Is it safe to leave my cats on their own for 4 days? Options

[maha11]

I will be vacationing with my family and initially i was very reluctant to go but my mum insisted since everything's already paid for. She's not a cat person and doesn't understand why i can't just leave them with some food and water and they'll be fine.

Is she right? With sufficient food and water, will they be fine? I have 2 cats, one a very independent 7 year old male cat, the other a female cat (not too sure of her age she's a rescued stray) who sleeps on my lap everyday and licks my face a lot :P

I've never left my female cat alone for more than a day before and i'm worried about her.
Will they survive? Won't they get bored? They're both indoor cats and they're allowed outside once a day. Will they be scratching at the door? If it's ok for me to leave them, what extra precautions should i take, besides leaving them enough food and water?
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[Muffy]

I would be reluctant to leave them that long as they do like clean trays etc. Can you arrange a cat sitter to come in say once a day?

[kata]

I would have thought the water would be stale and the fresh food 'off' if you left it 4 days without any-one coming in to feed,water and pet your cat. Any-one you know to do that for you?

[whitney01]

It is not good to leave your cats on their own for 4 days.. You better find someone to take care of them for those days..

thanks,

[ChocolateDots]

Too long for them to be alone, I wouldn't leave them longer than overnight.

Agree with either a pet sitter or look into boarding them.

[travelvietnam]

I'm very grateful for your article, a very good article, thank you all ...

[seeto]

No, it isn't all right.

Part of the cost of your holiday should be the $25 a day for a visit from a cat sitter, I mean $100 isn't going to break the bank is it?

I can't believe what goes on in some peoples heads.

[AshleyWilis]

ohh..
No its not safe, Pets need care.. You know they can get into trouble easily,
So you should look after them, or you should arrange a care taker for them..

[welovepetsitting]

I find this often with my pet sitting business people think its ok to leave their cats for days. Why is it not ok to leave a dog but people think its ok to leave a cat. Not only can something go wrong but can you imagine how lonely it would be sitting in your house on your own for 4 days. I think I would go crazy. Cats dont have Facebook to interact on!

[Catsfriend]

Part of the cost of your holiday should be the $25 a day for a visit from a cat sitter, I mean $100 isn't going to break the bank is it?

I agree with all the others that, by no means, you should leave your cats alone so long. However, in my opinion, $25 a day for a short visit to feed 2 cats is pretty over the top! Even a commercial boarding cattery will be cheaper than that.

My solution: I give $20 a day to my neighbour, and she comes over at least twice a day, feeds 18 cats, 2 dogs, 3 ferrets, 1 goat, 2 guinea pigs and a turtle, moves the dogs in and out from the kennel, has her kids paly with them, and she even washes the dishes and cleans out the litter boxes. For that, she can serve some extra big T-bone steaks to her family every night, and she is very happy with this payment - and I am extremely happy with her service. Perhaps you can make a similar arrangement with one of your neighbours!?

If you can't find such a neighbour, have a look at local pet-related facebook sites. Google something like "Pets buy sell free + your town name". On our local one, I recently saw some young people advertising that they would love to do holiday care for pets in their neighbourhood for some $2-$5 a day. So, do some research and choose a pet sitter for the long term - at a price that seems right to you. Then, you can travel as much as you like!

[Catsfriend]

I just want to add a little story from my own experience - so to say, the worst case scenario.

Once a little dog turned up in our front yard. He had a collar with a council tag (with a bitten-through washing line cord hanging on it), so I called the council with the number to find out who he belonged to. I went to that house, which was just around the corner, to bring him home. I went back about 5-times in the next two days, left messages with my phone number under the door etc., but noone was there or called.
On the third day without any response, I went through the half-opened gate into their backyard, found the back door wide open, went into the house, found three cats there, a female, a big kitten and one undesexed adult male (all mix moggies), a large tray filled with about 20kg of dry food and an empty water bowl (however, there was a swimming pool full with water in the backyard, next to the doghouse with the rest of the washing cord attached).
Not knowing how long the animals had been alone, I wrote a note and packed the cats into a box and carried them back to my home, too. Then I called the council and told them about it. The council officer came to visit me and said, I must bring all the animals back to that property and that I could be prosecuted for what I had done - and he said, no, this is not a case of animal cruelty as long as they have food and water! He then talked to the next-door neighbours of that home and asked them to look after the pets until the owners would come home.

Well - be it as it is - just imagine you come back home, and you find letters from the City Council and from the RSPCA under your door and have to deal with some really angry and critical neighbours ... and find that some crazy animal lover has even illegally entered your premises just to save your cats!

[Analog6]

Two days (ie an overnight trip) is the absolute maximum. Look for a local cat sitter who will come in and check them once a day. Often your vet practice will know of someone. Where do you live?

[kittenmitten]

edited following PM from CF that this $20 is only when she is away, not as I interpreted it above which sounded like she had her do this each day. My apologies for misunderstanding. I do stand by the comment though that $20 for all of the above duties is damn cheap, if you had to put all of these animals into boarding care, you would be paying a darn sight more than this, and IMO she should be getting at least double or maybe triple the amount per day.

[Catsfriend]

What is the appropriate payment for a pet sitter?

I think this question can never be conclusively answered. It really depends on the circumstances. Some criteria are:

- Who is the sitter/carer (is it a personal friend or a business person who has to pay taxes and insurances);
- How skilled is this person (a primary school student or a veterinary nurse);
- Where does he/she comes from (next door or drive an hour through city traffic);
- How demanding is the work (shopping and cooking involved, medication to be administered, aggressive animals to deal with, etc.);
- How many animals and species are there, and does their care require specific knowledge/skills; and
- Is the pet sitter left alone and fully responsible/liable, or can he/she ask the owner for advice at any time?

Most people I know have friends, family members or neighbours who help out for free.
In many cases, "one hand washes the other" - you feed my cat when I am gone, and I feed yours when you are away. Again, there is no cash payment involved.
Also animal shelters regularly get in volunteers who happily work for free.

The owner of our local wildlife park once told me that they are getting lots of requests from overseas students who would love to work there for some time - not just for free, but they would even pay the owner generously for accommodation and training! This place used to have far more animals, and much more demanding animals, than anyone of us has. The owners, however, preferred to do all the work themselves, instead of putting their time into money-earning activities and into marketing & advertising work for their facility - which very soon sent them broke, so they had to close the wildlife park earlier this year.

In summary, many animal owners don't pay anything at all to their helpers, occasional or regular animal carers, or pet sitters, because many people don't ask for or even reject payment. However, even in such a situation, I believe it is still nice to reward the helper in some way. In some cases a gift might be appropriate - for example, a precious souvenir from the far-away holiday place. On the other hand, some helpers may actually indeed prefer some cash, if you ask the question clearly and without judgment.

So, what amount is right? When I consider that my daughter once worked for $5.50 per hour at McDonald's in Sydney, and that was all she got for long hours of customer service, food preparation etc. only because she was only 14 years old at that time ... then it becomes clear that the amount considered generous and appropriate will largely vary from person to person.

[Heather Sharada]

What is "right" is what two individuals agree on....there is no right or wrong. I have a friend in Sydney who does homecare and for her business she charges $20 a day to visit each home and change litter, feed cats and top up water....this is irrelevant of the number of cats and other animals that are involved.

She has a different charge for twice day visits of course and it is a business.

I totally agree that the longest a cat should be left at home alone without attention is 2 nights...extra litter trays, extra food bowls and a light left on somewhere with a radio playing softly....oh and expect to be greeted by a displeased cat when you come home.

[stevemarker]

Probably not! they feels insecure and they can't enjoy fun without you...

[Tas]

I will say at the most is one night. They will miss you

[CeilingCat]

I'd be reluctant to do so. I'll leave my cat overnight from time to time, and once I did for 2 nights, because I left in the evening and was back in the morning, but longer I'd definitely get someone in to look after them a couple of times. Not just because of food and fresh water (which they dont' like sitting around!) but also they do get lonely. Cats are fairly independent creatures but they do enjoy the company a lot more than you'd think!

[Albai]

My solution: I give $20 a day to my neighbour, and she comes over at least twice a day, feeds 18 cats, 2 dogs, 3 ferrets, 1 goat, 2 guinea pigs and a turtle, moves the dogs in and out from the kennel, has her kids paly with them, and she even washes the dishes and cleans out the litter boxes. For that, she can serve some extra big T-bone steaks to her family every night, and she is very happy with this payment - and I am extremely happy with her service. Perhaps you can make a similar arrangement with one of your neighbours!?

you've a mini zoo, how cool I wish you're in melb , love to see yr mini zoo

yeah ill never leave my cats unattended I always get my neighbour to come and clean the tray and feed them.

Now that my cat is now all alone, Im looking for good cattery for him so that he can enjoy himself and play with other cats. I don't think I can bring him to camp as I will be totally busy looking after 100 youth

If Ive another cat to adopt before 27th Dec and keep him company I would not bother to take him to the cattery. Decision, Decision, Decision

[Catsfriend]

... If Ive another cat to adopt before 27th Dec and keep him company I would not bother to take him to the cattery. Decision, Decision, Decision

Uuh, I wouldn't that! Cats need quite some time to get used to a new environment and to each other, and they should be introduced to each other slowly, gently and under supervision. If you put a 'playmate' into your home and leave, the 'play' may turn into 'prey', and you might find the new kitten dead or badly injured when you come back home. A boarding cattery is the better option.

[Heather Sharada]

Now that my cat is now all alone, Im looking for good cattery for him so that he can enjoy himself and play with other cats. I don't think I can bring him to camp as I will be totally busy looking after 100 youth goofy.gif cry.gif

If Ive another cat to adopt before 27th Dec and keep him company I would not bother to take him to the cattery. Decision, Decision, Decision cry.gif

Ramona is quite right and even at a cattery cats will hide rather than socialise with another cat - I would not use a cattery that thought it was OK to mix cats together....apart from the health issue of diseases cross contaminating fighting is very likely.

[Albai]

Any other options or should i just let my cat alone in the house for 9 days and get my neighbour to come in and go

[Heather Sharada]

Don't leave the cat alone but look for a boarding cattery where the occupants are kept in their own enclosure and not mixed with other cats....I assumed you meant you were going to leave the cat whwere the residents were allowed out together.

A good boarding cattery will have a secure enclosure for each cat where there is a comfortable bed section and all the basic needs

In some catteries they allow people to bring in with them a scratch post, the cats own bed and litter tray and familiar food....see if you can first of all go and have a look at where your cat will be housed if you can.

[Albai]

Thanks I shall do that:)

[anika_perry]

They might be lost or sick. If there is a neighbor who can watch out, I think it's better :)

[hitcher]

Its not good idea in my opinion too. You can ask a friend to look after or ask professionals to do it. Be careful..

Good luck