What is the longest time a cat can be left home alone?

Question

I will be gone from this Thursday to Sunday. I don't want to have to take my 1yr old cat with me since it will be a 2 1/2 hour drive. I would love if she could stay home since that is where she is most comfortable, but is this too long for her to be alone?

Answer 1

The longest our cats have ever been left alone on their own was overnight.

The best thing to do is to have a friend or family member come to your home at least once if not twice a day while your gone.

That way your kitty will have some company and they can refill food and water bowls and clean the litter box..if the litter box gets to dirty the cat isn't going to use it.
Also with someone coming in to check the chance that kitty will get into trouble that could harm him are greatly reduced

Answer 2

Have someone come and check on her everyday and ask them to stay for an hour or two. Cats may seem independent but they really do love human companionship. Leave the tv on for her too.

I have left my cats alone before, they still had each other, but even though I had someone checking on them (I asked that person to come everyday and spend time but I really don't believe she did), the family not being here was very stressful for my male. He pooped and peed everywhere. He probably drove my female nuts, causing her to hide on him. Making him think that he was all alone. Making the situation worse. Now I have a cat with separation anxiety! We still can't leave him in a bedroom with the door closed if no one is there with him...he pees as soon as he realizes he's alone.

You're right though, she'll be more comfortable in her own setting than in a strange one. You just need to get her a sitter you know will be willing to watch some tv with the cat :-)

Answer 3

Well, if it was me... I'd have someone check in on her on Friday. If you leave Thursday then you can be sure she has food and water before you leave, Friday, your pet sitter can check in to make sure she still has water and give her more food if she needs it, then Saturday she should still have food and water but even if she doesn't, if you get home early in the day in Sunday, she should be just fine. If you're going to be getting back late on Sunday then I'd suggest having the pet sitter come in on Saturday as well, just to make sure she's going to be good until Sunday night. I had a friend who went out of town for about four or five days and I had to take care of their cats, frogs and turtle. It's always a good idea to have someone who'd be willing to check in on your pets. The chances of her dying in a period of four days are not that high but there still are the chances. Especially since you never do know, there might be an extremely hot Saturday and she doesn't have access to water... That's why it's always good to have a human there to make sure everything is okay. Good luck and enjoy your trip!

Answer 4

She'll be fine, I have left my cat for longer, as long as you have a good temp in the house maintained and way more than enough food and water, use your common sense, you kinda know how much they eat in a week, if your gonna be gone 3 days put a weeks worth out, cause they will be bored locked up alone, so they tend to eat and drink a bit more. Make sure there are lots of playtoys left out and a couple windows with blinds slightly drawn for them to look out the windows for something to do and she should do fine. As far as the longest time they can be left alone? I would say 2 weeks, but on those you really do need someone checking in on them a few times during the week ensuring the food and water are holding out. We have boarded cat's for months at the clinic. My cat sleeps in the middle of our bed all sprawled out on his back and eats all our cheetos while we're gone!

Answer 5

as long as it has plenty of food & water, and the litter box doesn't get too dirty, it should be fine. i've left my cats alone for that long before. i had someone come by to check on him, but they didn't have to do anything. i left a large bowl under the bathtub faucet & left it dripping & propped the door open for plenty of water & a big bowl of food (that was less than half gone by the time i got back) and changed the litter right before i left. they were fine. very happy to see me when i got home, but in good health.

Answer 6

not more then a couple days unless you have someone check on them everycouple days. i left mine for a week i have 3 cats and they torn my apartment up for being left alone they had plenty of food and water but they got restless being alone. there is also the litter box issue my apartment stank cause the box didnt get changed and if it is too dirty my cats wont use it so hence they peed everywhere around it. so my advice is dont leave them unsupervised for more then 2 days

Answer 7

It is too long without someone checking in on her. It would be good if you could get someone to pop in to make sure she's ok. Make sure she has plenty of food and water and to change her litter or if she's inside you could come back to a very dirty house. She could fret and get sick easily if there's no one around, she could knock the water over and be left with nothing to drink. .

Answer 8

Your cat should be fine if left with plenty of dry food and 2 big water dishes (in case she dumps one). She will be safer at home than traveling with you. Have someone check on her if possible, but if not, it shouldn't be a big deal.

Answer 9

Food and water are the key. Be certain that there is enough food and water. The storage type of container/dishes are probably the ones to use.

Answer 10

Somewhere between 4 and five weeks. I left my cat home many times for a month ...Everything is ok... The house was messy, the cat a little thin. Five weeks apparently is too long as the cat was dead after I came back from the last trip.