Distance makes the heart grow fonder?

Katdog

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What’s the longest anyone was away from their cat? And did the cat remember you when you came back? Was it aggressive? Who watched it?

we’re leaving our cat (one cat house hold) at home for a whole week and half by herself (except when cat sitter drops by for brief play and give her wet food), for the first time. It’s causing me some anxiety. Mostly made up human projections of a first timecat mom who’s ever so obsessed with her kitty. ❤❤❤❤❤❤
 

vince

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I've been away for up to two weeks at a time and have left my cats in the care of a trusted sitter. It was as if I never left. Cats have a pretty good long-term memory. I think your kitty will do just fine.
 

game misconduct

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:lol:gf and i did a week long casino (outlet shopping)trip i think i the was most stressed out of all of us .we boarded graycie at a place we used a few times she had human contact /play times multiple times per day. they sent us pictures etc. took her a day to settle into the cat condo we rented her there she knew who we were still and did what she does everytime she leaves the apartment goes around and stamps every place in the apartment with her paws. claws up her scratching posts and trees again basicly reapplying her scent all over the place again. after doing all that she will sit next to me for head scratches.:lol:gf gets a few mews from her is all. they both know who spoils em:lol:
 

betsygee

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I've been away for up to two weeks at a time and have left my cats in the care of a trusted sitter. It was as if I never left. Cats have a pretty good long-term memory. I think your kitty will do just fine.

:yeah: Same here. We were more anxious than the cats were. :lol: Our sitter sent us photos and reports regularly and they were fine when we got back.

Good luck! I hope it all goes well for you and for kitty.
 

neely

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The longest we have been away from our cat, past or present is two weeks. We had a very reliable pet sitter for many years. She came to the house twice a day to scoop the litter box, feed, play and keep our cat company. She would even bring her own meals to eat then they would watch tv together. :catlove: Our cat(s) absolutely did not forget us and they were able to remain in their own house.
 

Lucy&Petra

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Our cats LOVE their cat sitters. I happened to be at home once when the sitter came by and I noticed that both of my two cats went over to her (like I was chop liver lol) and were extremely excited to see her. I honestly think the cats really have fun with their sitter. As long as there is someone dropping by everyday to clean their litter, give them wet food and play with them - cats are happy to be in their own home where they're comfortable. So don't worry and enjoy your time away!
 

MyTabbyKittyCat

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In my experience our cats always remembered us, like others have said cats seem to have pretty good long-term memories. Our cat that is a bit nervous around new people would hide whenever our friend came to check on him and at first when we got home he hid but after he realized it was us he quickly returned to his normal self wanting attention. Our other cat greeted us and seemed happy we were back. I think it just depends on the cat's personality how they'd react, but they'd definitely remember you.
 
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Katdog

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Thanks everyone for your input! We went on our trip and made it back and our cat was totally happy and fine. She was really thrilled to see us and just purred for a long time upon our return. I do have cat cams so I did check up on her during my absence, and she seemed fine during the away. Our sitter didn’t seem to have any issues with her. Our sitter came by twice a day for 20-30 mins each time, it barely felt like enough socializing time but that’s probably just me projecting. Korra did manage to unplug one (the main one with the larger view) of her cat cams, and that made my anxiety go through the roof but our sitter fixed it the next day. Idk how she managed to unplug it… but of course it happened when we were away. She also scratched up one of our pillows, like tore the fabric and all- which also she’s never done before so I wonder if that was anything from our absence.

fortunately she Ate and used the potty just fine as well. Korra is only 4, but I’ve heard stories about cats who are elderly and stopped eating when their owners go missing; or acted derange due to the lack of interaction so I was worried about this.

I’m still not convinced it’s okay to leave cats for a long period of time (especially single cat households) but it seems like younger ones are able to cope more with it than elderly ones…I also acknowledge that this worry/anxiety probably is just me, self inflicting it on myself 😂😂😂🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️
 

AndyTilt

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Longest i've been away was for a bit under a week. Jack expressed his displeasure to his minders (sister, he was familiar with her), and would cry some. When i got home, i had a cat who jumped into my arms and refused to come down for like half an hour. Once he had assured himself that it was me, and that i wasn't going anywhere, he proceeded to lecture me and express his disapproval. This followed a weird few hours of him vacillating between cold shoulder, and clingy. He got over it fully after a few days (and a few tasty bribes).

One suggestion i have, is to make a recording of your voice. Sister called me when he was at his worst, and i talked to him for a while and he calmed down some. He really loves it when i whistle or sing to him (Snow White/Disney moments anyone?), so my plans for the next time i have to leave him was to record me singing and whistling a few different songs for the minder to play for him.
 
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