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No it isn't but I keep a swamp cooler in there in the summer for her because of the heat. Temps in October when I'll be gone are usually really good, not too hot and not too cold.
Besides, she goes into the garage and out as she pleases. She has full access to the house. She actually likes the garage. She has another cat tree in there and everything she needs. She spends as much time in the garage as she does in the house. It's almost like she has her own apartment when she wants to use it and she's always used the litter box in the garage, never has she had an accident in the house.
Thanks, I keep my cat Parker's litter box in the basement bath now so it works out great. When I move we won't have a basement but I can't see putting it in a common area or bathrooms we use every day. I'm considering the garage with the cat door.
Is your garage insulated? I'm thinking about where to put my cat's litter box once we move. I thought about the garage. What are the pros and cons of the garage set up?
It would depend on what your cat is used to. The OPs cat was a rescued stray who lived in the garage before graduating to wanting in the house. If your cat is used to having her litter box in the house, you should continue to provide one for her on the house.
Also you need to think about the safety of having her in the garage. What if the overhead door is opened when she is in there, for instance. What if a parked car leaks fluids that she gets into? There is a lot to consider.
The move will be stressful enough for kitty without suddenly making a big change like having to navigate a cat door into a garage. The process would require training her (or him)
It would depend on what your cat is used to. The OPs cat was a rescued stray who lived in the garage before graduating to wanting in the house. If your cat is used to having her litter box in the house, you should continue to provide one for her on the house.
Also you need to think about the safety of having her in the garage. What if the overhead door is opened when she is in there, for instance. What if a parked car leaks fluids that she gets into? There is a lot to consider.
The move will be stressful enough for kitty without suddenly making a big change like having to navigate a cat door into a garage. The process would require training her (or him)
This is very true. Since I brought Mrs. Robinson home I rarely keep my car in the garage and my car has never leaked oil or anything else but it can happen so the car rarely goes into the garage anymore. I also put carpet in there for her and beds. Another thing I do is to keep the garage door open just a few inches when I'm home so she can't get out and another cat can't come in, yet it's enough to circulate the air. She likes looking outside.
If I need to open the door for whatever reason, she's really good and doesn't go anywhere. If she goes out into the driveway, she comes right back in or I pick her up and bring her back in. I live alone other than her now so no one is going to open the door when I'm not home. She has no want to go anywhere. The garage is her safe place.
It would depend on what your cat is used to. The OPs cat was a rescued stray who lived in the garage before graduating to wanting in the house. If your cat is used to having her litter box in the house, you should continue to provide one for her on the house.
Also you need to think about the safety of having her in the garage. What if the overhead door is opened when she is in there, for instance. What if a parked car leaks fluids that she gets into? There is a lot to consider.
The move will be stressful enough for kitty without suddenly making a big change like having to navigate a cat door into a garage. The process would require training her (or him)
I'm going out of town for a few days in October and there will be a total of 3 days that Mrs. Robinson doesn't see me and I'm already feeling guilty.
I'm sure she'll be fine and she's quite capable of taking care of herself for that period of time since she was feral for many years but I can't help but feel bad about leaving her.
Of course I'll put down more than ample food for her and plenty of water. I'm wondering if I should get a second litter box for her. I clean her box daily and sometimes twice a day if she uses it that often. The box is located in the garage and she has a little pet door which lets her go directly from garage to house, it's an attached garage.
Do you think going 3 days without cleaning it would make her not want to use it and would a second litter box be better so she can choose to use whichever suits her? Any other advice?
The suggestion is that you should (at all times, not just when you’re away) have one more litter box than the number of cats that you have, so yes, get another one. I have one cat and she has two litter boxes. I’ll also be going away for four days next month, and I feel guilty about leaving too even though someone will be checking on my cat every day. I hate leaving her but I only take this one vacation every year.
Cats can survive very well on their own for a few days, or slightly longer. Every year, my two sons and I go away at Thanksgiving for about 5 days, have done it for 30 years, and we set our furbuddies up so they have tons of food, lots and lots of clean water dishes, and a few litter boxes. They do fine.
I have never seen our cats as weak little animals who need you there 24/7. They are very independent, and even under normal circumstances we are gone from 8:30 am to maybe 7:00 pm every day as we go to work. They have food, water, litter boxes, and toys. This is our normal routine and it works for all of us.
Cats can survive very well on their own for a few days, or slightly longer. Every year, my two sons and I go away at Thanksgiving for about 5 days, have done it for 30 years, and we set our furbuddies up so they have tons of food, lots and lots of clean water dishes, and a few litter boxes. They do fine.
I have never seen our cats as weak little animals who need you there 24/7. They are very independent, and even under normal circumstances we are gone from 8:30 am to maybe 7:00 pm every day as we go to work. They have food, water, litter boxes, and toys. This is our normal routine and it works for all of us.
Yup, I know she'll be fine with plenty of food and water. She was fine without me for many years, LOL. Still, I feel badly because she does have her routine with me. When I come home from work, she happily greets me and purrs her little heart out. She also loves being brushed. Everyday, when she's ready for her brushing, she plops down next to me on her back and pulls her head back so I don't miss brushing her under her chin and neck. She's a hoot!
Cats can survive very well on their own for a few days, or slightly longer. Every year, my two sons and I go away at Thanksgiving for about 5 days, have done it for 30 years, and we set our furbuddies up so they have tons of food, lots and lots of clean water dishes, and a few litter boxes. They do fine.
I have never seen our cats as weak little animals who need you there 24/7. They are very independent, and even under normal circumstances we are gone from 8:30 am to maybe 7:00 pm every day as we go to work. They have food, water, litter boxes, and toys. This is our normal routine and it works for all of us.
Well, it depends on what they are used to. What their normal routine is. My cats are not used to being left and might "survive" but they would suffer for it. And the longer they were alone, the more likely they would be to get into some kind of harmful mischief.
I work a 40 hour week and come home for lunch. There might be an occasional Saturday when I am gone for the full day (a hike for instance) and when I lost my mother I was gone 12 hour days every day for almost a week. And they did "survive", but there was a lot of stress on both sides.
In addition, one has to feed a dry diet to leave cats like this, which is not only bad for them, it puts them at a high risk for something going wrong with their urinary tract and bladder (especially for males) when left unattended for long periods.
Cats should not be left for days and days without someone coming in to check on them at least once a day. That you have done it for 30 years does not make it ok. Just means you've been lucky (or, rather, your cats have been)
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