Feeder/Waterer - Worried about Kitties home alone

Hi Everyone - Unfortunately, my work is calling for me to leave my two kitties at home alone for 2 days (1 night). I was wondering if anyone out there could recommend a good waterer/feeder. I want to make certain they do not run out of food or water while I'm gone. I would prefer ones that do not plug in. Their eating station isn't near a plug and I'm afraid if I pulled an extension cord around the kitchen, they would play with it and tug on it.

I have seen a few feeders/waterers at PetSmart that basically look like tiny water coolers with a dish at the bottom, but how exactly do they work? Wouldn't all the water just pour out?

Any suggestions/reccommendations would REALLY be appreciated!
Thanks,
Talia

personally, i would hire a petsitter or have a friend stop in to take care of them.

We've left our boys home alone overnight before. We have 2 feeders, one for kibble and one for water. The water one works just fine - it doesn't spill out but fills up when they drink from it. Cheap solution and we don't do it very often, so we're ok with it. If we're gone longer than one night, then we ask/coerce a friend to look in and scoop the litter. Next time though, I'm thinking of hiring a pet sitter or even going to a cattery. I'd feel better than leaving them on their own for that long.

We recommend a Drinkwell water fountain.

The petsitter option is what I'd go for, but an automatic feeder might also work, if it's only an overnight absence. http://www.catflaps.com/home.html?ri...tml&lang=en-gb The prices are in pounds, because the link is to a TCS advertiser. You should be able to find something suitable at local or online pet stores. Many of them are battery-operated.

The waterer you saw at Petsmart, the water cooler type, is one of those I have. Don't worry the water does not spill out, because of the vacuum inside the bottle and the tiny hole where the water goes through. It's a great affordable waterer!

Talia,

I know how you feel. I have to leave my kittens alone Sunday to Monday for a work situation. They are about 6 months and I feel way guilty. I can bring a pet sitter in but I am not worried about feeding them, as I work from home I am worried about them being lonely without me - evem though they have each other they are used to me being around as I work from home.

I use a drinkwell for their water now because I like them to have fresh filtered water but I am going to get an autofeeder for those two days too. Best of Luck!

Obviously the petsitter is the best option, but not always possible... I frequently have to leave Ollie for the weekends... I use those watercooler type feeders/waterers all the time... he is free fed dry kibble - the water does not pour out all over the place... you fill up the jug part and snap the bottom bowl on top (so the whole unit is upside down) then carry it to the feeding station and flip the whole thing over... gravity pulls the water down as needed... I've found that occasionally the kibble gets stuck a little, but one dig with the paw and it comes out, so he's usually fine... I also leave a regular bowl of water in the bathtub (it's there all the time, he likes to play with my duckies) and sometimes leave an extra regular bowl of dry kibble, just in case... since he's free fed all the time, he doesn't eat everything all at once... depending on how long I'll be away, I sometimes set up an additional litter box in the kitchen - and he uses that and his regular box when I'm away.... just make sure your house is super kitty proofed since you wont be there to supervise and if anything try to have someone stop in at least once just to be sure...

I recently invested in the automatic pet feeder that is sold on shop.com:
http://www.shop.com/op/~Automatic_Pe...-prod-11752279

I bought if for everyday use so that I can feed my cat several small meals per day while I'm at work. So far it has worked great-- and with four compartments you could program it to feed your cats every 9-12 hrs depending on how long you'll be gone. Right now I have it set so that Professor Growleypants gets fed at 5AM (letting me sleep!), 9AM, 5PM, and 10PM based on what I've observed as his peak hunger times. I really think he begs less on such a regular feeding schedule. It runs on batteries and you can record your voice to announce dinner!

Originally Posted by Pf.Growleypants

Right now I have it set so that Professor Growleypants gets fed at 5AM (letting me sleep!) ... It runs on batteries and you can record your voice to announce dinner!

Click to expand...

Ohhh, that sounds wonderful ...

Note to self: Get automatic feeder. I miss sleeping past 5am on a regular basis ...

If we leave the cats for a weekend, we just put down extra food bowls (and fill them up) and at least 2 extra water bowls (all filled). Cats can survive longer without food then water.

We've come home with some food still in the bowls and never have run out of water.

I'd use extra bowls rather then the feeder/waterer.

We used to leave the cats for a long weekend (leave Friday morning, return Sunday afternoon) and never had any problems. Any longer than that and they were boarded (30 miles away from pet-sitters/friends at that time.) We'd just do basically what others have suggested, extra feed bowl with kibble, extra waterer, extra litter box. If it wasn't for the litter box situation I would be fine with letting them go longer even than a couple of days, but even with extra, two days is the longest I feel comfortable with letting litter boxes "go".

You do need to have someone look in on them each day. Anything can happen and a lot of problems are easy to treat if they are caught early but possibly deadly if they are not treated right away. Obviously the odds of an emergency are very small but it's better to be safe than sorry.