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Cat Forum / General Topics / April 2006Can I leave my cat home alone for many days? I need some advice, PLEASE.
Hi all, I've read some previous postings about leaving a cat at home. I'd like to ask you nice people again and tell you my situation. My friend has gone overseas for 3 weeks and has asked me to look after her cat. I cannot go into her apartment everyday. I think I can go there only once or twice a week. I prefer to go only once a week as I live far from her place. I don't know if this is ok for the cat. She has already left some dry cat food in a bowl and another bowl of water. She has also kept a litter area for the cat. The apartment is quite spacious. The cat can play in the living room, can go to the kitchen area, bathroom and can also walk up the stairs. The main living room has plenty of light during the day as the curtains are left open. Today is my first day here. The cat is quiet now. It was playing on its own before. I don't know if it'll be ok if I come back here after 7 days. I will provide more dry food and water. My friend told me that the cat doesn't eat too much. It's just a small cat. PLEASE help this novice!! I'm a bit worried and don't have a clue what to do. Please also tell me if I should leave a small light on. What about leaving tv or radio on- is it necessary? Are there anything I need to do? I don't wanna find the cat dead when I come back here next time. :( Thanks a lot Ben One bowl of water depending on the size will be gone by tomorrow next day guaranteed. 3 days max between visits if it was me it would be every other day if not every day. Your friend respected you enough to ask for your help. Twice a week is necessary if not more times. There are so many reason why more visit are necessary. Does your friend have someone else they can ask also to help you out when you can't make it. You need to have a way for fresh water for the cat to be able to have access to. Maybe leaving a bowl in the sink with the water flowing into it as long as the water can drain out if it over flows Small cat or not still needs to be treat as an important issue 7 days is way to long to leave an animal alone Our 5 cats eat 2 to 3 times a day plus free feeding does not eat much can mean something totally different to each person A light on won't hurt. TV or radio not necessary any loud noises the cat is not accustomed to may scare the cat > Hi all, > [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > Thanks a lot > Ben : My friend has gone overseas for 3 weeks and has asked me to look after : her cat. I cannot go into her apartment everyday. I think I can go : there only once or twice a week. I prefer to go only once a week as I : live far from her place. I don't know if this is ok for the cat. Absolutely not. Every other day is on the outer limit of acceptability. Ideally someone should visit her once a day. If you cannot do it, either she or you should arrange with other persons as well, even if you have to pay. Then you can share the duties. However long she has to be alone, you must leave enough water (so it won't evaporate away) and food. For water use a few deep pots and pans, even normal cooking ones. For food, leave it (only dry, not canned) in several bowls instead of just one (partially eaten food spoils faster). (Of course you can feed canned food when you are there, but it cannot be left, it will rot.) When you visit, discard all old water and food. Do not just top off. Wash and refill old water bowls. Similarly, either wash AND dry or start with new food bowls. Finally don't forget to clean the litterpan. Wash and dry the pan once a week. If you are uncomfortable, litter is cheap enough to throw away and refill. If you use a disposable box for a pan (cardboard, styrofoam, aluminum baking pans, etc), you can just throw the whole thing away. You must make sure that someone gets there preferrably everyday but at least every other day. Put some heart and effort and even sacrifice into it, it will be one memory you will always be proud of! We are planning on a vacation in a couple weeks(will be gone for a little over a week) and I expect my cat sitter to be there every day...(we have 6 cats). Yes, you may be a novice, but this will be a learning experience for you. btw...my one friend who is taking care of the cats, will be staying in the house (housesitting,too). Have you thought of that? Staying in the house for a couple days if the distance is too far for you? > : My friend has gone overseas for 3 weeks and has asked me to look after > : her cat. I cannot go into her apartment everyday. I think I can go [quoted text clipped - 32 lines] > least every other day. Put some heart and effort and even sacrifice > into it, it will be one memory you will always be proud of! For once, I actually agree with Barb. Take advantage of this situation, Ben! Stay at the house. There is so much you can do in this situation. Forget the obvious parties and going through your friend's drawers. IDENTITY THEFT, man! I'm sure your friend has a computer, right? You have GOT to pillage that thing. All of your friend's credit card #s and identification #s are on that machine. This is your ticket to freedom, Ben! Seize the Day, man! Good Luck! > We are planning on a vacation in a couple weeks(will be gone for a little > over a week) and I expect my cat sitter to be there every day...(we have 6 [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > house (housesitting,too). Have you thought of that? Staying in the house for > a couple days if the distance is too far for you? Oh, yeah...about the cat....Cats are tough. f.ck it. Loot the place and get the f.ck out. > For once, I actually agree with Barb. > [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] >> the house (housesitting,too). Have you thought of that? Staying in the >> house for a couple days if the distance is too far for you? At least have someone petsit, other than that, goddamn No !!! Would you like it?? > Hi all, > [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > Thanks a lot > Ben <crescent_au@yahoo.com> wrote in message > My friend has gone overseas for 3 weeks and has asked me to look after > her cat. I cannot go into her apartment everyday. I think I can go > there only once or twice a week. I'd say twice a week is an absolute minimum, hopefully more than that or perhaps another closer neighbour to look in once in awhile ~ maybe a neighbour with a young girl that would be willing to go in and play with the cat several times a week. That being said, I use two gallon size autofeeders for my cat. One holds kibble and the other holds water. If completely filled, they're enough to feed a cat for well over a week before they need to be replenished. The set cost me $35 at a local PetSmart. If you want, I can provide a link to these containers so she/you will know what I'm talking about. My cat *only* eats kibble and water and nothing else, so the autofeeder is perfect for me, but other cats may only eat moist canned cat food or something similar. In that case a different arrangement is going to have to be done. >My friend has gone overseas for 3 weeks and has asked me to look after >her cat. I cannot go into her apartment everyday. I think I can go >there only once or twice a week. I prefer to go only once a week as I >live far from her place. I don't know if this is ok for the cat. I would not do it. When i'm out of town I have a cat sitter come in twice a day. ($15 each visit). She feeds the cats, gives them their medication, cleans the litter box, brings in the mail, brings in the paper, gives the cats some attention, turns on some lights, turns off others, etc. I know this woman, she worked for my vet for 10+ years. I consider it insurance that the house and the cats are fine while i'm out of town. She has my cell # if she needs to call me. She >has already left some dry cat food in a bowl and another bowl of water. >She has also kept a litter area for the cat. The apartment is quite [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] >Thanks a lot >Ben "Dr. Woodard" <DrWoodardOnDS@hotmail.com> wrote in message > in twice a day. ($15 each visit). She feeds the cats, gives them > their medication, cleans the litter box, brings in the mail, brings > in the paper, gives the cats some attention, turns on some lights, > turns off others, etc. That's $30 a day, over $200 a week. Sounds a little steep, but that's just my opinion. If was going to be gone for several weeks and getting someone to come in on a regular basis was going to be difficult, I'd sent my cat to be boarded. My vet does boarding at $15 per day. Of course a cat being boarded doesn't get to run around as much as in the home, but my vet has assured me that a boarded pet would be taken out of the cage on a frequent basis and exercised or played with. Only downside to boarding is that there's other animals there and it's quite possible that if one gets sick, they all get sick. We have a couple places like that...15.00 per visit..so if I wanted her to come twice a day I would have to pay that,too. Which isnt bad having the peace of mind that my "kids" are taken care of. I am not for boarding my "kids" did that a couple times and have regretted it for years. > That's $30 a day, over $200 a week. Sounds a little steep, but that's just > my opinion. If was going to be gone for several weeks and getting someone [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > animals there and it's quite possible that if one gets sick, they all get > sick. >We have a couple places like that...15.00 per visit..so if I wanted her to >come twice a day I would have to pay that,too. Which isnt bad having the >peace of mind that my "kids" are taken care of. I am not for boarding my >"kids" did that a couple times and have regretted it for years. One thing I found out a number of years ago with boarding is some of them want you to get permission from the vet to forego their medication while in their care. I put my foot down and said no, the vet prescribed this medication for a reason, by golly the cat is going to get that medication. And no, the cat isn't going to skip it. >That's $30 a day, over $200 a week. Sounds a little steep, but that's just >my opinion. Yeah but I look at it as insurance. Insurance against 1. something happening to my cats, 2. making sure they get their medication. and 3. keeping an eye on my house. After all i'd never forgive myself if I came howe after seven days to find my cats dead because they ran out of food after the first three hours. Also there have been a number of incidents around here where a family goes on vacation for a week to come back and find a large group of kids broke into their house, had a huge party, trashed everything, and killed all their pets. Yeah $15.00 a visit may be steep but compare that to the steep increase in your home owners insurance when your insurance company gets a claim for a house that is trashed/burnt to the ground/cleaned out by robbers. Not to mention the heartache of finding your cats dead. $15.00 a visit may be steep, but heck it's one of the commitments I made when I brought cats into my house. Welcome to the world of responsible pet ownership. If was going to be gone for several weeks and getting someone to >come in on a regular basis was going to be difficult, I'd sent my cat to be >boarded. My vet does boarding at $15 per day. Of course a cat being boarded [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >animals there and it's quite possible that if one gets sick, they all get >sick. : That's $30 a day, over $200 a week. Sounds a little steep... Well, one can adapt. In this case, if the OP can go every other day, then a pet-sitter has to come in only every other day too, so that's about $50 per week for the cat to get one visitor per day. >My friend has gone overseas for 3 weeks and has asked me to look after >her cat. I cannot go into her apartment everyday. I think I can go >there only once or twice a week. I prefer to go only once a week as I >live far from her place. I don't know if this is ok for the cat. She What did you and your friend agree upon? Can you stay at her apartment? >before. I don't know if it'll be ok if I come back here after 7 days. I You definitely shouldn't leave her alone for 7 days. She needs fresh water, food refills, cleaning of her litterbox - if her box isn't clean, she may start going on the floor instead. She also needs some human companionship, someone to play with her, give her attention, etc. Being all alone for 3 weeks and having someone come in only 3 times during that time is not enough. On Wed, 26 Apr 2006 23:55:08 -0700, crescent_au wrote: > Hi all, > [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > Thanks a lot > Ben If you promised to care for the cat -- do it. Every other day should be the minimum -- every day is better. Is there a way you could take the cat to your house where it would be well taken care of? A soft radio on a talk station might make the cats less lonely. Better still -- keep your promise. MLB : My friend has gone overseas for 3 weeks and has asked me to look after : her cat. I cannot go into her apartment everyday. I think I can go : there only once or twice a week. I prefer to go only once a week as I : live far from her place. I don't know if this is ok for the cat. She : has already left some dry cat food in a bowl and another bowl of water. : She has also kept a litter area for the cat... I am surprised your firend left you without a clearer understanding than this, but it is good of you to seek advice here. As many have told you, once a day would be best. If you can't visit everyday, please find others, including paid petsitters, who can fill in. Once every other day is absolute minimum. See if any of neighboring children can help. They will be happy to do it, even happier with a little tip. Ask neighboring vets or animal shelters if they have any volunteers who can help. Consider moving to her place for a few days. Let us know how it is going. Firstly, thanks everyone for taking time to reply. I really appreciate it. After reading the replies, I've decided to visit the poor little kitty twice a week to start with. Last time I went there was on thursday. I will be going on sunday or monday again. I will see how she is coping. My friend tried to find other people to look after the cat but noone was able to do it. She wanted me to stay in her place for 3 weeks but i am unable to do it as I have to travel to work which is closer from my place. Thanks for replies. It's been really helpful. Ben > : My friend has gone overseas for 3 weeks and has asked me to look after > : her cat. I cannot go into her apartment everyday. I think I can go [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > > Let us know how it is going. : After reading the replies, I've decided to visit the poor little kitty : twice a week to start with. Last time I went there was on thursday. I [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] : am unable to do it as I have to travel to work which is closer from my : place. Ben I know you mean well but 4 days of loneliness is too long for a little animal. Please think a little more creatively and flexibly. Just because nobody could do it for 3 weeks does not mean nobody can help now and then. Just because you can't spend 3 weeks at her home does not mean you can't do it now and then. Try to organize some SOS visits like these. They will mean a lot to the kitty. One 20 minute visit by someone will cut her loneliness by 1/2, from 4 days to 2. Similarly if you spend just 1 night a week there, it will make big difference. I can't imagine that this woman and you are each other's only friends. Surely there are people who can chip in once or twice. Similarly I can't imagine many neighborhood in America where you can't find a student or youngster willing earn a tip for 20 minutes of work. If nothing else, pay a petsitter to come in twice a week too, that's about $90 total for 3 weeks, if your friend can travel overseas she can afford this sum. Then the kitty can have 4 visits a week, ie, one every other day, which is tolerable. > Ben I know you mean well but 4 days of loneliness is > too long for a little animal. Yeah - but it could be worse. Ben's 3-inch cock is also too long for a little animal. Apart from inflatable sheep, of course . . . . like the one I know you've got, Aj! > Please think a little more creatively and flexibly. Just because > nobody could do it for 3 weeks does not mean nobody can help > now and then. Just because you can't spend 3 weeks at her home > does not mean you can't do it now and then. Tell it like it is, Aj! That f.cking Ben, eh? What a sh.t! Imagine ill-treating a little animal like that, the gimp! > Try to organize some SOS visits like these. They will mean a lot to the > kitty. One 20 minute visit by someone will cut her loneliness by 1/2, > from 4 days to 2. Similarly if you spend just 1 night a week there, it > will make big difference. Absolutely! Are you listening, Ben, you f.cking wazzock? In fact, you should go even further than Aj's measly attempts at improving the situation. *I* say you move in, full time, and when the owners come back barricade yourself inside and shoot the f.ck out of any bastard who tries to come in. And when the police come, set-off your explosives cache and blow the whole neighbourhood to f.ck. It's the only way. > I can't imagine that this woman and you are each other's only friends. > Surely there are people who can chip in once or twice. Similarly I > can't imagine many neighborhood in America where you can't find a > student or youngster willing earn a tip for 20 minutes of work. Personally, as a Brit, I can't imagine many neighborhoods in America where you can't buy a pound of crack, a gun (with 2000 rounds of ammunition and laser sight), a Mexican servant, and a 12-year-old black virgin all for the price of a hot-dog. But that's just my opinion. > If nothing else, pay a petsitter to come in twice a week too, that's > about $90 total for 3 weeks, if your friend can travel overseas she can > afford this sum. Then the kitty can have 4 visits a week, ie, one every > other day, which is tolerable. Well said, Aj. All of it. What say you and me go round to Ben's place and kick the f.ck out of him? That'll show him. |
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