Cat Question: How long is too long to be alone?

I think that's too long, especially if you're not going to have anyone else come in to feed her. Plus, cat's foodbits that are left too long in their plates grow stale and then they won't eat it (unless it's a matter of life and death). Try to bring her along. We take our cat on three - four hour drives if we need to visit our in-laws and he's perfectly ok. Once he's in the car, we open his travel hatch and either he stays inside, finds the courage to explore his surrounding or find it comforting to sit on someone's lap. If it's not feasible for you, the next best thing is to find a pet kennel where you can put him in as a weekend resident. My only thoughts of this would be that if your cat is anything like ours (somewhat paranoid), being in a strange surrounding with strange people and other strange animals and being constantly in a cage can be stressful. I'd still opt for taking the cat along.

I think that's too long as well.  Overnight is okay, but I wouldn't leave her alone for 4 days and nights. 

ps...I am still blogging, probably to the dismay of some on here

Why the heck did you do that?  You were doing so well up until that comment, then you had to go and spoil it.  Why you feel the need to remind everyone of your victimhood I'll never know......but I do wish you'd get over and and just press on.

If you had two cats rather than one, 2 days with food and an extra litter box would be "Just OK". Cats like companionship too!

The cat would probably be OK but would ignore you for thwe first few days after your return.
My worry would be if the power and heat went out while you were gone. I know what Mn winters are like.

I suppose you've never heard of a kennel?

Why as a matter of fact LW, I have heard of them...the reason I didn't mention them is because that simply is not an option. I don't know of any in the area...and if there where, I would not take the cat there. I've brought a couple dogs to kennels before and just the way they look when I pick them up really freaked me out...its really stressful for them to be in there, at least my dogs...and dogs are pretty easy going as well so its harder for them to get that way. Last place I want Cleo to be is in a cage in an back room surrounded by umpteen dogs and cats barking and meowing constantly.

Taking her in the car is stressful, as would exposing her to strange animals on their own turf, and the possibility of her escaping in a strange environment is a tragedy you may have overlooked.

Granted, this would be true, if I had overlooked it. My Beagle is 11 years old...he has no problem with other animals and he actually gets along and plays with the cat (dusty) up there. Dusty is around 12 years old...and he is very calm and laid back, nothing bothers him at all....while he might not like having another cat around...its happened before and he has been perfectly fine with it. At Marcies house...they have a young kitten that Cleo would straigten out in a heartbeat so Id actually look forward to that. The only thing Im worried about there is her lab which is a larger 70lb dog. Not worried about a fight or anything....Cleo just hasnt been around a dog that big before.

Pet ownership carries with it something called RESPONSIBILITY, Ziggy, and the fact that you....

Right...thats why I don't ask (or take) handouts and pay my vet bills, thanks for the lesson on responsibility. Ill have to remember that when I work from 7 am - 11 PM every night so I can pay the bills. I've also had pets for the past 20 years and I havent been in this situation before...that compiled with the fact that the time slipped by faster than I thought...I wasn't as ready as I wanted to be.

Why the heck did you do that? You were doing so well up until that comment, then you had to go and spoil it. Why you feel the need to remind everyone of your victimhood I'll never know......but I do wish you'd get over and and just press on.

Lol....I certainly didnt mean to imply im a victim...I just said that contrary to the hopes (read past LW comments on other threads about Christmas wishes), that I am not gone. Thats all I said, nothing more, nothing less.

My rule of thumb with my cat is she can be alone for up to 3 days (a long weekend) but beyond that I have someone come in every other day to play with her for a bit. I free-feed my cat dry food, so a full bowl of food and water will last a few days no problem. The only concern I have with leaving her alone is she is a very people-oriented cat and loves to play and be petted. Cats can do just fine with no one around so long as there's food, water and a place to take a crap, they may just not be too happy about it.

You could always ask a neighbor to poke their head in every other day while you're gone for 5-10min just to freshen up the water and pet the cat a bit. Most people would be happy to do it since it's easy and this is the season where people feel unusually nice. Failing that, offer then $20 for the time, it's not much of a sacrifice on your part and it ensures the cat is taken care of.

When I'm gone for holidays, either the property manager's daughter looks after my cat, or this year for Christmas, my girlfriend has agreed to stop in every few days to check up and refill food and water.

thats why I don't ask (or take) handouts and pay my vet bills, thanks for the lesson on responsibility.

Responsible people are smart enough to graciously accept money when needed.  She didn't ask for money, it was given as a gift.  Some people actually get joy out of helping friend who are in a pinch.  It's called selflessness. 

Leaving any pet for that long by themselves is not being a responsible pet owner.  That is too long for even a cat to be alone. 

With all due respect, he was asking for advice, not a snide response. It was a simple question: Do you think it's okay to leave the cat alone for three days?

We're new at the pet thing, and we know that lots of people here have had pets for a lot longer than we have. We also cannot afford a kennel at this point in time.

It was a simple question, and all it required was a simple answer.

I've also had pets for the past 20 years

We're new at the pet thing

I'm so confused.....

I free-feed my cat dry food, so a full bowl of food and water will last a few days no problem. The only concern I have with leaving her alone is she is a very people-oriented cat and loves to play and be petted.

Cleo scarfs down food fairly quickly...have to fill up her bowl every day and a half or so....we could just give her a larger bowl for food and water...Im just concerned about the fact that she is like your cat...very people oriented. She doesnt really play unless we start it or she gets on a sugar buzz...but she always hangs around either myself or Marcie or both of us when we are in the same room.

LoL, I actually look forward to your posts, Ziggy. Why? Because they remind me to be grateful for the natural intelligence, empathy, and compassion that I was born with, simply due to the fact that these worthy traits are so glaringly absent from your own persona.Please, dear, never leave JU! Gratitude is a good thing, but I do need gentle reminders to *be* grateful from time to time, lest I fall into the self-absorbed, self-satisfied, narcissistic mind-set that you display every time you open your petty, ignorant mouth.

Interesting...I could say the exact same and apply it towards you...with the addition that if you have nothing of value and worth to contribute without making some side comment or negative remark...then what is the point of replying other than to see your own words?
On the contrary Sabrina, I welcome all comments from anyone who has something to say, including you...but constantly belitteling me is growing old...Im sorry but I grew up a long time ago and Im too old to put up with that crap.

The key is to get the cat used to being alone for 2-3 days at a time. Take long weekend trips or something at least once every other month or so, that way she gets accustomed to it.

I've left my cat alone for 4 days at a time before, and aside from being VERY affectionate when I got back, she didn't suffer any ill effects. Plenty of food and water and a cat will be just fine.

I'm so confused.....

She can reply to that.

We are new to having a pet on our own so in a sense we are new to it...but Im also aware of all the responsibilities associated with owning a pet. Living up north...at my dads house on the lake...we just left out a bunch of food. If the dog needed water and her bowl was empty...she just drank out of the lake or ate snow and she lived outside all of the time anyways so we didnt need anyone to look over her unless we were gone for more than a few days and she needed more food.

At my moms...when we left..we brought my dog out to my dads house at the lake and my dad would take care of him. Now, my mom has a pet sitter come and take care of him...but we dont have any extra $$ to pay for a sitter.

If our place was even larger, I wouldnt mind it as much because the cat would have more to roam around...but there isnt much to do up here in such a small place.

Now that we have a pet on our own, we are...like everyone...realizing certain things about pet ownership and the winter break snuck up sooner than I thought and next thing I know...Thursday is here. I know that cats are fine for 1 or 2 days by themselves...but this is going to be 3 full days and one night that she is by herself alone and I wanted some advice on what others thought.

I hope that clears things up.

The key is to get the cat used to being alone for 2-3 days at a time. Take long weekend trips or something at least once every other month or so, that way she gets accustomed to it. I've left my cat alone for 4 days at a time before, and aside from being VERY affectionate when I got back, she didn't suffer any ill effects. Plenty of food and water and a cat will be just fine.

Right, she has been by herself for 2 days before a couple of times, and she went with me on a 3 day trip from Vegas to MN which Im sure she loved on her kitty prozac. The thing is that I just worry about the unexpected...

One time a few years back when I was living at my moms...we went to Duluth for the day and came back and there was Dusty our cat at the door. I picked him up and his fur was all wet and I couldnt figure out why. I looked at his mouth and his mouth was open a good bit. While we were gone, he had managed to get his collar half off...but it slipped into his mouth and he couldnt get it off so...for he had his mouth open like that for however long and was drooling on himself while he was laying or sitting down. That really bothered me and that kind of stuff makes me worry about what could happen if Im gone for that long...just the unexpected.

but we dont have any extra $$ to pay for a sitter.

Do you have any neighborhood kids? When I was about five I used to watch my neighbors cats, go over and make sure that they had enough food and water and some play time. Granted, they lived next door, so it wasn't a big deal. I think they would either give me $5 for the week, or bring back something fun (and inexpensive) from their trip. Their daughter would also watch our cats while we were gone.

Ry...can you call your mom and tell her we're not coming till tomorrow?

Shades,
Normally, that would be a option...however we dont know anyone around here. Its surprising...I really dont see any kids in our neighborhood...at least on our block.

Mousie, Yep, I can call her during my break...will leave a message on the machine.

I'm a-gonna be fair here, LW...while three days IS too long, the fact that Ryan posed the question shows that he IS trying to be responsible. Life's a learning process, and the lessons they learn from this will prepare them for the future.

Ryan,

Are you guys attending church? You might find someone in the church who will watch them, especially if there's a couple bucks in the pot. Just a thought. And (my two cents...remember, I DID defend your position at the beginning of this response), the comment about you blogging "probably to the dismay of some" was unneccessary and argumentative. Might be a good sentence to eliminate if'n you wanna learn to "play nice with others".

Anyone who "forgets" that he has a pet that needs to be arranged for is not responsible enough to own a pet. That's just my opinion, of course, and I can't say it hasnt been influenced by other grotesque examples of Ziggy's immaturity and self-centeredness.

Could you possibly muster the energy to make a comment without some sort of insult or would that be too much to expect from you? Of all of the things I comment and post on, on here, you focus on only a select certain few things and then continue to focus all of your engery soley on those things and those things only. I dont know what force is driving you to only comment negatively, and then to add onto that with an insulting remark, time after time to help reinforce your own perception of me.

I've also learned that when he "asks for advice" he's really already decided exactly what he intends to do, and is simply looking for others to validate his choice.

Actually, you are wrong. I asked for advice, because that is what I wanted. I was thinking that it was too long for her to be alone, but I wasnt totally sure. After getting some advice on here and another place where I asked a similar question...Im thinking that it would be ok to leave her for a few days as long as she has a big ol bowl of food and water. My main concern is her just being alone.

Anyone who "forgets" that he has a pet that needs to be arranged for is not responsible enough to own a pet. That's just my opinion, of course, and I can't say it hasnt been influenced by other grotesque examples of Ziggy's immaturity and self-centeredness.

This is easy for you to say, because the only responsibilities you have are keeping your house, stroking your ego, and washing your husband's silky thongs *shivers*. Ryan works sixteen hours a day. We had talked about taking her with previously, because we'd assumed that we'd both have the whole week off. It turns out that he doesn't, and since I'm in bed when he comes home, and we hardly ever see each other, we really hadn't talked about it.

When we've left her before, she's always been okay. She doesn't "ignore" us, she's on top of us and won't leave us alone...which is good. I wouldn't allow someone else to pay for her kenneling, nor any other of her medical needs, because if I can't take care of her, she needs to go to a home where someone can. She is current on her vaccinations, and she is cared for and loved and basically spoiled rotten at home. She gets regular veterinary care. Again...passing judgement just because you can.

I'm so confused.....

You know how you have your childhood pets? I had Poochie, and Ginger, and a myriad of barn cats. They were my pets, but I think my parents handled most of their care. So now that Ryan and I are together, we decided to adopt the cat together--so...hence the "first time pet owners"...

Are you guys attending church? You might find someone in the church who will watch them, especially if there's a couple bucks in the pot. Just a thought.

We'd thought of that, too, last night...we just don't have the few bucks to give anyone right now.

It's my conviction that cats are self-centered jerks, and that "alone" is too good for them.

Lol....wow...What a load. Don't even know where to start shoveling the crap out of this one.

Lets just hope she doesnt knock the water over on day one, or choke on her collar (or anything else) and for gods sake lets hope nothing catches fire or she gets sick with no one there to notice.

Those are things that could happen in a twenty minute run to the store, or an 8 hour work day, JUST as easily. Are we animal abusers because we go to work? No. While I love her, she is, in fact, a cat. Not a human. Cats eat, sleep, and poop, and sometimes, if they want, they sit on your lap. The cat will do those same things while we're gone. I'm not leaving a two year old child here alone. THAT would be cause for concern. Lots of people do lots worse things to their animals than leave them alone for a few days. Yet, because animals are your only interaction with something alive other than plants and your "H"usband, you feel the need to crucify us for the horrible torture of leaving her alone for now, 2.5 days. The more venom you spew, the more I feel sorry for you.

The fact that you guys have been there for what, six months now and havent made the aquaintance of a single soul with whom you'd trust your cat by now speaks volumes. I guess you're as unpleasant in real life as you are in JU.

And how many people could YOU count on there in Richmond to come take care of your animals while you were away? Your crack-addict neighbors? The people your "H"usband works with? I don't exactly see you out on the front porch befriending the neighbors. We WORK alot. And I know when I come home, the last thing I want to do is go out and be involved in the Jaycees or go teach a Bible class. I'm completely whipped, and I just want to sit and veg out. That doesn't really leave a whole lot of time to go make connections so we can have someone take the care of the cat if we're going to be gone for more than an hour. I would feel comfortable asking people from my work, but they all have families and Christmas plans, too.

If she were more of a baby, and not used to us being gone, or if we'd never gone away and left her before, we'd take her with us. I'd rather save the money we'd spend on a kennel, which would be MUCH more traumatic for her than being left alone for a day or two, for her vaccines and check up coming up. She's going to sleep on her perch in the sun, eat her food, drink her water, and poop while we're gone. And then when Ryan gets back, she's going to bother him until he loves her up for an hour.

I do know this, though, I've never, EVER, went off and left an animal alone for more than an 8 hour work shift.

Cats are one thing, dogs are something completely different. Dogs need to be let out throughout the day. Cats don't. They are fine as long as they have food and water and a clean place to poo (some dont even care if its clean...as long as they can take a crap).

As a matter of fact, I could have gone to MY parent's home in Ohio this Christmas, but did not wish to incur the expense of kenneling 2 dogs and 3 cats, so guess what? I sacrificed my selfish wishes in order to take care of my responsibility.

This really makes me wonder...you have lived there most likely a lot longer than we have lived here. Your cats would be fine with food, water and litter. For the dogs, you could get a sitter to come in the house and let the dogs out 3-4 times a day. Sitters start at 10 bucks a day. So...instead of spending around however much (100 bucks, lets say) on gas and extra stuff like that AND 30 bucks for a sitter...as if that 30 dollars is the amount that is going to break the bank. A sitter is also less expensive than a kennel. Maybe you just have a problem with people entering your house while you aren't there...which makes me wonder as well what you could be worried about...especially if you get a professional, insured sitter.

convince yourself that your cat will be just fine, and go have fun.

These are quotes I took off of the replies where I posted the same question on another site:
"Only four days? She'll be fine. Make sure there's ample food, and set out several large bowls of water. "

"I would be personally fine with it. "

"We do this quite a bit and have never had a problem. My rule of thumb is that I'll call the pet sitter if I'm going to be away more than 4 days. My cats are always fine. "

"I had to go to Fort Knox for Erik's Basic graduation for 3.5 days and I left a lot of food out, and they have their water fountain..and my cats were fine."

"The water fountain should be okay if you clean it and fill it before you leave -- I always leave ours running because a bowl of water won't last 3-4 days (at least in our house) and I've never had a problem."

"I agree with everyone else. I think it will be fine. "

"I think your kitty will be fine too. "

Hmm...innnnnnteresting.

The fact that you guys have been there for what, six months now and havent made the aquaintance of a single soul with whom you'd trust your cat by now speaks volumes. I guess you're as unpleasant in real life as you are in JU.

Right, and the fact that like I said above...youve been there for howevery many YEARS and can't find someone to come to your house and take care of the animals....speaks volumes as well.

Thats all I said, nothing more, nothing less.

No, that's what you MEANT to say. Not what you SAID.

Right...thats why I don't ask (or take) handouts and pay my vet bills,

Aww, dude....that was SO not necessary. Really.