I know this prob is a bad idea, but suppose I was to leave for work for few days and I dont have anyone to watch over my cats, can they survive on their own ? if leave them some food, and a clean litter ?
Answers:
I've gone off for 10 days this last time. It IS the last time, too. I cut out the side of Stimpy's large DeliCat food jug ,cut the top half off two 1gal. jugs of bottled water and she was fine. I on the other hand was miserable. Cats are VERY independent. Does that help? It would be better if a friend could stop by though.
Lotsa food %26 water %26 I think they will be ok.Do they usually get into mischief? Maybe leave a radio on low too.And a timer for your lights.Set the heat at a comfortable setting.Do you know %26 trust someone that can stop in %26 check on them?
and lots of water
the longest that I have left my cats with out bording them was 3 days. I have two so they keep each other company. I set out an extra litter pan and extra food and water.
Its not a problem for a few days leave plenty of food and water for them and change their litter box. However, be prepared for their attitude when you return they won't be happy with you for a few days.
I do it occasionally in the summer when we go away for the weekend,all I do is make sure they have clean litter,lots of food and water. Cats pretty much take care of themselves,they'll be fine.
You are BAD!.jusk kidding.
I've had to go for a long weekend (3 days) and I left two bowls of food and two bowls of water..and a clean litter box and my two cats were fine.
Best case, get a friend to check on them. Worse case, leave plenty of food and water.
how many days are we talking? 2 or 3, I wouldn't leave them any longer than that. make sure to close off room with anything valuable in them, sometimes when pets are left by them selves they think they are being punished and they like to get revenge. It would also be a good idea to turn on the television to keep them company.
if you can help it, don't. they have a tendancy to eat all their food within the first day. it's a survial instintinc. then they puke. it's ugly.
Three days max and make sure someone else has a key in case anything happened, so they could get in and clean up and put in fresh food %26 water. Also leave the Vet's office number by the phone - ya never know! Someone said leave the radio on a little bit for a little noise, that's cool, but not too loud.
Maybe put out an extra kitty litter bin, so they have two instead of one (if the one gets too dirty, you know how they like to go everywhere else in the house). Cats are pretty good at taking care of themselves, so just leave out tons of food and toooons of water and they will take care of themselves. Cats moderate how they eat too, just put out enough. Or a ton, and whatever they don't eat put back after. Better more than not enough!
yes they can! leave them lots of water, food and maybe get another litter box so there are 2 clean ones.alot of cats don't like to use a dirty box! make sure there isn't anything dangerous for them to get into
yes, for just a few days. Leave lots of extra water and food.investing in an extra litterbox wouldn't be a bad idea either just so the one you have doesn't get overly nasty.
Yeah, cat's are pretty independant,
unless your feeding them or pampering them,
But anyways, they should be fine if you leave PLENY of food, and even more water.
But don't be suprised if you get home and they have left a few suprises for you.
My cats will do that if I leave them for 8 hours.
I used to do it during the weekend when I went out of town and she was fine. I had one of those auto feeders and auto waterers. She was seriously lonely though. It costs about $10-$15 a day to have someone come and visit. I sometimes hired a cat visitor and felt much better about leaving her for a few days. Also, I had friends come by to sit and watch T.V. and keep the cats company. It wasn't too much trouble for the friend since all they were doing was sitting and hanging out, but I think the cats appreciate having someone there.
Yes, they can survive but you'll need to stock up on supplies for them. You'll need to buy a auto-waterer (2 if you have more than 1 cat), auto-feeder (2 if you have more than 1 cat), 2 litter boxes full of litter and a good friend to check up on them once per day. Make sure you close all closet doors securely to ensure they don't get stuck in them and prop interior doors open. My cat once found a way to lock herself in the bathroom. :(
It's not that bad being that it is just a couple of days.
I would make sure to put totally fresh litter in their box, and invest in those automatic feeders. They're a good way to conserve the food for them. It just gives them a little at a time and you can put tons of food and water in those things. They sell them at all the pet stores.like Petsmart and Petco and stores like that. They are not expensive either.
They should be fine. We left ours for almost 4 days once, though I don't think I'd try that with a single cat. They were very angry when we got back, but fine physically. We had a feeder with a timer, so one meal's worth of food opened up every twelve hours and a large self-waterer. We also bought and filled an extra litter box, thinking they'd shun the regular one if it got too icky, but instead they used the regular one and shunned the new one, go figure. I'd leave the TV or radio on for them for company.
Several bowls of clean water %26 dry food for a few days, lots!
If you can get a hold of another litter box, do that too, so they have plenty of "area". Find all their toys, or get them a new one.
They will be fine, they just might be a bit more bored without you there at night, hence the toys.That is the beauty of cats!
I strongly suggest you don't do this. Cats a very finicky eaters, You don't want them searching for other food that might make them sick. People have the idea that cats can be left alone for long pierods of time since you don't have to take them out to walk. I personally have three cats and NEVER leave them alone longer then 12 hours. Its similar to humans, would you eat 3 days old food thats been left out for you? My sister left her cats alone once (I personally took the initive and went to feed them at her house, as I saw this cruel). Within a couple days they had NO food and not enough water (water was almost gone). Water will evaporate and leave a very small amount of water behind. Cats will eat as long as their is food in front of them, which means they will get ALL the food when you leave it down. I would strongly suggest you find a safe boarding house for them. Just because they don't require walks doesn't mean you can leave them for days. Hope this helps and you find a place to board your kitties! If you need more info you can ask your vet, I am sure he will tell you the exact thing!
They will be fine I would leave extra water and food then normal and if you have never left them before you may come back to an accident. We did this with ours but did have a friend come by but one got upset and sick at it's stomach.
Yes, they will be fine. I just left my cats alone for 3 days when I stayed with my family for Thanksgiving. Cats are great because they are so independent and can be left alone for a few days as long as they have adequate amounts of food, water and a clean litterbox. Your cats will be just fine alone for a few days, they will miss you I am sure but they will be OK.
PS Ellie is on crack!! It is NOT cruel to leave your cats alone for a while. if you are leaving for more than 3 days then yes get someone to stop in and check but if it is only a few days they are fine. Geez she makes it sound like cats didnt survive for millions of years on thier own in the wild, they are still capable of as much today having only been domesticated for 4000 years and cat food has only been around for about 50 years before that kitty ate the mice in the barn and did just fine.. and cats will not eat all the food you leave out for them, obviously it is impossible for them to eat that much at one time, just make sure to have a bunch of food put out for them and if you are worried about water "evaporating" put a cup in the sink and leave the tap on at a drizzle. If you fill several dishes with water around the house it will not all dissappear in a few days.
What's a "few" days? I'd personally never leave my cats alone for more than two.
You can always find someone to watch your cats.ever hear of pet sitters?
Go on http://www.pet-sitters.biz/ and look one up by zip code.
Your cats will be a lot better off if someone comes in every day to check on them, give them fresh food and water, and clean their litter. Pet sitters can also bring in the mail and turn the lights on to make it look like someone is home.
It should not be a problem for leaving your cat for a few days. The only things you want to make sure you do is leave them enough food and water. Also make sure you clean out there litter box before you go. Cats actually take care of them selves most time.
I think it would be fine but hey will be mad when you get back. If they tend to spill their water it may not be a good idea though. One of my cats plays with the water and spills it all the time so we fill it a few times a day.
You know, most vets have staff that do house sitting. Most love the extra work and would be delighted to check on your pets for a small fee.
Although people do leave clean litter boxes, tons of water and tons of food and chance it, they often forget a few basic things- cats can pig out and eat all the food in a day or so.. and then have none. They can spill water or it can get gross.and then they have none.
They can over eat, and then vomit, and make themselves sick enough to need a vet.
You are right, it's not really a good idea- call a few vet offices and meet a few people who will check on your cats, take in your mail and let you do what you need to do without worrying all night about your critters.
The longest I have left my cats has been 2 days, would have a friend of neighbor check on them once if it is longer or if you just want them to get some attention. If your cats eat canned food, I usually put a can on a plate and then freeze it the night before I leave and put it out the morning I leave. I feed them some regular (unfrozen) can food the morning I leave and leave LOTS of dry plus the frozen can which thaws later that night or the next day. If I give them too much can food..they will just gobble it up in one sitting and not have any the next day, so the freezing part really helps!
For two to three days tops i would say yes, if your cats are on dry food and you usually leave it out all the time, most cats regulate what they eat, i would leave out however much you would normally feed them in those 2-3 days and then double it, just in case. As for water what i foudn works best is to put out a large bowl of water, plus i leave the tap on a faucet dripping for fresh water. It would be a good idea to have someone come in and check on them once a day, but i've left my cat for up to 3 days with no problems.
Yes, a couple days is fine. Leave food in a few different bowls, and more importantly water. Put water in a contained that you are SURE cannot be knocked over (we use a glass baking pan that is heavy bottomed)>
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