Taking care of the cat

[la79al]

We are doing a non-Disney vacation in the next month or so and I need to get someone to come in to take care of the cat. Does this need to be an everyday thing or could it be an every other or even less? I'm not trying to neglect the cat, I'm just really clueless on this. It seems like when we are home, with 4 of us in the house, it's hard to determine how many times we actually feed and water her. I would love to send the cat on vacation too but she would need to get spayed first and we don't have anything set up for that.

 

[Bearybear]

We have someone come every other day to check on the cat, refresh her food and change her litter box and even give her some treats and catnip. She is always happy to see us when we get back, but she is ok while we're gone.

 

[ilandrazdsw]

When we are gone someone checks in on the cats every day and changed the litter box every couple days (take out the bag, replace with a clean one, and add litter)...then again we have 4. For a single cat every other day is fine for food and water (leave out plenty of water) as long as it is used to food being left out.

 

[mirandag819]

We only have 1 cat.... my inlaws usually only come by like every 3rd day or so while we are gone.... we have automatic feeders and automatic water bowl, and we put out 2 extra liter boxes to be on the safe side.

 

[Macduffy]

We have two cats. One we board as he requires daily medication and I hate asking friends and family to pill the cat . The other cat we ask a friend to come in every other day and refill the food and do the litter. We give them a GC to a local restaurant as a "thanks" - much cheaper then the kennel! We often hear they don't even see the cat when they come by!

 

[Lstar311]

We have 3 cats and we had someone come the day after we left until the day before we came home. I would have liked to skip a visit or so but one of my cats is a hungry hippo who eats all the food on the other two. I think every other day would be fine for just one cat.

 

[disneylove69]

My cats have hard food at disposable at 24/7. They hate soft food. I can leave them a week at a time. I have Littermaid which is awesome. I keep the temprature at a comfortable level. THey sleep all day and I don't think they even notice.

 

[disney*mom*82]

We have 4 cats now and I usually just have my parents stop by every 2-3 days to do all the necessities, including pet them and love on them! I do make sure they have a lot of food and water and we always have 2 litter boxes. I think they keep each other busy enough and sleep a lot they dont care that we are gone.

 

[Mickeypooh99]

We have 2 cats. We leave out 2 litter boxes, and lots of food and water. Then we have someone come by about every 3rd day to check on them. We leave a radio on for them. They are always fine.

This year we are having my mom stay here the whole time we are gone. It will be easier since she can get the mail/paper and take care of the cats too.

 

[stsomewhere]

My cats have hard food at disposable at 24/7. They hate soft food. I can leave them a week at a time. I have Littermaid which is awesome. I keep the temprature at a comfortable level. THey sleep all day and I don't think they even notice.

We leave ours for a week. No problem.

 

[JKSWonder]

When we go away for just a weekend, we leave her home alone with extra food and water. Anything longer than that, we board her with her vet....usual price is $15 per day.

I think she could probably survive alone in the house for a week, but I don't think she would like it very much. She tends to eat much less when she is alone.

 

[VBAndrea]

We have three cats (and used to have four). I leave out loads of food and a few bowls of water in addition to filling the bathroom sink b/c one of our cats feels that's his water bowl anyway. We also have five litter boxes (normally I just keep two out but when going on vacation I put all five out). I just have a neighbor check on them every two to three days to change water and supplement food. They always seem to do fine. If my neighbor who has cats is watching them she'll scoop the litter box, but I once had a neighbor without cats so I didn't ask her to scoop the box and it worked out just fine since I had put so many boxes out.

 

[perkinsrose]

When we had two cats--I would be okay with every other day having someone give fresh water and check in on them. We leave radio on for stimulation in one room so its not complete silence for days on end.

Now that we're down to 1 cat, I think its necessary for someone to stop by every day so that she is less stressed. I give her fresh water daily normally and feed once /twice a day with dry food. Litter boxes are scooped most days--at least every other day. When on vacation, I don't ask litter boxes be scooped (we have 2) but my mother usually will anway. When at WDW once a year, I'm lucky to have Dmother who will stop in once a day on her way home from work.

Our beloved cat is 16 years old--the one thing about Disney I stress about is leaving her!

 

[tinkerlisa]

I hate leaving my cats home alone but once while on vacation, the person who was supposed to check them never did!

Thankfully I left out extra food and as for water, we keep it on a drip, since they will only drink it if it is running(we have a water fountain for them). the last time, my mom came in and checked them once. I dont worry about the cat box since I put fresh litter in them. That is usually the only thing to take care of when we come home.

 

[chrisw127]

We have someone come in everyday, but I think every other day is fine.

Regarding the spaying, if it's difficult to get her to the vet, there are probably programs in your area that are run by vet schools or volunteer groups that will do it. They usually have a mobile clinic and do it on-site (like in the parking lot of Pet Smart or wherever) once a month or so. You could ask your local pet store, call a vet's office, or even the humane society for information. There is often no charge, although it's customary to make a small donation ($5.00 or so).

Have a great trip.

 

[Worfiedoodles]

How old is your kitty? Ours is 16, so we have someone check on him every day when we are gone. He is very social, and gets lonely even when we're gone during the day. I think it would freak him out too much if he didn't see a human for days on end.

Take your cat's emotional temperament into account, too. If he's not a people person, he probably won't be phased by your leaving.

 

[HGD24]

I haven't read all of the responses, but we took care of cats for our friends while they were gone for 2 weeks. They asked us to go over twice during the week that they were gone. The first time we showed up, the cats were meowing so loudly and were rubbing up against our legs like crazy. It was obvious that they missed having people around. We felt so bad that we decided to go back every other day (a 30 min drive from our house, 15 mins from DH's work) to visit until their owners came back home. I would try to find someone who could stop by every day or at least every other day.

 

[whitneyNC]

She should be fine with someone checking on her every other day. Cats are pretty independent. But please get her spayed; there is nothing to plan for, just call your vet or low cost clinic and I bet they can get her in right away. She won't even have to spend the night. You don't want a cat in heat, especially if you've asked someone else to watch her. What if she got out? And the intact males hanging around spraying? Yuck. If she's not vaccinated, that could be done at the same time. Good luck.

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

Remember that cats regulate their food intake versus dogs who will eat until they puke. As long as kitty has enough food and water, every 1-2 days will be enough while you're gone. Just make sure that your friend cleans the box when they come in.

Our eldest cat has a tendency to eat more when we're gone so we have to have someone each day. My parents cats are good to be checked on every 2 days. It depends on your kitty!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

I'm not trying to bash anyone who previously posted, but I'm a petsitter and in my opinion, cats should not be left for more than 24 hours. Yes, they can go potty in a box and you can leave them extra food, but I've been there when you are gone and cats DO miss their owners and have anxiety about it.

They also can get into lots of trouble. I've known cats that got stuck in vents, turned on faucets, & stuck in rooms. I cannot imagine leaving a cat for a week, alone. It's a policy of mine that I will not do every other day petsits, too many things can (and have) happened to cats left alone for that long. Please consider once a day visits, even for a short period to check on them and give them a little attention.