Pet forum for dogs cats and humans - Pets.ca

Pet forum for dogs cats and humans - Pets.ca (http://www.pets.ca/forum/index.php)
-   General Forum for cats and dogs (http://www.pets.ca/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=2)
-   -   Worried About Leaving Cat Alone While on Holidays - Tips Please! (http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=72859)

mybubbles65 October 1st, 2010 08:28 PM

Worried About Leaving Cat Alone While on Holidays - Tips Please!
 
My Husband and I are going away for about 10 days and will be leaving our cat home alone. I have two friends coming in, one in the morning, one at night to feed and water him and scoop his box. I've heard horror stories of cats going to the bathroom all over the house because they're upset that they're alone. I'm very worried this might happen with mine. He is a very clean cat and always uses his box. He is also very affection and cuddly and follows me everywhere so I know he will be very lonely. Just wondering what others have experienced when leaving their babies alone and any tips that might assure a good outcome to this. I feel soooo guilty leaving him. He's only ever been left alone one night and that's only happened twice. He is 3 1/2 years old.

kathryn October 1st, 2010 09:27 PM

I petsit professionally (as my own sort of hobby business). In all honesty, cat's really don't care when you are away. I've had one cat that has just avoided me the entire time just because she is anti-social, but psshtt when you're away your kitty is just going to be thinking about napping in the sun until you return :cat:

Always ensure someone is going to be checking on him daily and you are fine. I hate when people leave their cats alone for 24+ hours without anyone checking on them. Is something going to happen? Probably not. But what if he tips over his water dish. He just goes a few days without water?


Don't worry on it too much. Invest in some extra toys, especially with catnip. See about some interactive toys to keep him occupied... they have ones where the ball spins around on the track. My cats love that! You can also have Rescue Remedy added to the water which helps some cats.


If you can, set a timer on the TV or radio to have it on for a few hours each day just for some background noise. I always include mail pick-up, watering houseplants and opening/closing blinds in my petsitting duties just as a courtesy, so it doesn't look like you are on holiday :thumbs up

Lil Brown October 1st, 2010 10:01 PM

I recently left my 2 cats for 3 weeks with a sitter. There is a thread here about it, but the short story is that they both did well. Leave some stuff around with your scents on it for kitty, and some toys... with good sitters he should be fine. :cat:

14+kitties October 1st, 2010 10:05 PM

[QUOTE=Lil Brown;956190]I recently left my 2 cats for 3 weeks with a sitter. There is a thread here about it, but the short story is that they both did well. Leave some stuff around with your scents on it for kitty, and some toys... with good sitters he should be fine. :cat:[/QUOTE]

Here you go. Good advice. It worked well. Just make sure you have friends you know you can trust. Maybe get them to email or text you once or twice while you are gone so you are reassured.
[url]http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=71458[/url]

Etown_Chick October 2nd, 2010 01:19 AM

I recently cat-sat for my sister for a week. As soon as I got in the house the cat led me right to his food dish, with some loud meowing!
As long as he got fed, he seemed fine.
The horror stories are probably rare. Cats seem to adjust well.

Love4himies October 2nd, 2010 05:45 AM

I have left my cats home with somebody coming in to feed them and did not come home to any problems. Just make sure the person coming in is well trusted.

NoahGrey October 2nd, 2010 08:16 AM

I always leave the radio on for my cat, whenever I leave my place. As for the poster that says cats don't care when you are gone. I disagree. Cats do get lonely and miss their owners.

I am sure your cat will be fine. you have your friends coming and looking out for him, who I am assume your cat knows and is comfortable with them.

Marty11 October 2nd, 2010 03:02 PM

Cat or Kitten? Cats are more passive, I find kittens get into mischief more. That is what I question. They are definately more comfortable left at home. Home checker is great.

Twocents October 2nd, 2010 10:32 PM

Several years ago, we boarded two of our cats & left the third one home alone for a week. The cats survived, but we know better now. If we can't get a cat sitter, I stay home.

Everyone who [I]still[/I] thinks it's okay to leave a cat alone for more than 12 to 14 hours should check out this major reason ([B]cats can suffer & die from this[/B]) not to do that. Photos & info site by Dr. Lisa Pierson who wants to see improved welfare for all cats - stray, feral & companion animals alike. - See "[B]Urethral Obstruction - Opie's Story[/B]" - [url]http://catinfo.org/?link=urinarytracthealth[/url]

:cat:

14+kitties October 2nd, 2010 10:53 PM

[QUOTE=Marty11;956307]Cat or Kitten? Cats are more passive, I find kittens get into mischief more. That is what I question. They are definately more comfortable left at home. Home checker is great.[/QUOTE]

In the original post she said kitty was 3 and a half. :thumbs up

krdahmer October 3rd, 2010 04:02 AM

I leave my 7 guys here at home when I visit the in-laws or go away, my parents come in once a day to do litter boxes and put down new food and water....and they also stay for 1-2 hours just to play and give the kitties some lovin...and I do the same for their cats when they're away. See if your sitters mind staying for more than just to feed/scoop.... that way they are also more likely to notice if something is wrong with your kitty. Before I go away I make sure all fans etc are off, put one light on a timer, and my neighbours have mine as well as my parents #'s in case of emergency. I always come home to a hairball or two....but no poop or anything like that. And they are always waiting in the hallway for me when I get home, so I like to think that ya...they missed me. ;):laughing:

Longblades October 3rd, 2010 08:27 AM

[QUOTE=NoahGrey;956242]I always leave the radio on for my cat, whenever I leave my place. As for the poster that says cats don't care when you are gone. I disagree. Cats do get lonely and miss their owners.

I am sure your cat will be fine. you have your friends coming and looking out for him, who I am assume your cat knows and is comfortable with them.[/QUOTE]I agree. My biggest concern when we leave ours is how lonely they get. We interact and play with our cats a lot. They miss us. My friend and I exchange cat sitting and we both notice the cats don't want to be fed when we go to visit, they want a cuddle and a play and some human company. And we each have more than one cat so they have cat company.

We have not, either of us, had bathroom horror stories. One of mine almost either flooded the house or burned it down and it was only while I was at work but that's another freak story.

Lots of good ideas up above. One more idea. My friend and I leave each other notes on what happens each time we visit. If it's a long time away, like 10 days, we phone home to see how things are going. One thing we notice? Dirty rotten cats are like school kids with the substitute teacher. :) "Mom lets me up on the kitchen counter, she does so. The dining room table too." "I am so allowed to climb the potted palm, I am so." They do these things right in front of us. :)


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:11 AM.

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.