Pets

[DisneyGirl625]

We are leaving to disney for a week and are leaving our pet cat behind and there is no one to come by and check on him. Is it a bad idea to leave him for that long?

 

[cameyer85]

We are leaving to disney for a week and are leaving our pet cat behind and there is no one to come by and check on him. Is it a bad idea to leave him for that long?

YES....even with dry food the cat needs fresh water and the litter box to be cleaned...even if it's every other day....the best most reliable way to find someone is: www.http://www.petsit.com The pri... is worth every penny in my book. Good luck.

 

[abbybeth]

We are leaving to disney for a week and are leaving our pet cat behind and there is no one to come by and check on him. Is it a bad idea to leave him for that long?

As a fellow cat owner, I would tend to say yes that may be a bad idea. While cats are independent animals, they do need some looking after. At the very least, going for that long without scooping the litter box will likely upset the cat and cause them to look for cleaner places to use the bathroom.

Additionally, they will consume food and water and is very possible that they could run out - if you leave an entire weeks worth of food out, depending on your cat's behavior track record, some cats get stressed and eat all of it in a hurry, making themselves sick and then they don't have food for the remainder of your vacation. Same thing with water, even if they don't drink all of it in a hurry or spill it, after a few days the water will get stale and the cat may turn their nose up at it and you could come back to a dehydrated cat. Cats are also fairly social creatures and leaving it alone for that length of time isn't really in their best interests.

It's ok to leave a cat to their own devices for a weekend or a few days, but leaving them for an entire week isn't the best choice. If you don't have someone who can check in on them, call your vet - most vets are willing to make arrangements to house an animal and it's a better option (and more affordable) than most kennels. I will have a similar dilemma when we go in the fall and I refuse to put my cat in a kennel - I'm driving her 2 hours to my friends house where she will be cared for for the week. Please try to find somewhere your cat can go or reconsider who might be able to check on it.

JMHO

 

[DisneyGirl625]

We would ask the vet but last time he was there he wouldnt eat or go to the bathroom (so says the vet). We leave the faucet open a little for water for him, he wont drink water from a bowl. My mom was planning on leaving more than 1 litterbox.

 

[Mischa]

I would never leave our cat for a week with no one to come by and check on him. I've never used petsit.com but I would definitely look into it. We're lucky that our cat likes the vet (and the folks at the vet love him, and our dog too).

Besides your cat might get lonely without any human contact for a week and might think you've abandoned him. I know my cat would - even though he's independent, he loves to be cuddled (though I'm sure he wouldn't ever admit to it)!

 

[abbybeth]

If the vet is not an option, then please reconsider your options for having someone come and check on the cat. IMHO, it's pretty mean to the cat to just abandon it for a week because you can't find anything else convenient to do. Your pet is a living creature that is depending on you for it's care - it's a responsibility!

Perhaps you or your mom have a close friend who would be willing to stop over at least once or twice while you are gone to check on the cat? While there may not be anyone in your neighborhood you trust, I am sure that one of you has a friend you would trust and would be willing to do this for you!

I hope you have a nice trip and I really hope you are able to find a better solution to this!

 

[DisneyGirl625]

Thanks for the advice. Im going to tell my mom to check with he best friend from work to see if she could come by atleast one, because i feel really bad about leaving him(my baby )

 

[rockstargeisha]

Do you have a neighbor or close friend who could come check on the cat? They can also collect newspapers and mail for you. That's what we do for our animals. Much cheaper than sending them to the kennel for the week.

 

[derocas]

How about a kennel if you can't get someone to petsit? We are leaving our two dogs at a kennel. It can get expensive but it's well worth it. Can you check with the vet to see if they recommend anyone?

 

[MomWith2Cinderellas]

We are leaving to disney for a week and are leaving our pet cat behind and there is no one to come by and check on him. Is it a bad idea to leave him for that long?

IMO...You should put him in a kennel if you can not find a pet sitter. It is inhumane to leave a cat alone for a week with out anyone checking on him, feeding him, and cleaning out his litter box.
There are some websites that list pet sitters that may be in your state.

 

[nemonoah]

We left our cat at home, we gave her plenty of food and water and thought that she would be fine, but when my father in law came to check on her, he said she was cring because she was so lonley, so he made sure that he stopped by our house twice a day for the rest of the week. I felt so bad, she's my baby, but she hates people thats why we left her home.

 

[ziggybaby]

We are leaving to disney for a week and are leaving our pet cat behind and there is no one to come by and check on him. Is it a bad idea to leave him for that long?

[

YES

Put him in a cattery or get a pet sitter

Pets shouldn't be left unattended for to long

​

 

[iltb]

We've tried leaving our cat in a kennel, and for our cat at least, it was WAAAYYY more stressful to her then when we left her at home.....she wouldn't eat or go to the bathroom for several days. She absolutely HATES everyone but me and my DD.
This past trip we left her at home alone for 5 days with plenty of fresh water and food, left on the tv and lights on a timer. Our litter box is an automatic one so that wasn't a problem. Anyway on day 6 my mom checked on her and she was fine....not crying, plenty of food/water, and her litter box was fine. The cat didn't even want my mom to pet her or anything....
Anyway, you know your own pet and as long as you MAKE SURE to leave all of his/her neccessities, I think you'll be just fine.....especially if it is a pet who gets extremely stressed to leave the house or be around new people. However, that being said, if you can have someone check on it, that would certainly be ideal!

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I agree with needing to have someone to come and check on him, at least a few times during the week. I hope your mom's friend is available to do it for you. You and your kitty will be so much happier!

When we go on vacation, we leave our bunnies with my parents or my sister. They don't like riding in the car or having to adjust to a new environment, but bunnies are social animals and do better with people around most of the time. This August, my parents and sister will be going to Disneyland with us. I've already enlisted the girls across the street and their mom to feed the bunnies. I'm going to ask them to come twice a day and check on their food and water and give them their treats.

Hope you have a great trip and hope your kitty is OK while you're gone!

 

[PrincessBelle39]

Dont want to sound like I'm having a go but my option if I can't get anyone to check on my cats at least daily, is to stay at home. I couldn't enjoy myself on holiday if I couldn't guarantee that my pets were safe and secure. We can't put ours in a kennel either, two of them are just to old and its not fair on them to put added stress on them my taking them away from their own environment. But I couldn't imagine leaving them alone for a whole week.
Normally I have someone from my family come in once or twice a day, but this trip my entire family are coming with me. So as Mumwith2Cinderellas mentioned, we found a pet sitter online. If that doesn't suit, your local vet may have the number of someone who looks after pets at home for a small cost.

 

[solferino]

We are leaving to disney for a week and are leaving our pet cat behind and there is no one to come by and check on him. Is it a bad idea to leave him for that long?

Yes. And irresponsible, not to mention disrespectful of the cats needs. A weekend I could understand, but anything beyond 2 nights is unacceptable in my book.

In the past we've had a teenage daughter of a friend of ours stop in 1x a day to check in on them, make sure their food and litterbox is ok, not to mention lots of love. Kitties need that.

This year is a bit different as she's off to college, so one of my co-workers who lives down the road has graciously offered to help.

 

[Disneybabe84]

oh no no! this is definatly not a good idea at all! A cat can live a week without food (which I highly would not suggest doing) but a not without water. I would definatly check with your vet to see if they can take care of your cat or find a reliable person that is willing to check up on it and scoop the litter box, change the water (which is very necessary due to the fact that cats need to drink lots of fresh water since they are prone to urinary tract infections) and clean the food bowl and refill it.

I am the owner of a 4 yr old tonkinese cat and I would never suggest leaving the cat alone. Yes, they are independant creatures, but without us to give them the nessessities there is no way they could live. (unless of course they are out door cats, but a strictly indoor cat might not understand where to look for food) and I definatly agree with one of the members that said if you do not clean out the litter box they will go look for somewhere clean to go to the bathroom.. this is definatly true.

I really hope you find someone to take care of your cat while you are away, it needs the love while you're gone.

 

[Kazzy1548]

Our neigbors are leaving for ten days and they asked DD to come by everyday to play with their cat and to make sure she has food and fresh water. I think is the human thing to do and makes DD real happy to play with a kitty. Maybe you can find a responsible child on your street to help you out.

Kazzy

 

[MomWith2Cinderellas]

Our neigbors are leaving for ten days and they asked DD to come by everyday to play with their cat and to make sure she has food and fresh water. I think is the human thing to do and makes DD real happy to play with a kitty. Maybe you can find a responsible child on your street to help you out.

Kazzy

That is a great idea! We use to pay a young neighbor to watch the cats until the day she moved away.

 

[ForeverDance]

My parents come twice a day to make sure our cat is fed and "loved up" so he won't be lonely if we will be longer than a 3 day weekend. We also do the same for them.

Do you maybe have someone in the neighbourhood that has a cat that might be interested in an arrangment like this? Perhaps in your situation you don't need twice a day (my kitty is a big sucky ) but maybe you could work out once every couple of days or something.