I know this prob is a bad idea, but suppose I was to leave for work for few days and I dont have anyone to watch over my cats, can they survive on their own ? if leave them some food, and a clean litter ?
2006-10-12 08:19:04 · 30 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Cats
I've gone off for 10 days this last time. It IS the last time, too. I cut out the side of Stimpy's large DeliCat food jug ,cut the top half off two 1gal. jugs of bottled water and she was fine. I on the other hand was miserable. Cats are VERY independent. Does that help? It would be better if a friend could stop by though...
2006-10-12 08:39:36 · answer #1 · answered by renhoez 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
You know, most vets have staff that do house sitting. Most love the extra work and would be delighted to check on your pets for a small fee.
Although people do leave clean litter boxes, tons of water and tons of food and chance it, they often forget a few basic things- cats can pig out and eat all the food in a day or so.. and then have none. They can spill water or it can get gross...and then they have none.
They can over eat, and then vomit, and make themselves sick enough to need a vet.
You are right, it's not really a good idea- call a few vet offices and meet a few people who will check on your cats, take in your mail and let you do what you need to do without worrying all night about your critters...
2006-10-12 10:10:43 · answer #2 · answered by Dr. Max 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It should not be a problem for leaving your cat for a few days. The only things you want to make sure you do is leave them enough food and water. Also make sure you clean out there litter box before you go. Cats actually take care of them selves most time.
2006-10-12 08:53:27 · answer #3 · answered by bitsyrocky 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The longest I have left my cats has been 2 days, would have a friend of neighbor check on them once if it is longer or if you just want them to get some attention. If your cats eat canned food, I usually put a can on a plate and then freeze it the night before I leave and put it out the morning I leave. I feed them some regular (unfrozen) can food the morning I leave and leave LOTS of dry plus the frozen can which thaws later that night or the next day. If I give them too much can food..they will just gobble it up in one sitting and not have any the next day, so the freezing part really helps!
2006-10-12 15:46:35 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
For two to three days tops i would say yes, if your cats are on dry food and you usually leave it out all the time, most cats regulate what they eat, i would leave out however much you would normally feed them in those 2-3 days and then double it, just in case. As for water what i foudn works best is to put out a large bowl of water, plus i leave the tap on a faucet dripping for fresh water. It would be a good idea to have someone come in and check on them once a day, but i've left my cat for up to 3 days with no problems.
2006-10-12 19:44:56 · answer #5 · answered by moddedmama 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They should be fine. We left ours for almost 4 days once, though I don't think I'd try that with a single cat. They were very angry when we got back, but fine physically. We had a feeder with a timer, so one meal's worth of food opened up every twelve hours and a large self-waterer. We also bought and filled an extra litter box, thinking they'd shun the regular one if it got too icky, but instead they used the regular one and shunned the new one, go figure... I'd leave the TV or radio on for them for company.
2006-10-12 08:30:59 · answer #6 · answered by mockingbird 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I used to do it during the weekend when I went out of town and she was fine. I had one of those auto feeders and auto waterers. She was seriously lonely though. It costs about $10-$15 a day to have someone come and visit. I sometimes hired a cat visitor and felt much better about leaving her for a few days. Also, I had friends come by to sit and watch T.V. and keep the cats company. It wasn't too much trouble for the friend since all they were doing was sitting and hanging out, but I think the cats appreciate having someone there.
2006-10-12 08:29:06 · answer #7 · answered by Jess 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Three days max and make sure someone else has a key in case anything happened, so they could get in and clean up and put in fresh food & water. Also leave the Vet's office number by the phone - ya never know! Someone said leave the radio on a little bit for a little noise, that's cool, but not too loud.
2006-10-12 08:26:57 · answer #8 · answered by Lake Lover 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, they will be fine... I just left my cats alone for 3 days when I stayed with my family for Thanksgiving. Cats are great because they are so independent and can be left alone for a few days as long as they have adequate amounts of food, water and a clean litterbox. Your cats will be just fine alone for a few days, they will miss you I am sure but they will be OK.
PS Ellie is on crack!! It is NOT cruel to leave your cats alone for a while..... if you are leaving for more than 3 days then yes get someone to stop in and check but if it is only a few days they are fine... Geez she makes it sound like cats didnt survive for millions of years on thier own in the wild, they are still capable of as much today having only been domesticated for 4000 years and cat food has only been around for about 50 years before that kitty ate the mice in the barn and did just fine...... and cats will not eat all the food you leave out for them, obviously it is impossible for them to eat that much at one time, just make sure to have a bunch of food put out for them and if you are worried about water "evaporating" put a cup in the sink and leave the tap on at a drizzle. If you fill several dishes with water around the house it will not all dissappear in a few days.
2006-10-12 08:42:47 · answer #9 · answered by Kelly + Eternal Universal Energy 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Several bowls of clean water & dry food for a few days, lots!
If you can get a hold of another litter box, do that too, so they have plenty of "area". Find all their toys, or get them a new one.
They will be fine, they just might be a bit more bored without you there at night, hence the toys...That is the beauty of cats!
2006-10-12 08:31:15 · answer #10 · answered by fairly smart 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Maybe put out an extra kitty litter bin, so they have two instead of one (if the one gets too dirty, you know how they like to go everywhere else in the house). Cats are pretty good at taking care of themselves, so just leave out tons of food and toooons of water and they will take care of themselves. Cats moderate how they eat too, just put out enough. Or a ton, and whatever they don't eat put back after. Better more than not enough!!!
2006-10-12 08:27:06 · answer #11 · answered by red 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋