Where's your cat if you work away all day?

[IHateFlies]

We may have a cat permanently soon.
We have it on a 'part time' basis.
Basically, the owners aren't that keen on their own cat so we've been taking care of it and it sleeps in our house but we let it out every morning so it can go back home.
The owners have approached us and asked us if we want to keep it.
Dc won't hear of anything other than yes.
We're not sure what we do with it during the day though.
Any other tips would be helpful.

Cats are perfectly happy to be left "home alone". Mine has the run of two rooms - she sleeps in several chosen spots, mooches about, stares at walls and out windows, runs for cover if the doorbell rings, kills newspapers, shouts at the first person home in the hope that they'll feed her even though it isn't food time yet. So busy!!!

We have a ground floor two bedroom flat with a garden/catflap - the honest answer to your question is ‘ wherever they want ‘ . One goes out most of the day in Summer - otherwise on kids bed or top of wardrobe on a blanket to look out of the window . The other ( old lady ) spends most of the day on a cushion by the radiator or on/under the duvet.

When Im at work my two just sleep all day. I have a 3 year old and 15 year old.
Ive been working from home recently and they dont really activate until 4 or 5pm.

As above, the answer is definitely "wherever they want"
The one place they won't be is in a cat bed. Your bed, yes.

Keeping my bed warm

On a chair with a heated cat mat (she's old and I'd rather pay pennies in electricity than leave the heating on for her).

On the sofa.

On the bed.

Under the bed.

Under the airer.

Halfway up the stairs.

Corner of the landing.

Occasionally in a cat bed.

Pile of clean washing.

In the linen bin when DP leaves the lid off.

Bathtowel left on the floor by DP.

Random knitwear left on a chair arm.

Piece of paper on the floor.

Windowsill.

Large plant pot.

Places like that, really - some you want to encourage, some you don't quite understand but probably have something to do with being good for observation, some you'd prefer them not to, but they'll do it anyway if the opportunity arises.

Can you put in a cat flap?
Mine sleep most of the day, interspersed with a bit of staring out the window, eating, bothering me while I'm working and going outside to patrol their empire. More sleeping.
They're pretty low input. Bit of fuss, food.
Congratulations on your new cat.

Get a radiator hammock bed. Cardboard box.
Happy cat.

Our cats find the warmest spot in the house, wherever that might be, and move around accordingly in between sleeps. My eldest cat is usually waiting for me on the stairs when I get home from work, wide awake. 'm convinced she can tell the time. She's a wise old woman 😊

That's for him to know and me to never find out. Almost never. Telltale ginger fur on folded clean bedlinen is a giveaway.

Otherwise dining with his mate next door or quality-controlling sunny spots in the garden, or honing jungle skills on a lone spider.

Cats do whatever they like, they are more than happy with their own company.

Ideally get a cat flap so they can come and go if they want to.

In winter - the warmest, cosiest place they can find in the house.

In summer - a shady corner of the garden.

Same. I don't have a cat flap so if the cat was out when I left for work he stayed out and if he was indoors he stayed in. He lived until he was 17 so this system worked well!

Mine has been sleeping on an oodie...they are so self sufficient, I can go away for a night and she's perfectly fine, access to outside all day, shut in most nights, especially the winter

cats sleep for 12- 16 hours a day.
As I woke at 3am this morning and couldnt go back to sleep I am quite jealous.

Ours has a little house in the garden in case he gets caught outside, but often he goes out with the first person leaving and sneaks back in when the last person leaves. They do themselves tbh

Mine takes herself off to the airing cupboard 😆

Several generations of cats have happily come and gone through the cat flap but with my latest pair I've started keeping them in all day unless I'm wfh or weekends. They seem perfectly happy and it stops them roaming too far. I lost one to the road and I can't bear it again

Where is my cat while I'm at work? Asleep.

I WFH mostly but it's the same when I'm in the office - cats are let out first thing and called back in when it gets dark but are free to come and go as they want during the day. I know from being at home that they spend most of the day outside, with a few trips back in for snoozes and snacks. If I happen to leave a load of clean laundry on my bed though, they'll happily spend most of the day stealthily covering it in cat hair and muddy footprints.

Our recently departed queen had a schedule. Up with us for coffee, then onto the kitchen window for first nap. Around 11 she used to get up for a stretch head to upstairs front window to see if there was any news. And after a long shower had her second nap.

She then came down to the time released food and chilled beside the patio doors.

Thanks. Maybe I should have clarified - sorry !
The problem is we've never had a litter tray as the cat is always let out first thing. Never being a cat owner, im a bit grossed out by a litter tray and we've nowhere to put one.
Im a bit concerned by this.
I doubt the owners even took it in during the day. I think it was just wild. Which is fine in the summer but it's getting cold now.

"If I fits, I sits".

That's it, basically. Cats do absolutely sod all other than sleep in whatever random place they fancy whilst you are not there to feed entertain them.

My two just sleep all day this on days that I am at the office and WFH.
They have toys scattered around but one of mine likes to snooze on the windowsill and the other one in the cat basket
In good weather i allow them out whilst I'm.at work but we have a huge garden which they stay in and the shed is open for them to nap in.

We always had three cats, and the shredded furniture to prove it. One day, we bought a little round cat basket in the market. It wasn't particularly cheap. All three cats loved it, circled round it, nudged each other out of it. So we bought another: this time two cats sat smug and proud, and one circled round them, mewing piteously. So we got a third. One each. No cat ever went near a cat basket again.