Forum Discussion

pasusan's avatar
pasusan
Explorer
Sep 01, 2017

How long would you leave cats home alone?

Or - how long have you left them home alone?

We have 2 cats that we take with us when we travel in our trailer. They both do really well - they are happy and we love having them with us.

We have had family emergencies where we have had to travel quickly without our trailer for 3 or 4 days. Those times we left the cats at home with an automatic feeder and waterer.

Our 2 cats are sisters that *love* to sleep together - they are always curled up using each other as pillows.

Now we have a class B for short trips and we have gone 4 days without the cats, but I want to go longer - maybe 6 or 7 days. Our B is really too small for them and we don't feel comfortable that they would be safe and not accidentally get out.

Would like to hear the consensus - do you think they'd be OK at home alone for longer periods as long as they have plenty of food, water, and litter?
  • jbbrick's avatar
    jbbrick
    Explorer
    Sep 01, 2017
    My opinion ( and it's only that) is that even 4 days is pushing it. We rv with 3 always plus a dog but are planning to leave them home for an upcoming weekend. I'll still have someone come in and give wet food once a day. Boxes can hold, there are 3 to use. Dry food always out. More time than that I'd have a sitter come in and check them daily or board them. A sitter is much better, no change in scenery, maybe a high school kid to hire?
  • stickdog's avatar
    stickdog
    Explorer
    Sep 02, 2017
    My neighbor always planned his training classes while his kids were out on spring break. Gee his classes were in Boca Raton. Nice gig if you can get it. Wife and kids would go down for a week and I watched their cats. They had three.
    I just made sure they had food and water. They had big self feeder and self waterer. They all lived. No I didn't deal with their kitty potty.
  • rockhillmanor's avatar
    rockhillmanor
    Explorer
    Sep 02, 2017
    Friends of mind had to do the same thing due to an emergency had no choice but leave them.

    Because water bowls can get knocked over even the self feeding type. What they also did was put a bowl under the tub faucet and let the faucet drip water as a backup for the cats in case they needed water.

    Thought it was a pretty good idea as a safety net for them.
  • camperforlife's avatar
    camperforlife
    Explorer
    Sep 02, 2017
    We have left ours for 2 weeks but we do have someone come in and check on things and refresh the food and water and clean the litter every couple of days. Here is my advise if you leave a cat home alone for several days: If they sleep on your bed, cover it up, an expelled hair ball can stain a bed spread. Close the doors on rooms you don't want them in. Prop all the other doors open so they can't accidentally get shut out or in.

    I don't care how independent your cat is they will get lonely. Have someone come by who likes cats and will spend some time with them. I think ours actually likes the break from the dogs :)
  • azdryheat's avatar
    azdryheat
    Explorer
    Sep 02, 2017
    A month. Our cat was abandoned as a kitten and adopted us. We've been gone a month and he's been fine. He eats what he catches to supplement the cat food. Daughter looks in on him while we're gone.
  • toedtoes's avatar
    toedtoes
    Explorer III
    Sep 02, 2017
    I've known cats who have been left for a couple weeks at a time. But it can be very lonely for them.

    I know one family who had one of their cats go into hiding right before they were taking them to board. They brought the others, but the one was hiding until they had to leave for the airport. They ended up placing multiple bowls of water out (in case one spilled, there were others for the cat), several cat boxes, and filled the tub with dry cat food. He was sleeping on the bed when they got home.

    The bigger concern is loneliness. 2 weeks is a long time alone for a social cat. If you can have someone come by a visit with them every few days, it would be better.
  • Pawz4me's avatar
    Pawz4me
    Explorer
    Sep 02, 2017
    I wouldn't leave them longer than three or four days w/o having someone come by and scoop litter boxes, check on food and water and make sure they're okay.
  • pasusan's avatar
    pasusan
    Explorer
    Sep 02, 2017
    OP here - Lots of good advice - thanks!


    Some ramblings...

    I think they would be traumatized if we boarded them.

    They aren't very social except with us (and each other) - they pretty much hide whenever anyone comes over, so even if we had someone check on them - they would certainly hide.

    We do also leave extra bowls of water and food along with the automatic ones. But - great idea for the dripping faucet!

    The doors are a scary thing. They love closets and have actually locked each other in while playing. So we pay attention to all the doors - close the ones that could cause a problem and put wedges under the doors that have to stay open.

    Our last trip without them we were gone 4 days - 2 of which were short driving days so were just a few hours each. When we came home they were curled up in their bed together and barely lifted their heads to say hi. ;)

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