Cat owners

[DMRick]

That sounds like a great plan. At least if something goes wrong with kitties or house, she'll be able to let you know. And you won't have to worry!

Ok here is what we have decided:

We leave Friday night.

No visit on Sat
Petsitter will come by on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday
We get home late Wed

So kitties will be looked after, even thiough my husband thinks I am being neurotic.


I will worry less about my kitties. I will worry about having someone in my house, but she seems like a very nice lady. I told her she can stop by anytime on those days, she said she stayes 45 minutes - hour and will play with the cat toys and such.

Haha I am this bad with cats just wait until we have children!!

 

[MistressMerryweather]

Wow. I'm glad it works for you, but I could never do that. First, I'd want someone checking the house anyway if I was gone that long. Making sure everything is okay, that no one has tried to break in, that lights are on and pipes okay, etc. I couldn't leave for two weeks without anyone checking anything.

Second ... I just don't think that's fair to the cat(s). Particularly when there's only one. I mean ... poor cat, ambling around a big ol' empty house by itself, not knowing when or if anyone is ever coming back? Nope. Couldn't do it. If I could figure out a way to tell my cats "I'll be back on the 15th -- don't worry!", and know they understand ... then maybe. But without them able to understand that I will eventually return, I couldn't.

I know that I could never spend two solid weeks alone in the house with no one to talk to and nothing to do but eat and sleep. I mean ... think about it. For two solid weeks ... no other people, no interaction ... just a radio, food, a place to pee and somewhere to sleep. I shudder to think of it!

There were two cats before we moved close to my mom, so they were not
alone. One cat is very independent and has been known to do her own thing for days and days without being seen, so I'm sure she didn't mind. The other cat just hangs out with the hide-out cat. Now that there is just one cat and we live near my mom, she checks on her if we go away.
It's what we had to do at the time. It sure beat having some stranger stay or check on them while we were gone and coming back to a cat urine soaked house. They obviously preferred to be alone in their castle. LOL Taking them somewhere was never an option. I would never leave my kitty in a kennel for 2 days or 2+ weeks sitting in a wire cage in a strange place with all kinds of other smells and animals. The attention they would get their is nil to minimal.

 

[DMRick]

sitting in a wire cage in a strange place with all kinds of other smells and animals. The attention they would get their is nil to minimal.

We must have different kennels in our neck of town. I know of at least two kennels where the cages are smooth, not wired on the bottom. The sides are metal, not wired...because they need to keep them separate from the cat next to it. The front is wired, so the cats can see what is going on and they can be watched as well. Some are very large, so that two cats can be together if their owners wish. The closest kennel that I have seen the most, has a blankie laid on the bottom of the cage, a wooden condo for each cat, a fluffy bed, and lots of food and fresh water twice a day, with either toys from home, or toys loaned to them while they are there. All of the cage items are cleaned with a bleach type spray in between clients or soaked, if appropriate. The smell is nice and clean, and the cats are played with several times a day.
Not everyone can leave their cats home (or wish to because of loneliness when home alone, perhaps because they need medicine, such as insulin, or even behavior problems), so it's nice they have some wonderful places to leave them.

 

[SookieStackhouse]

I would not. If I ever leave mine by herself overnight even, she is very upset with me. She acts aloof and lets me know that she is displeased. I could only imagine how she would react to more time than that.

 

[bicker]

Ok here is what we have decided:

We leave Friday night.

No visit on Sat
Petsitter will come by on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday
We get home late Wed

So kitties will be looked after, even thiough my husband thinks I am being neurotic.

Sounds perfect. Your husband's off-base.

 

[torinsmom]

Ok here is what we have decided:

We leave Friday night.

No visit on Sat
Petsitter will come by on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday
We get home late Wed

So kitties will be looked after, even thiough my husband thinks I am being neurotic.


I will worry less about my kitties. I will worry about having someone in my house, but she seems like a very nice lady. I told her she can stop by anytime on those days, she said she stayes 45 minutes - hour and will play with the cat toys and such.

Haha I am this bad with cats just wait until we have children!!

Sounds like about what I do. We don't have anyone come on the day we leave or come home either. I do worry about someone coming into my house, but I usually get family or friends to do it, which makes it better. I would worry more about my cats without someone checking on them. Of course, I also have a(outside) dog to be checked on and fed.

 

[SaraJayne]

Ok here is what we have decided:

We leave Friday night.

No visit on Sat
Petsitter will come by on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday
We get home late Wed

So kitties will be looked after, even thiough my husband thinks I am being neurotic.


I will worry less about my kitties. I will worry about having someone in my house, but she seems like a very nice lady. I told her she can stop by anytime on those days, she said she stayes 45 minutes - hour and will play with the cat toys and such.

Haha I am this bad with cats just wait until we have children!!

I agree with your DH but if that is what helps you relax and not worry, then that is what you need to do.

We routinely left our cats for up to 5 days with no one checking on them. We left out plenty of food and water and two extra litter boxes and never had any trouble.

Now, our 19 year old kitty has to be fed soft foods three times a day, so if we leave for anything longer than 1 night, we have to kennel her, so she can be fed.

I'm glad you found a solution that works for you!

 

[luvwinnie]

I would not in case one became sick and needed medical care. There is no one that can pop in to check in them? Ask at your vet's office. Sometimes techs do things like that.

 

[Simba's Mom]

They'll be ok. The biggest thing you'll need to worry about is if they will do anything in retribution. My parent's cats would pee in their bed if they were gone for more than 4 days.

Oh, oh! I'm glad cats can't read so Tigger can't read this. This sounds like something he'd do. He's been known to pee on a suitcase when DH comes home after a business trip or after we come home after vacation. I guess it could be worse!

 

[amyy]

We have had to leave ours for almost a week and they managed fine. I had a hard time. We bought extra litter boxes, automatic water dispenser, extra bowls of water, food etc.

One cat would be so traumatized if we brought her to a kennel. She is traumatized when we do have a pet sitter come into the house. She hides so they never can check if she is ok. She is so mad at us when we do have a sitter that she hides and hisses when we come back She doesn't do this if we don't have a sitter. The sitter is a friend who we know is wonderful. Our other cat loves her.

I am glad we have someone because last time our friendly cat didn't come out. Our sitter found that she had gotten her nail stuck in the couch in the basement.

I worry about bringing our friendly cat to a kennel because she is so jealous. We have to keep the two cats in separate parts of the house. The things we do for our fur babies.