im going on vacation for 5 days and have no one to care for my baby. im thinking about just leaving enough food and water for the 5 days and putting out a second litter box. what do you people think?
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Whats The Longest You Left Your Cat Alone For?
- Thread starter shebaa
- Start Date
I wouldn't leave a cat alone for more than a day without someone coming by at least once a day to check on the cat, refill the food and water bowls, clean the litter box, etc. Can you hire a pet sitter? Ask a friend, neighbor, or co-worker?
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #3
people i had in mind either wants to get paid which i cant do, are allergic or are scared of my cat. i dont know what to do
You can't leave water to just sit and get stagnant and yucky for five days - it needs to be changed into a clean bowl daily. Of any of the three items (water, food, litter) this is the most important, and you'd need a lot more than one more litter box.
Surely there's someone who would be willing to help out.
Surely there's someone who would be willing to help out.
I agree with others, 5 days is too long. The longest I've left my pets is 3 days, I left Friday night and came home Monday afternoon. Anything longer then that and I'd be looking into kennels to board them. Maybe you could see if you could work something else other then money to "pay" for pet sitting? Maybe bake or make them something or offer to help them out when they need something, basically an "I owe you" instead.
Not to sound mean, but I consider the care of my pets to be part of vacation expense. If I can't afford to have them cared for when I am gone I can't afford the vacation. Is there no way to just reallot some of your vacation money into making sure your cat is cared for?
Not to sound mean, but I consider the care of my pets to be part of vacation expense. If I can't afford to have them cared for when I am gone I can't afford the vacation. Is there no way to just reallot some of your vacation money into making sure your cat is cared for?
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Totally agree to the above, i would be worried sick and would not enjoy my vacation anyway! when we leave for a day we have a camera that i use to keep checking in. Good luck!
Yeah, 5 days is awfully a long time. That's a 120 hours without you or anyone. Anything can happen in that span. I would honestly only be comfortable with leaving my cat for a day by himself and then get someone to pop by twice a day, if not once a day, or actually stay with him if it's longer than that.
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There is an app called “Nextdoor” that could help you find a friendly neighbor who might be happy to help. I'm not a big apps fan but this one is great. You have to sign up with your real name and address, which I wasn't into at first, but it is so incredibly helpful to have this window into your community and to be able to be in touch with neighbors you wouldn't have met otherwise. Really good for help with pets.
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I beg you not to leave your cat for 5 days. But to answer your question, the longest I have left my cat is two days (leave Friday, come back Sunday), but I have three cats so they had company.
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5 days is quite a long time to leave a pet home alone. Maybe a friend or family member can come by once or twice even to check on them? Or if you can board her, our vet will board a cat for just $10.00 per day, which is great. they feed and play with them 
you may check into it, it may not be too expensive.
I do understand you will do what you need to do, so some suggestions. if you do leave them that long i would have a large water fountain, one of the ones with a reservoir maybe, and the charcoal filter? I had a large one that i didn't need to clean or refill but once a week, if things got busy, one cat it should be fine for 5 days. i get paranoid so i would also leave a few large bowls of water out as well, just in case something happened to the fountain and it quit working.
also a few larger bowls of food.
I dont think 2 litter boxes would be enough for the cat to have a clean place to go for 5 days. I would leave at a minimum 3 and maybe 4. mine are picky
you may check into it, it may not be too expensive. I do understand you will do what you need to do, so some suggestions. if you do leave them that long i would have a large water fountain, one of the ones with a reservoir maybe, and the charcoal filter? I had a large one that i didn't need to clean or refill but once a week, if things got busy, one cat it should be fine for 5 days. i get paranoid so i would also leave a few large bowls of water out as well, just in case something happened to the fountain and it quit working.
also a few larger bowls of food.
I dont think 2 litter boxes would be enough for the cat to have a clean place to go for 5 days. I would leave at a minimum 3 and maybe 4. mine are picky
The longest I left my cats alone is about 12h.
Any time longer than that I ask someone to come over at least once a day, twice is better. And I have a camera too, but it stopped working lately...
Like others have said, part of the budget for the vacation is for paying for the cat attendance.
In my case is 5 euro per day, two visits a day.
Any time longer than that I ask someone to come over at least once a day, twice is better. And I have a camera too, but it stopped working lately...
Like others have said, part of the budget for the vacation is for paying for the cat attendance.
In my case is 5 euro per day, two visits a day.
We've left for about 20 hours. I've also left the cats at the vet for the day.
My mom is allergic and not a cat person, but her friend would go out of town with about 15 cats at home, and mom would go over there and take care of them for 10-15 minutes and come home. I actually live with allergies myself. When i have to go out of town and leave my partner in charge, I just make sure he has allergy meds, bronchaid, a dust mask, and we have latex or vinyl gloves on hand because he's allergic to my guinea pigs. Just in case.
My mom is allergic and not a cat person, but her friend would go out of town with about 15 cats at home, and mom would go over there and take care of them for 10-15 minutes and come home. I actually live with allergies myself. When i have to go out of town and leave my partner in charge, I just make sure he has allergy meds, bronchaid, a dust mask, and we have latex or vinyl gloves on hand because he's allergic to my guinea pigs. Just in case.
Twelve hours absolute maximum for me.
When I married my husband he had three cats and would leave on business trips for a couple of weeks at a time. The cats got along and had each other, but he also had a friend come over TWICE daily to change water, check on the cats, feed and play for about twenty minutes daily total.
I think once a day visit is sufficient in most cases. if you know someone responsible (bonus if they love animals/cats) and this person is willing to stay at your place, that's ideal. But a once daily twenty minute visit would be my minimum.
Cats are not decorative things, but sentient beings and very emotionally alive. So it is more than just physiological needs that should be considered.
When I married my husband he had three cats and would leave on business trips for a couple of weeks at a time. The cats got along and had each other, but he also had a friend come over TWICE daily to change water, check on the cats, feed and play for about twenty minutes daily total.
I think once a day visit is sufficient in most cases. if you know someone responsible (bonus if they love animals/cats) and this person is willing to stay at your place, that's ideal. But a once daily twenty minute visit would be my minimum.
Cats are not decorative things, but sentient beings and very emotionally alive. So it is more than just physiological needs that should be considered.
How right you are!
Two days, three tops. I don't have anyone to check on them, so any longer than that means boarding.
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I will leave them alone over one night only. If I am going to be gone longer than that I have a great pet sitting service run by vet students that come over twice a day.
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If there's ever been a vacation that means days away from home, then there is still someone here. If all of us are out it's only during the day (work/shopping etc) so she's probably alone for 12 hours at the longest and that is very rare. I couldn't imagine 5 days worth of litter poop! Hopefully you can get someone to help.
I agree that cats shouldn't be left for too long. Cats will inevitably wonder where you are and act out. Is there maybe a neighborhood kid that might take a small fee and come every 2 days? I understand some people are afraid of cats but I doubt yours will attack. The litter box will definitely need cleaning and he/she must have water and food. If I leave a full bowl of food for my cats, it doesn't last. They lick them clean and want more. I have to regulate them or they vomit.
