I was out of town for 3-1/2 days at a convention, and had arranged with a neighbor to come in every day to feed and play with my kitties. I left extra litter boxes out so she wouldn't have to take care of that, and they have a watering system that holds enough for at least six days.
I gave the neighbor my cell phone number before I left. She's normally very reliable, so when I didn't hear from her I assumed there were no problems. I called her today as I was leaving the convention to let her know what time I would be home. It turns out she couldn't get to my house every day. She called and left a message on my home phone this morning (Saturday), but never tried my cell.
I left Wednesday morning. She checked on my babies Thursday morning, then went into the hospital to have a pacemaker put in. She thought it was going to be a 2-3 hour outpatient procedure, but they ended up keeping her overnight. When she went home Friday afternoon she was told to just rest and not go anywhere. So . . . my kitties hadn't had any care for 2-1/2 days.
I spent the entire 4-hour drive home worrying about them. I figured they had probably run out of food at least a day ago.
Shareena and Miss Patchwillow can do without food for a day or two, although they would probably be mad at me. I was more concerned about Goldy since she's nursing three kittens.
When I got home all three ladies were waiting by the door for me, but they didn't act like they were starving. Their food dishes were completely empty, and of course they pounced on the wet food I gave them, then begged for more. I also noticed that the neighbor had not given them any wet food on the one day she came in.
I do have very resourceful cats, however. They make a habit of chewing holes in the bags of dry food, so I always put it in 1-gallon glass jars with metal lids. The last time I got a bigger bag and there wasn't room for all of it in the jars, so I had put some in a plastic tub with a snap-on lid. My ladies had managed to get the lid off that one, so they actually had more than enough food available. Naturally, they still tried to make me feel guilty.
The babies gave me a bit of a scare at first. None of them were moving, not even twitching. It turned out they were all just sleeping. As soon as I touched them they were up and jumping around and squealing at me. They're two weeks old today and absolutely adorable.
I guess next time I have to be out of town I'll have two people lined up to check on my kitties, just in case.
I posted pictures on the Fur Pictures board. Didn't want to double up too much, but here's one pic just to tease you.
I gave the neighbor my cell phone number before I left. She's normally very reliable, so when I didn't hear from her I assumed there were no problems. I called her today as I was leaving the convention to let her know what time I would be home. It turns out she couldn't get to my house every day. She called and left a message on my home phone this morning (Saturday), but never tried my cell.
I left Wednesday morning. She checked on my babies Thursday morning, then went into the hospital to have a pacemaker put in. She thought it was going to be a 2-3 hour outpatient procedure, but they ended up keeping her overnight. When she went home Friday afternoon she was told to just rest and not go anywhere. So . . . my kitties hadn't had any care for 2-1/2 days.
I spent the entire 4-hour drive home worrying about them. I figured they had probably run out of food at least a day ago.
When I got home all three ladies were waiting by the door for me, but they didn't act like they were starving. Their food dishes were completely empty, and of course they pounced on the wet food I gave them, then begged for more. I also noticed that the neighbor had not given them any wet food on the one day she came in.
I do have very resourceful cats, however. They make a habit of chewing holes in the bags of dry food, so I always put it in 1-gallon glass jars with metal lids. The last time I got a bigger bag and there wasn't room for all of it in the jars, so I had put some in a plastic tub with a snap-on lid. My ladies had managed to get the lid off that one, so they actually had more than enough food available. Naturally, they still tried to make me feel guilty.
The babies gave me a bit of a scare at first. None of them were moving, not even twitching. It turned out they were all just sleeping. As soon as I touched them they were up and jumping around and squealing at me. They're two weeks old today and absolutely adorable.
I guess next time I have to be out of town I'll have two people lined up to check on my kitties, just in case.
I posted pictures on the Fur Pictures board. Didn't want to double up too much, but here's one pic just to tease you.