Leaving Cat Alone

patrickhsf

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What is the longest time anyone has left a cat alone? I have to be gone for 3-1/2 days at Christmas, and am unable to find anyone to look in on Nikko. The people I trust are unavailable and there is no space available at the boarding facility. I have left Nikko for two days on a few occasions, and he does just fine. Of course, I leave plenty of food and water. He is extremely mellow and never trashes the place while I'm gone. I realize every cat is a bit different, but I'd be curious to hear some opinions.

Thank you...Patrick
 

sandie

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I have never left my cats for more then about 12 hours by themselves. I know there are people on the board who have that may be able to give you a little more sound advice.
If I had no choice, I would make sure there is a few water supplies, add at least one more litter box, leave some music or the tv on and leave something with your scent to sleep on if they need some comfort.
 

krazy kat2

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I have left mine over the weekend many times. I put away anything they might knock over or be able to hurt themselves on, unplugged anything that wasn't necessary and left the tv on. I use those gravity feeders for dry food, so they had plenty. The extra litter box was a good idea. Since they are mellow kitties, they should be fine.
 

lotsocats

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Back when I had only 2 cats, I would leave them alone for up to a week! I would put out tons of dry food in several different bowls, three extra large casserole dishes of water (flat bottoms so won't tip over), and two extra litter boxes. I believe it was much less stressful for them than being boarded.

Now that I have 5 cats and one is a big pig and would eat all the food within a day or two, I never leave them alone more than overnight. I now either have a professional petsitter or the pre-teen girl next door come in to scoop and feed on a daily basis.
 

airprincess

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I've got 2, and I've the longest I've ever left them for was 5 days. I have a litter maid self cleaning litter box, so that wasn't a problem. I'd come home and the waste receptical was full, and they need a little more litter, it would need some more litter, but that was the worst of it.


I also have a gravitational cat feeder,and waterer, so that was taken care of. Mine were feral kitties, so even if I did have a pet sitter come over to play with them, they would hide and never come out anyway. And they had each other so I knew they wouldn't get bored. And I agree that it's less stressful on them than if I boarded them.


I have left them for several different weekends, when work sent me away and have never had any trouble.
 

hell603

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Wow, you are certainly braver than I. I guess I am paranoid and would never leave my kitty for more than 12 hrs. I will either enlist one of my parents to come over to kitty sit or hire a pet sitter to come to my house 2x per day . Could not stand the thought that something could happen and no-one was there to help. That way when I go on vacation or have to travel for business I have one less thing to worry about.
 

airprincess

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I live far away from my family and don't know anyone who could come over and check.

As for hiring a pet sitter, since my place is kitty proofed, and I don't have to worry about them getting into any trouble, the only reason I would hire a pet sitter is to play with them and keep them company. They are petrified of strangers and will hide, so a pet sitter is useless.

My boyfriend is in the army and will be gone for months at a time, so I can't count on him to watch the cats.

It's not the perfect solution but they have clean litter, plenty of food and water and each other for company, so I really don't worry that much about them. They've never even punished me when I got home by being aloof with me.
 

sassyfras

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I've left mine alone for 36 hours on several occasions with no bad results. We leave them several bowls of food and water. I also leave a faucet trickling both because they think this is a treat and in case the water bowls tip over. I think your kitty could make it for three and a half days.
 

griffin

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You left your cat alone for 3-1/2 days? My cat needs some one to look after her every day.
 
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