pets at home while you are on vacation

[Anna_Marie]

We will be leaving for Gulf Shores in 2 weeks . I have 3 cats - 2 kittens who are sisters and get along great, and young male. The kittens stay in all the time, but the male goes out sometimes. We rescued the male and it seems like he has a taste for the outside...he comes in a little bit but then wants out again. He will be going to the vet next week to get neutered.

My problem is, I would like to keep him in the house while we are gone, because I am afraid he will run away if we are gone for the week. My friend will be coming over twice a day to empy litter boxes and feed and water them. But the problem is, he and the kittens dont get along. They hiss and act like they are going to fight. Do you think they would be safe in the house all week?

And should I play a radio or something so they will hear noise? This probably sounds silly - but I wonder what kind of music? I wish they played soothing kitten/cat music, .

I should clarify maybe that the kittens are 6 months old.

Any ideas, or anything I haven't thought of, please let me know. I just want them to be safe and not traumatized while we are gone.

 

[Planogirl]

If you get him neutered he might be less inclined to want to wander. It could be helpful but I know that it's hard to stop the wanderlust that some of them have.

I would keep them all inside though. You could block off certain rooms and put up breakables in case of "cat fits". Some cats we had would start to race around and generally act a little weird if they couldn't get out.

Does your male use the litterbox without issues?

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I would keep them in separate rooms while you're gone with separate food and litterboxes. The male will probably hate it but he'll have to get over it. I think it's most important to keep him from wandering and to keep him from fighting with the kittens while you're gone. You can work on socializing them when you get back and he should be a lot calmer by then since he's being neutered.

 

[Anna_Marie]

If you get him neutered him might be less inclined to want to wander. It could be helpful but I know that it's hard to stop the wanderlust that some of them have.

I would keep them all inside though. You could block off certain rooms and put up breakables in case of "cat fits". Some cats we had would start to race around and generally act a little weird if they couldn't get out.

Does your male use the litterbox without issues?

Yes, he has used it twice when he has been in the house. Sometimes he just wants to go out to use the bathroom.

And yeah, I thought I would shut all the bedroom doors except the room where the litter boxes are, and then we have the whole hallway and kitchen/family room for them to play.

 

[dzorn]

Are you sure you want to get him fix right before you go out of town? What if there are complication and he does not leave his stitches alone? What if it gets infected or he pops it open while being left alone all day.

I would think you woud want to be around for his recovery.

Denise in MI

 

[Anna_Marie]

Are you sure you want to get him fix right before you go out of town? What if there are complication and he does not leave his stitches alone? What if it gets infected or he pops it open while being left alone all day.

I would think you woud want to be around for his recovery.

Denise in MI

Oh gosh, I never thought about that. No, I wouldn't want him left alone if he was still recovering. Thanks for telling me that.

 

[Anna_Marie]

What are the chances of him 'marking his territory' while we are gone? I dont want him doing that in the house....he hasn't yet though.

 

[HeatherH]

I wouldn't delay the neuter surgery, talk to your vet about it. The recovery for males is typically VERY fast. You definitely run a risk of him "marking" if he is not neutered, whether he has done it or not, and if you are keeping him in and he's used to going out, the risk is much higher.

With three young cats like that, is it possible for you to hire a pet sitter to stay every night? They really do need supervision if they don't get along well, to the point of hissing. My cats tussle with each other, but they are adults and do it to play, no claws or hissing. I'm afraid you could definitely have some problems if you don't have them more closely supervised.

As for music, are the cats used to having someone home all the time? There actually are CDs of music to "soothe" cats, if you really think that your cats need the noise during the day.

 

[PatsGirl]

Sometimes he just wants to go out to use the bathroom.
.

We have a cat that is now a year old but I've never had one so I still consider myself a newbie. I tried everything to keep him inside but it didn't work so he's an in/out cat, but prefers out. Recently he cried and cried to go out in a rainstorm so I finally let him out, watched him run to a spot in the backyard like a dog, dig a hole, do his thing, cover it up and run back to the door to be let in. I never in my wildest dreams thought a cat cared either way

I really wish he'd stay inside more. We have coyotes and sometimes I end up running from my room in the middle of the night to get him inside when I hear them in the yard. He thinks being on the railing of the deck somehow protects him We are now doing our best to keep him inside at night by not feeding him during the day so he wants to come in...some days it works, some it doesn't ~ I think it depends on how the hunting goes

Sorry but I've never had other cats so I don't know how it would work to leave them home alone. I did have Indi neutered and he was sore for about 3-4 days but fine. He actually preferred "hiding" so maybe he wouldn't mind being put in a room by himself following the surgery. We got a cat vs a dog because I was told they could stay home by themselves for a few days at a time but I still haven't been able to leave him for more than one overnight, he goes to his ex-grandfathers' house for longer trips (btw, I'm the grandmother, it is DD13's kitten/cat) LOL