leave cat alone for 3 nights - 4 days

Hi,
I have a 4 year old cat, we usually take her always with us, and I did leave her for 1 or 2 nights, this would be the first time that I would have to leave her for 3 nights- would it be okay I will have 3 litterboxes, enough dry food, and a water dispenser and some water bowls, of course TV will come up 2 times a day and the radio will come on a few times a day, her favorite toys will be out and anything breakable will be locked up - unfortunatley I don't have family near by and my husband is very strict not letting strangers in the house - so petsitter is no option, also I don't want to put her in a kennel. I would appreciate your feedback. Thanks

That's too long. If something should happen, such as a UTI or a plain old cat illness, or she injures herself somehow, nobody could know for days and you will come home to a very sad scene indeed.
I was catsitting for someone once, and somebody broke into her house and let her very ill cat out in their haste to steal her stuff, and luckily I came by on;ly hours later and found her huddled outside meowing at her house! If nobody came back for days, I shudder to think what would have happened.
Do you have any friends who could pop over for a couple minutes once a day or so? Neighbors with cats too, and you could offer to return the favor later?

Oh, and welcome to TCS!!!!!

It is a long time. If it is an emergency I can see, but other then that it might be to long sorry...

Originally Posted by nayla956

Hi,
I have a 4 year old cat, we usually take her always with us, and I did leave her for 1 or 2 nights, this would be the first time that I would have to leave her for 3 nights- would it be okay I will have 3 litterboxes, enough dry food, and a water dispenser and some water bowls, of course TV will come up 2 times a day and the radio will come on a few times a day, her favorite toys will be out and anything breakable will be locked up - unfortunatley I don't have family near by and my husband is very strict not letting strangers in the house - so petsitter is no option, also I don't want to put her in a kennel. I would appreciate your feedback. Thanks

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I think 3 days is a bit long.....when I'm gone for more than 2, I ask a friend to stop by and check in on my cats.

Katie

I think it's too long, if your husband doesn't want to get a petsitter you should kennel her for her own safety.

Ask the vet tech. Mine is really nice. She took her daughter to my house to feed and play with my baby 1x a day for 3 days while I was in the hospital. I know it wasn't a lot of time for Skittles but it was all I could do. At least I knew she was ok. I paid the girl 40.00 but she would not take it. It was when I had the stroke.

Ask around. You might also find someone who loves cats but is in a position that they can't currently own one. We have a friend in that position, and he petsit for us this last weekend. He was just happy to play with a cat.

I don't leave my girls even overnight. This length of time away just seems far too long. Even with your best efforts to provide adequate food, water, etc, anything could happen. At the very least, she could become ill or injured, trapped in an area, her water could be spilled, the negative possibilities are endless. I strongly recommend that you reconsider your plans, either taking her with you on the trip, arranging for a trusted friend or neighbor to come over to care for her a couple times a day, or have her boarded at a reputable, quality kennel.

I'm afraid I agree - too many things can go wrong if you leave them for that long alone, not just to the cats but to your home too!!! Find a pet sitter if you can!

I have to leave my girls on odd weekends and sometimes 4 days, but my neighbour goes in everyday to see to their needs.

I really wouldn't leave them on their own for that length of time though

I've left my cats from early morning Friday to late Sunday nite (going to cat shows) and they were fine. I would just leave about 2 extra big water bowls and fill up the dry food in 2-3 bowls too.

For one cat, it sounds like you should be ok with what you plan. I don't have a problem with it as your cat would have plenty of everything. Just be sure you have extra water - they can miss a meal or two but not the water.

I say ask some friends or co-workers that your husband finds acceptable if they'd accept X dollars (What you feel is resonable/what you would pay a kennel) to stay at your home while you're away. Stock the fridge with munchies for them and the animals, and have him/her water your plants and take in your mail too.

I think it's too long - as others have said anything could happen. It probably won't but it could, and she could be lying there in pain with nobody to help her. I used to leave mine overnight occasionally (from mid morning one day to mid afternoon the next) but I'm not even comfortable doing that now ever since I came home from work one day to find one of my cats lying immobile on the floor having had a stroke. I couldn't help thinking what if that had happened when I'd left them overnight - I'd have returned to a dead cat. Try and get someone to go in once a day to check everything's ok - better to be safe than sorry.

That's too long. Like the others have said, anything can happen during that time. And it seems it is always then when we are gone that things that never happen will happen!

If you are really stuck, three or four days at your vet will not harm your cat, and this is not cruel. To the contrary, she may even like it, like my cat does, to watch her companions and answer them when they talk to each other :-). What you can do is give Revolution or Advantage to your cat a few days before you take her to the vet, to avoid fleas when you are back home, and continue the treatment once a month, for four monts, to kill flea eggs and larvae if she has any.

And please, enjoy your holiday!

I think it would be OK if you catproof the house well. We have left our cats for 2-night weekend trips, but I make sure they have a heavy steel vat of water that can't be knocked over and plenty of dry food and a fresh litter box. I make sure things are unplugged and nothing can be knocked over that would cause a "domino-effect" disaster. I think 3 nights would be the limit though.

Why wouldn't your husband trust a bonded and insured pet sitter? I have a great one. She even has a copy of my house key. I feel good knowing that she has my cell phone # in case she notices anything out of the ordinary, plus she gets my mail and newspaper.

The one time I boarded my 2 cats for 5 days at what was supposed to be an excellent kennel, they became deathly ill from stress and a respiratory ailment. I have a friend who has better luck, but it's too risky to me.

It sounds like you have a good plan, and if the shorter trips have gone well, I wouldn't be overly concerned about 3 nights.
I have 4 cats, and have left them for that long, but not usually any longer without having someone check on them. Now that we live near family, I usually had someone check on them once a day or every other day. When I leave mine, I put food and water on the bathroom counter, and put a BIG bowl of water in the sink with the drain shut, and prop open the doors AND put plastic coathangers on all the door handles so they can't get shut in by accident. I also shut all the doors of the rooms I don't want them in. And I leave food and water in a couple of other places, as well, in case they somehow manage to knock over a big, flat bottomed corningware bowl or knock the big sink bowl over and open the drain . Yes, I am the paranoid type, but even I have gotten comfortable with leaving them. If you're going to worry about her, I would ask my husband to suggest someone he would trust to check on her, or get referrals with references from your vet for someone to come and check on her 2 or 3 times, and have both you and your husband meet with them. If he doesn't like them, on to the next one.

I, too would rather leave my cat(s) at home than board them. I know they would be stressed out being somewhere else that smells strange and being handled by people they don't know, and would be less likely to get sick at home by themselves. And especially if you work away from home during the day, the only time she will know you are gone is when she is awake in the evenings.