To be annoyed with this feline situation?

[Bunnyannesummers]

A friend has gone away for a wedding and her cat sitter cancelled the week before. She asked me to feed her cats while she is away as it was an emergency. She knows I’ve never had a cat, don’t especially like them, have never met her cat and am not confident with cats in general. It is a 90 minute round trip from my house, 40 minutes round trip from my work. I do a mix of wfh and work from the office, about 50/50.

I agreed because she was desperate - the cats are not able to go into a cattery because they’re not up to date on vaccines. She doesn’t have many friends and doesn’t have anyone else to ask. No partner. I assumed cats needed to be fed once a day.

I went to collect the keys and she told me the cats needed to be fed three times a day!! But ‘twice would be fine if that’s all that fitted into my schedule’. She showed me an automatic feeder I could use and I said I would do my best. Unfortunately work then massively picked up (someone off sick and an audit) and I’m struggling to manage, taking a 2 hour lunch break and then rushing down to feed the cats.

Shes not left me enough cat food or cat litter so I will need to buy this.

The cats are obviously unhappy and lonely being left for 23+ hours a day and are causing damage to the property - they’ve damaged the couch and their scratching post, but I don’t know what I can do.

so AIBU to be annoyed that I’ve been left in this situation and does anyone have any ideas on how I can make this week more bearable for the cats? I’m feeling very guilty about them having a crap week, but I can’t spend 3+ hours a day on cat care. She only gave me the instructions and keys two hours before she went away so I didn’t have a lot of time to digest what an issue it was before she was gone.

Totally open plan downstairs unfortunately and three bedrooms upstairs - mine, an office and the spare room where I’ve currently got my temporary hamster set up (that is not me being a mug - a friends house flooded so the hamsters are lodging with me while building work is done on the house, she is staying with her mum facing me so pops in at lunch to do her own hamster care)

Neither can I…

I have an indoor cat. I do leave her 24 hrs when out once a week. But she has lots of food water and a radio. They will be fine. It my cat is old and anti social.

When away I make sure I have a cat sitter or cattery or a friend that does once a day. I just leave extra food and water out. Cat loves it as she gets to eat loads 😂.

I just want the cat to have some attention and makes sure she is ok. She can live for a few days without constant attention. I am sure the cat sitter just feeds her, cleans litter bin and pets her. Max 20 minute visit twice s day.

Let them out, they will have the times of their lives killing small mammals and shitting on the neighbours lawns.

I wouldn’t be leaving the radio one if I was only visiting them once, it would drive the neighbours mad being on 24 hours a day.

feeding them once a day should be fine if you leave plenty. I’d also send her a message asking where the extra food was, just to see what she says.

Yeah, cats don't listen to the radio. It's very unlikely they would be comforted by it.

I think you should remove the soiled litter and replenish it otherwise it won’t be very nice for them and they are likely to start going to the loo elsewhere, once the litter tray is full, and the flat will stink! On the other hand she won’t ask you again!

Blimey I feel it's a big ask getting my parents to feed our cats when we are away, and they live about 10 min walk away.
Are you able to message your friend and ask where the rest of the food/litter is? And then ask her to send funds when she says you'll need to get more?
I'd scoop the poos out the litter tray, or cats probably will stop wanting to use it. No need to do a full change.

I think you are very kind OP to have taken this on. Your friend is a CF however! Not leaving enough food or cat litter. Not to mention the numerous visits . I think what you are doing is perfectly fine. We had an elderly cat (dearly departed). Our cat sitter used to stay with him when we went away. However one time she wasn’t available. My DH and myself had dinner, bed and breakfast booked for one night. We thought we would leave him his usual evening meal and he would be absolutely fine for one night. The cat always used his litter tray and at that point slept most of the time. We headed off to dinner at about 7pm and made sure to get up extra early in the morning. We were back home by 7am for his breakfast. Oh my! The mess it was like a dirty protest of diarrhoea in the form of a river along the hallway. He had never done anything like it before and never did it again. I still miss the old lad though.

@OhmygodDont

Same here, well dcat has a cat flap and access to the garden, she prefers to drink from buckets in the garden and scrounges snacks off the neighbours children!

Is it acceptable to leave soiled cat litter in the kitchen bin, which has a lid on it? I can’t change the cat litter and take it to the communal bin after todays close call escape wise.

As an aside how often are you meant to change cat litter? She said ‘whenever it smells’ but it always smells as far as I’m concerned? But again no cat knowledge so not sure what an acceptable level of pong is

90 minute round trip!I'd have filled the bath with cat litter and left a bag of cat food open for them to help themselves and bid them adieu for the week

We have 5 cats and 5 litter trays around the house. I scoop the poop out of the litter trays every day , sometimes twice a day if they have done a lot of business. Normally, change the whole thing 1-2 a week. Just put it in her kitchen bin in a separate bag, If you're unable to take it to the communal bins, you are worrying too much! Let your friend deal with the stinky litter in the bin upon her return, lol

@Scoobydoobydoobydoo0987 thank you!