the event that I am not home, kibble is my way to go.

I leave a extra litter box out, loads of water bowls and kibble ( I feed them before I leave so they're not scarfing down the food for while I am gone). I left on a business trip and had to leave the cats behind; I did exactly what I wrote above. Lucky for me my work is only a hour away from where I live so I came nack every night to check on them.

oldgloryrags88 said:

That's why I rotate between canned and kibble. In the event that I am not home, kibble is my way to go.

I leave a extra litter box out, loads of water bowls and kibble ( I feed them before I leave so they're not scarfing down the food for while I am gone). I left on a business trip and had to leave the cats behind; I did exactly what I wrote above. Lucky for me my work is only a hour away from where I live so I came back every night to check on them.

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I haven't really left my house for more than a couple of hours because of school and work...but what I do (since I'm gone from morning-afternoon) I just give them kibble. I do soak that in water, double the amount of the kibble so they can still have some water intake. I find by the time I come back the bowl is empty or almost empty with soft kibble (because it soaked up the water).

Best is to have someone come over and best if that person is also a cat owner. This way, he or she will be able to perform the necessary chores. Otherwise, you have to buried the person and make sure he understands what he's supposed to do.
Non cat owners might be put off by scooping and cleaning litter box

Great help. Thank you all!I have found a wonderful boarding for my cats. It is a lady who accepts 5 cats at a time as suplemental income for her non profit. It is a bit more expensive than most but totally worth it.It is her office and has tons of toys in her office space, then each cat gets her "room". Think of it as a big acryllic gym locker 8ft tall by 3ft wide. With shelves each one is a floor. Bottom is litter, next is food, then some toys, top is a hiding place.Cat can go up or down as she pleases. Then every few hours she will take one at a time to "the common area" her office to play with all the toys, look out the window and a tv with bird movies.Plus she textes me with status pics and videos.So she will be my go to boarding. If I have to leave them for 2 days or more. Less than that I will put another litter box out and leave 3 water dishes and 2 of kibble. Thanks all

Just wanted to clarify my post a bit - a timed feeder is great if you will be gone for no more than a day. If you need to be away longer for vacation or whatever, boarding or a pet sitter is best.

@EJ x I call those types of boarding set ups a condo The boarding place I used in the past has something similar, http://www.thecatsite.com/t/324473/advice-on-boarding#post_4079210