Feeding while I'm on vacation

[aubs1978]

I will be going on vacation out of state this Christmas. We have two cats, and my boy kitty is a dry food addict, but it is very hard on his digestive system so i don't want to leave that as an option while I'm away - it took me several weeks of suppressing a constant desire to kill him to "detox" him and put him exclusively on wet. My Girl will eat anything you put in front of her so no worries there. My family has agreed to take turns and come by as often as they can, but given it's the holiday and we don't live next door, I don't want them to have to rearrange their lives at Christmas to come out 3 times a day to feed them. Boarding them is not an option for financial reasons. I saw somewhere that wet food can be frozen and left out with just opened food once a day and that would allow someone to come just once a day, but I'm not sure how that would work in execution. Suggestions?

 

[raintyger]

I don't know about the frozen food, but I've heard of timed feeders, maybe that is an option.

 

[fhicat]

I saw somewhere that wet food can be frozen and left out with just opened food once a day and that would allow someone to come just once a day, but I'm not sure how that would work in execution. Suggestions?

I've left wet food out for 12 hours, and kitty still ate it. I don't recommend it as a regular thing obviously, but I don't think kitty will die if he eats 12-hour old wet food while you are on vacation.

As for the frozen one, the method I read is to freeze however many cans you need before you go, but have a couple of cans that are out in room temperature. Have someone come in on the first day and offer the room temp wet food, and then put out the frozen wet food (maybe in a separate bowl next to his) and let it defrost on its own - just in time for kitty's 2nd and 3rd meal. Come in the next day and offer the room temp food as the first meal of the day (by this time any leftovers from the previous day should be discarded), and then put out the frozen wet food again. Rinse repeat.

 

[aubs1978]

Thanks so much Fhi09! That's what I thought I had read, but I couldn't find it again. That will make things so much easier for my family and I'll feel better knowing they won't have to eat dry food. I'm not too fond of the idea of having to clean a million hairballs off my carpet when I get home!!