O/T, re leaving cat on vacation

[BeckityBobbidyBoo!]

How long would you leave a cat alone? We went on a six day trip over the summer and had a neighbor come in every other day. A friend went the same amount of time, but left her cat with a big bowl of food and water and no one to check on him. The neighbor that we left in charge of our cat was an 11 year old boy who snooped around the house a bit, so wary of having him back.

 

[BlakeNJ]

The longest we have left our two cats is four days--last seeing the cats the first morning and returning the fourth night. Our biggest concern is water so we leave two bowls just incase they spill one or finish the first bowl and of course lots of food. If we are too be gone longer, we have our neighbor (15) check in on the cats every two days. My sisters cat drinks out of her toilet (YUCK!) so when home she is sure to keep the lid down. If she goes away, she'll leave the lid up just in case. I am sure a cat can go for many days without food but not too any without water.

I am surprised an 11 year old would snoop. It's a shame you can't trust him. If it was snooping rather than stealing, maybe give him a second chance and close the doors to the bedrooms and remove valuables. Our litter and food/water are in two different places but for ease of our cat sitter, we put everything together not giving him a reason to wonder the house.

Good luck and hopefully you will get other suggestions.

 

[kellia]

We have left our cat for 3 days, possibly 4. When we went for a week, we had our next door neighbor (adult and friend) come over and feed her. We only asked him to come a couple of times and just give her extra food, but he fed her every day. Our cat was very happy to see us when we got home, though we really haven't see much of her every since our twin boys started to crawl 3 years ago! She pretty much hides in the basement, safer I guess!

 

[emma'smom]

We've left our cat for 5-6 days before without an issue. We usually leave a huge bowl of dry food and one full can of wet food (she doesn't seem to just gobble it up in one sitting and get sick like some animals might) and several bowls of water. We also leave all of our toilet seats up (just in case) and make sure that the temperature is comfortable (heat or air conditioning on- depending on the season).

One caveat, make sure you actually see you pet before you leave and then don't do anything else. One year, we left our cat and shut all of the bedroom doors (we had someone coming in to feed her because we were gone for 10 days). I ran back up to get something at the last minute and she must have slipped into my bedroom without my noticing. Anyway, it turns out I shut her into the bedroom accidentally.

It was a good thing that we had someone checking on her who noticed that she hadn't eaten any of her food or used the cat litter. He went looking and found her in our bedroom looking a bit dehydrated, but fine. He led her to the food/water and she recovered just fine. However, it would have been a different story if he hadn't checked in.

Moral of my story- Actually see your pet...and then leave!

 

[bkfree]

We also leave our cat and have for up to 7 days. She gets in and out through the pet door. I have an Auto Feeder that holds about 5 lbs of cat food and an Auto Water dispenser that will hold enough water for at least two weeks or more. She has always done fine.
I also have auto feeders for my acquarium and vacation cakes for my Hermit crabs. Dear Poodle goes to the Doggie Hotel.

 

[Momof626x3]

We have left our cats for over a week, with our adult neighbor coming to check on them and refill the food and water every few days. And one time our cat went into my son's room and closed the door on herself! It's a very good thing the neighbor went looking for her. When we go to Disney next month we will be gone 2 weeks and I will be leaving the 3 kitties with my father. Peace of mind! But we regularly leave them for 4 days by themselves with no problems (lots of food, water, and self cleaning litterbox).

 

[Syrreal]

We always have a friend check in on the cats every day. We have four of them and they eat a lot. We also leave the toilet seat up just in case since once of them sometimes decides that the water bowl is a toy and empties it with her paw.
We've left them for 10-14 days before, but again someone always stops by.

 

[flying_babyb]

personally, i would look for someone Other than the kid to visit the cats. Mabey someone without cats of there own. I know I would never leave my furbabies for more than 2 days without a caregiver. then again my "kids" tend to get in trouble.

 

[daisyduck123]

My sister goes on 10 day vacations several times a year, & leaves her 3 cats alone. I know she has a neighbor come in once a day to feed them & scoop the litter boxes.

 

[Syrreal]

Do you have any friends that could stop by? If not, maybe someone a little older than a kid. Maybe a college student you trust or an older teenager.

 

[bobcat]

personally, i would look for someone Other than the kid to visit the cats. Mabey someone without cats of there own. I know I would never leave my furbabies for more than 2 days without a caregiver. then again my "kids" tend to get in trouble.

LOL! We usually leave our cats home for 10 days with someone to check on them every couple of days. One year when we got home the cats got into my sewing supplies and I had thread wrapped around everything! Thankfully they didn't hurt themselves. This last year we had kittens and I can't even describe the mess we came home to!

 

[dr&momto2boys]

We hire a professional pet-sitter now who comes every other day to change the litter and give the cats fresh water and food. She also plays with the one (of three) who will come out to play. In the past we have left the cats for up to 4 days without supervision--using those big automatic feeders and watering dishes and blocking the doors from accidentally shutting. The sitter gives me more peace of mind.

 

[DreaminDisney]

We've left our cats alone for 7 days. My neighbor came over everyday and gave them fresh water and food and brought in our mail. I know they're in good hands.

Have you considered a pet sitter?