already worried about vacation

I am going away in a couple of months for a week. My cat is so attached to me I worry he won't be ok. He's an only cat. My plan is to leave a ton of dry food and my next door neighbor will come by to make sure the water is full and add food as needed. Also pet the little guy. I am worried though. What will it be like for my cat? Will he be ok? Will he likely cry at the door? Should I make sure the other neighbors know I'm gone so they won't wonder why some cat is crying at the door for his person? The other problem is
he goes outside from time to time, and being cooped up all day might make him nuts.

Anyways, any suggestions? Or any idea what I will return to after my trip? A crazy cat?

OH I understand how you feel!! I always feel like a nervous wreck whenever I go on a vacation due to worrying about my cats so much.

I noticed it really helped me to know that the 4 cats keep each other company while I'm gone so my friend if pressed for time can just run in, feed them, clean the litterbox out and make sure everything's okay.

Since you have ONE cat, I would strongly recommend having someone stay at your place for the week if possible (meaning overnight). If that is not possible, maybe that person can spend a couple hours per day with the cat playing, etc so the cat won't feel so lonely?

Be sure to leave plenty of toys (SAFE toys) out for him to play with. Do u have scratching posts? Cat condos? Shelf for him to watch birds/squirrells outside? That will help also.

One thing I did that helped was to ask two friends take turns tending to my cats so one friend would come and visit 2-3 days then the other friend came the 3-6 days so that way the friends wouldn't feel so pressured having to tend for a week. (Many of my close friends aren't really crazy about cats..)

Don't wash ALL of ur clothes- keep one-two favorite DIRTY clothes/shoes out so ur cat can still smell you..

Buy some Feliway which calms cats down..

Have the ppl who will check on ur cat give him treats and play with him for at least an hour if possible.

Yes, inform ur neighbors that they might hear ur cat crying.(If u could have a friend stay overnite, that might help prevent him from crying?)

I don't recommend letting him out while you're gone- who knows he might take off... (Actually I'd recommend keeping him as an inside cat if possible grin).

From my experiences with leaving my cats, various things happened when I was gone- while I am gone, my cats tend to express their HMMM DISAPPROVAL OF MY VACATION by wrecking my apt so my poor friends have to clean the messes up. (They've broken 2 lamps, littered the apt floor with towels and blankets, dragged clothes off the shelves, vomited several times, toppled some plants, etc..) So be prepared for that!

When I get home from vacations, they do one of the two things- express their JOY of having me home by being all over me and not wanting to leave me for a second OR express their DISAPPROVAL by ignoring me for a day or so! Same thing might happen to u so if ur cat ignores u for a couple days, don't freak out- it's his way of telling u he isn't happy with u leaving him.

Hi

Thanks! It helps to even just know other people worry. I wish I could take him, seriously!

The neighbor is very reliable, but I don't know if he would stay with the cat very long. Or overnight. When I adopted the cat I only thought in terms of having someone feed him if I am gone. Not the social part. I have even thought of boarding him, but I don't know if that is so good either. I think it might be better for him to be at home.

Well I am prepared to return to a mess and that's fine.

I've gone away and left my cat alone while on vacation. The best scenario is to talk a friend into staying in the apartment while you are gone. This not only takes care of the cat, but also the apartment.

If that is not possible, leave out some safe toys, put away anything with a string, leave a blind/shade open but tie up the draw string. Walk around the house and get rid of any dangerous items. One thing I never thought about...do you have a corded phone or cordless? If it has a cord attaching the receiver, pull that up or better yet, take it off and slip it in a drawer.

You cat will be lonely, but he'll make it thru the week. My cat went out of her way to snub me for a few days after I got home.

PS...hide some treats inside some of his condos or trees. That will keep him occupied for a while.

If you want to do the boarding route, I would sugest doing a trial visit or two. Take him in for just a day, and see how he reacts. That way you will know if it is feasible, and also show him that you are coming back for him.

I had similar questions, and got some good suggestions in this thread.

Thanks. I worry too much in general. Like today he had a hair ball barf session. And I kept thinking, what if I wasn't here? And I am not here 40 hours a week at least! I mean I work! But I do need to remember cats are smart and can take care of themselves. This cat lived on the streets for months, he must have learned to entertain himself.

I also worry about my cats and drive my cat sitter nuts. One thing I do is leave out my slippers and a T-shirt for the cats to have while I'm gone. I also email my cat sitter while I'm gone and find out if there's any trouble. I travel with a laptop computer but if you don't have one, try to get one in a friend's home, coffee bar, internet cafe etc. Maybe you'd feel better if you could email or call the cat sitter. I hate leaving my 4, especially since 1 is a bully and scares the other 3.

I am trying to wean him off of going outside much too. I think each day I will let him out less and less so he isn't so used to it. I think then he will learn more how to entertain himself while I'm gone. I was also thinking of asking my neighbor to put the TV on here and there. That might help distract him.

I wonder how long it will take me to stop thinking about him when I am on vacation?

I wonder how long it will take me to stop thinking about him when I am on vacation?

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You WON'T! I couldn't stop thinking of my cats while on vacation even when I was having lots of fun!! I couldn't fall asleep at nites either cuz the bed felt so empty without 2-3 cats sleeping on me.

I also worry about my cats and drive my cat sitter nuts. One thing I do is leave out my slippers and a T-shirt for the cats to have while I'm gone. I also email my cat sitter while I'm gone and find out if there's any trouble. I travel with a laptop computer but if you don't have one, try to get one in a friend's home, coffee bar, internet cafe etc. Maybe you'd feel better if you could email or call the cat sitter.

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My friends threatened to disown me cuz I paged her 2-3 times a day for reports on my babies. One day she didn't respond all day and I was FREAKING OUT! I kept paging her, paging her, paging her, emailing, emailing her then finally that nite her hubby took some pics of my cats and emailed them to me saying "SEE they're alive and kicking! She couldn't respond earlier cuz her computer was giving her probs.." I was like OHHHHHHHHHH.... So I KNOW I drive my cat sitters crazy. I just worry too much about them. Now whenever I leave, I try to use 2 friends that catsat for me before and they're aware of my hmm quirks.. LOL. They have been very good about it though.

Last time I left for 10 days (WAY TOO LONG FOR ME!), I had a new cat sitter (friend who loves cats) and I was sooo worried.. I originally asked her to just come in, feed cats, clean litter and play for half an hour or so if she had time and SHE was the one who asked if she could stay overnight several nites so my cats wouldn't be lonely! I said "GO AHEAD! I'D LOVE THAT IF U COULD.. PLEASE MAKE URSELF AT HOME!! GRIN!"

Sooo, u never know. Ur friend might offer to stay overnight if he/she sees how worried u are..

Leaving tv on is a good idea. Do u have any videos of birds, etc? maybe ur neighbor could pop that in once in a while to keep ur cat amused? However, he'd have to come back in a couple hours to turn the tv off for safety reasons...

Thanks for the thoughts! I know, I miss him already. Like he does this really cute thing when I sleep late-he puts his little paw at my head like he's shaking me awake. LIke "get up Mommy".

Ah it's hard. I will try telling my friend how I feel and see if I get more support.

I'm glad to read that other people worry alot also. My cat sitter isn't a friend but a "professional" who I found in the yellow pages. I've used her alot and before I go I email her with so many instruction ( although they're usually the same thing !!) and I repeat all the same things, concerns etc. I think she must think me nuts but I do pay her so I figure she won't refuse Whenever I email her she always emails back and leaves me a day to day written diary for my return. There are times she's sounded exasperated but, again, she's being paid and can refuse.

Marge i use to put Rosie in to a cattery. On her second visit to it which was in december when i went away for a week, i picked her up to give her a kiss and a cuddle before i left the cattery and she was shaking!.
The cattery she went into was first class, but it obviously stressed Rosie being there because Anne who owns the cattery said she spent most of her time underneath her blanket
I felt so guilty, and could'nt fuss over her enough once i got her back home, but it was a few days before she got back to her normal self.
A lot of the cats on the site go into catteries and have no problem,and Rosie was fine the first time she went in. But now if i go away i will leave her at home with all her toys and surroundings and have someone come in to check on her.

Your baby will be fine, he'll miss you as you will him. When i was away at christmas i used to think to myself 'Only 5 more days until i see Rosie etc..LOL)

Thanks, I am pretty certain I will keep him at home. I do think he will be happier here even if my friend can't stay long each visit. But if he at least has his sleep places etc that should help. I do see many very nice catery's around, but I think that should be fine if someone checks on him.

Ah I am sure it will be fine!