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Long Weekend- Cats alone?

The Menagerie
#1

I live in NY and I am going to be headed down to KY to watch my friend in Maclay finals in a few weeks.

I am going to be heading out late Friday night/early Sat morning (not sure yet) and coming back early on Monday. Is that too long to leave my cats alone in the apartment? Like I said I am new to the area, so I don’t have anyone who can go and check on them, so it is either leave them alone for a few days or not go at all.

My cats are 2 and 4. For the past 6 weeks they have been living in my old apartment for 5 days a week by themselves (i had to move before I could get an apartment so they had to stay while i was in a temp housing situation). They have been fine, but my parents have been able to check on them everyday/change the litter/etc. I have also left them from Saturday morning until Sunday night with no problems and no one to check on them, but, this would be the first time that they would actually be alone for about 3 days. Neither of them have any health issues.

I would obviously leave tons of water (and leave the toilet open haha), leave tons of wet and dry food and I would probably put out an extra littler box in the middle of the kitchen (I currently have 2 boxes and they really only use one of them, and i usually clean it every few days anyway)

Should they be ok or should I cancel my trip? Please don’t start telling me stories of freak accidents of people coming home to find their cat’s head stuck in the garbage disposal, or a cat hung himself in the blinds or something.

#2

I think they will be fine! My cats have stayed alone on weekends with no problems at all.

#3

They will be fine for a couple of days or so if you leave enough food and water sitting out. A few years ago, I had to leave mine for a month - left a bag of good dry food open, filled an ice cream pail with water and came home twice a week to check on them, not that I could go any farther than the porch with the stupid walker but the friend I stayed with did the water duties and litter boxes that were and still are in the basement. When I made the trip home, they got tinned food, cuddles. etc. Same with the barn cats (and horses) - my cousin made sure there was food and water enough for 24 hours and when I got home, they got attention. It’s not a recommended way of care but when one is laid up, it’s the only way. That said, a couple of days is nothing but don’t leave a lot of open tins sitting around as it will dry and they won’t eat it.

#4

We quite often leave our two cats for 2 days at a time. They can have extra water bowls put around and I have tons of dry food in a large bowl that will take over a month for them to eat. I try to leave at least some canned food for the first day or so because they are used to having it every day but they will eat the dry food if no canned is available. The litter box will be fine. Heck, I go 3-4 days on a normal basis without cleaning it…
The wonderful thing about cats is that you worry about them so much and they are so unconcerned about the whole process! :slight_smile:

#5

Here is a great thing for when you need to leave cats for a couple of days. Take a couple of cans of wet food and empty them onto a plate without mushing them up. Cover with plastic wrap and stick in the freezer for a couple of days until frozen solid. When you go on your trip, besides leaving a regular can of fresh food, put the frozen food down as well. It will gradually thaw and the cats will eat it the next day - nice and fresh, not stale and stinky!

#6

Dont cancel your trip! They would probably be just fine. To put your mind at rest, you could hire a petsitter to come in and check, feed, water and scoop once a day. For cats, the price should be well under $20/visit, and it would give you piece of mind. Ask at local vets and petstores for reliable insured sitters.

#7

I don’t know if this fits into the freak accident category or not. It’s something my vet cautioned me against, so maybe not.

A couple of years ago, my cat Lionel had a urinary blockage caused by crystals in his urine. He was fine one morning and miserable by that night. By the next day when the vet opened he was really pathetic and required overnight hospitalization.

He survived and hasn’t had a recurrence since he’s on a special diet. But anyway.

I remember my vet telling me when I picked him up that the condition was rarely fatal - except when people have gone away for long weekends and left the cat unattended. Which got my attention because I used to do it all the time.

Not saying this will happen - just FYI.

#8

Why don’t you bring them back to your parents’ for the weekend and have them stay in the old apartment?

I’ve left my cats for the weekend–worried, but they were fine. Could you have another teacher or a neighbour just pop in once over the weekend to check on them?

Also, can I come? (:

#9

We leave ours home alone all summer long, up to a week at a time. Four cats home alone in a small house. We leave out a pile of food and big bowl of water, toilet lids up.

I’m here to tell ya-worry about your HOUSE not your CATS! :lol: They will do things you can’t even fathom right now. They’ve been waiting YEARS for you to leave them home long enough to see if they can actually walk along the top edge of that glass framed wall art. :yes:

#10

I leave mine home from Friday-Monday sometimes. Leave them enough food and water and they’ll be fine. They may make a mess but THEY’LL be fine.

#11

They’ll be just fine. What I did was, about a week before, get them used to drinking out of a couple of medium/large mixing bowls placed on the floor (you don’t want them scared of it while you’re away). I always use two just in case one gets knocked over. Same thing for food. A couple of large bowls of dry food.

Really - they’ll be fine.

#12

I leave mine more-or-less alone for long weekends pretty frequently. In a normal situation they will be fine.

However pAIN’T does have a point. Cats are notorious for not letting you know that anything is wrong until suddenly there is a major issue. The odds of it happening at any given time are low, but it can. Because of that, I ask my ranch hand to pop in at least once a day while he’s caring for the horses and just make sure they’re acting normally. I leave out plenty of food and water and an extra litter box so he doesn’t have to do anything else, but it gives me a lot of peace of mind. I also have air conditioning and cable TV with the movie channels (neither of which he has), so I encourage him to hang out and watch a movie or something, I leave some beer in the fridge for him and plenty of snacks, and he usually does that. Kind of a win-win thing. :wink:

I wouldn’t cancel this trip or anything as the odds of a major medical issue developing on that particular weekend are very low. I’d just try not to make a habit of it.

Were you/do you leave food out 24/7 for your cats? The only time I have actually seen an issue from leaving a cat alone for a long weekend was when they normally fed at set times, and the cat gorged himself and ate all the food then got very sick from not eating for 2 days (it’s like a fatty liver thing? can’t remember but it’s a thing that can happen if they go without food for a few days when they’re used to daily meals, especially if they’re a little overweight like most housecats!). That cat lived but they had a huge vet bill from it.

#13

I’d probably buy 2 of the automatic feeders (in case one were to malfunction), rather than leaving a bunch of food, to prevent gorging. And I’d do the posters suggestion of freezing some canned food, and leaving it out.

#14

Honestly Jetsmom - unlike dogs, cats aren’t gorgers. Particularly not with dry food. I don’t think the OP needs to spend $$ on automatic feeders. What if both of them malfunction? Nothing wrong with large mixing bowls. Her cats aren’t going to bloat.

#15

They will be fine! About 10 years ago, I had pneumonia, went to the doctor and was told my two options were my parents’ house or the hospital. Clearly, I chose my parents’ house! Anyway, I ran home to grab a few things, my dad came to get me, and off I went to recover. Since I was so sick, I really wasn’t thinking about my cat. About 5 days later, it occurred to me that kitty was probably hungry, so I asked my dad to stop in and feed her. That’s when he discovered Alley had spent the last 5 days locked in the closet with no food or water. Eek!! She was just fine, didn’t even use the bathroom in there. Mind you, I would NEVER do this knowingly, but it happens (cats are so good at hiding). Enjoy your trip!!

#16

Your cats should be fine. I have two and have left them home alone many weekends no problem. I do suggest you put out at least two water bowls and two food bowls, but that aside they should be just fine.

#17

[QUOTE=janedoe726;5898089]
They will be fine! About 10 years ago, I had pneumonia, went to the doctor and was told my two options were my parents’ house or the hospital. Clearly, I chose my parents’ house! Anyway, I ran home to grab a few things, my dad came to get me, and off I went to recover. Since I was so sick, I really wasn’t thinking about my cat. About 5 days later, it occurred to me that kitty was probably hungry, so I asked my dad to stop in and feed her. That’s when he discovered Alley had spent the last 5 days locked in the closet with no food or water. Eek!! She was just fine, didn’t even use the bathroom in there. Mind you, I would NEVER do this knowingly, but it happens (cats are so good at hiding). Enjoy your trip!![/QUOTE]

Jumping jehoshephat - you remembered your cat after 5 days of no food/water and she was fine??? Glad it occurred to you that your pet might need feeding…

I imagine you were in a fever-induced coma and incapable of rational thought or action for those five days.

#18

Pretty much! Broke a couple ribs from coughing so much. Both lungs- it was rough!

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