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Still following the procedures outlined in the earlier thread 1 1/2 years ago, and it has worked out fine. Three or four days max, she is left home alone. Longer than that, she is boarded, even though she dislikes it. Am fortunate in that she is boarded at a clinic that is exclusively for cats, so there are no barking dogs to contend with. However, now that she is old, even though she has no health problems, may revise things. An October trip is coming up, and she goes to the clinic, like it or not. Concern is more about her age, 12, than about other things related to being home alone.
I had a really hard time finding a cat sitter. I tried one that was supposedly bonded, professional and all. I'm not even sure I had taken in the 2 cats then, I wanted her to feed the ferals and change the hummer water (1 feeder). I'm not sure she didn't come like I asked or what but when I came home there was a big bunch of food dumped for the ferals - like she hadn't come for a few days then put out all the food at once. Either that or she was putting way too much out but it didn't seem like that much was missing. So I didn't call her again.
So I tried finding other 'professionals' but they are all booked and some are really quite inflexible. I understand they also work and have lives but I'm not paying them to do me a favor either.
Most areas do not have professionals that are background checked - by who? You would have to do your own to have real assurance on that honestly. Some people get bonded etc. but they can be hard to track down in some areas and tend to go in an out of business.
Just recently I was sort of desperate and decided to call my vets and it turns out one of the part time vet techs is a college student that lives near me and she is willing, quite sweet, and works for their vet so such a blessing. Not sure how long it will last, till she grads or moves or whatever but I'm grateful to have her for now.
I leave the cats for a 2-3 day weekend if my apt neighbor will be around and will feed the ferals. She will usually look in on the cats too but if she couldn't I would leave them a long weekend, but not more unless I were desperate.
My neighbor in my apt complex has a key and has helped with the ferals which is so great when I travel. She will be moving soon and I so not only will I lose that support but I live in fear of someone who hates cats etc. moving in who complain and get an injunction for me to stop feeding. (Happened to a woman where I work)
If you have more than one cat boarding gets expensive fast. I have boarded them both in an all cat facility at an all cat vets but its 14.00 a day per cat plus then I have to make sure either the neighbor or hire someone to feed and water the ferals.
So I pay the college student 20 per daily visit and its cheaper.
Sure does add to the cost of a business trip or vacation though.
I agree it does add to your vaca expenses. I am traveling to Europe and in the UK they have strict policy for cats to come visit. I am going to be gone for five days but i feel better just spending the xtra money to keep him at my vets boarding. I have luggage and my laptop and then a cat yikes i would not be able to carry all that.
I just hope he is going to deal well with it. I visited the place 2x and it looks very nice and they have a great staff so I feel safe with my decision/
I agree it does add to your vaca expenses. I am traveling to Europe and in the UK they have strict policy for cats to come visit. I am going to be gone for five days but i feel better just spending the xtra money to keep him at my vets boarding. I have luggage and my laptop and then a cat yikes i would not be able to carry all that.
I just hope he is going to deal well with it. I visited the place 2x and it looks very nice and they have a great staff so I feel safe with my decision/
I'm sure you're doing the right thing and that all will be fine for such a short period of time. I now have four house felines plus several outside ferals (fixed at my expense but who would never adapt to being confined) who have to be fed twice a day so, needless to say, I haven't spent more than two nights away in many years. I would trust someone to feed the outside cats but the boarding fees for the four house cats would be huge for any prolonged period and the last time I paid a highly recommended pet-sitter for just one dog and one cat turned out to be a total disaster. Good luck and I'm sure it'll all work out just fine.
I know this post is very old but my husband and I go on trips twice a year and leave our two adult cats at home. I have surveillance cameras on 24/7 and let me tell you from what I learned spying on my girls is they sleep 80% of the time the other percent is spent eating and sun bathing in a window. We leave two clean litter boxes out and two large bowls of dry food and an automatic (not electric) gallon water dispenser out. I leave the AC on 79. I do go overboard just for a peace of mind. I spray catnip in front of prime locations that the cameras record. I also hang and outdoor thermastat on a wall so I can monitor the temperature. I also put bowls of water in other locations with different bottled water (just in case they don't like Crystal Geyser). When we arrive back home they are more interested in smelling our luggage and digging in our clothes picking up different smells than snuggling with us. Of course after the excitement of sniffing is over they go back to normal and hang out with us. Long story short as long as they have food, water and a litter box they'll be okay.
I know this post is very old but my husband and I go on trips twice a year and leave our two adult cats at home. I have surveillance cameras on 24/7 and let me tell you from what I learned spying on my girls is they sleep 80% of the time the other percent is spent eating and sun bathing in a window. We leave two clean litter boxes out and two large bowls of dry food and an automatic (not electric) gallon water dispenser out. I leave the AC on 79. I do go overboard just for a peace of mind. I spray catnip in front of prime locations that the cameras record. I also hang and outdoor thermastat on a wall so I can monitor the temperature. I also put bowls of water in other locations with different bottled water (just in case they don't like Crystal Geyser). When we arrive back home they are more interested in smelling our luggage and digging in our clothes picking up different smells than snuggling with us. Of course after the excitement of sniffing is over they go back to normal and hang out with us. Long story short as long as they have food, water and a litter box they'll be okay.
Posts like this make me cringe. All that dry food. So bad for them. And it sits there getting staler and more bacteria laden and slimy from saliva every time they nibble.
A video camera won't help you if one of your cats develops a blockage from eating all that dry food.
It won't help you if one gets sick in any other way, either.
Cats needs attention too and should not be left alone for more than one day. I'm a cat sitter and won't even do every other day visits. Cats can get ill quickly or get into things that can be harmful.
We left our cat for about 3 days, several times. I doubt if he missed us much. Beyond that, though, I would have worried too much.
One time we left for 5 days. We considered leaving him, but decided not to. When we returned from the trip, the AC had broken, and it was 95 degrees in the house at 10:00 at night.
One day and then overnight would be the limit for me leaving my cats alone. I don't do dry food, and you can't leave wet food out long enough without it spoiling. But the other reason I won't leave them alone for more than 24 hrs. is that they are all very people oriented, and quite bonded to me. Most of the time that they are awake, they will be found in the same room with me. That tells me that they want, and need my presence. No way am I'm going to leave them alone for very long.
I have family members that will come in and look after them if something happens, and I can't be here (like a hospital stay, etc.). But hopefully that will never be necessary.
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