Can I leave a kitten for 2 days?

[Hubblez]

Hello, first post after a week of lurking!

I recently got a kitten but over Christmas I'm going to travel and stay with family, will be gone for 3 days and 2 nights but leaving the morning of the first and coming home the evening of the third day. The kitten will be 9 and a half weeks when we leave and won't have had its vaccinations so can't go into a kennel or anything. I've also got 2 large dogs but am taking them with me, I could take kitten too but it hasn't been introduced to dogs yet so this would be really awkward when visiting people as it means it would be trapped in a cat carrier the whole time OR left in a room alone in an empty house of a relative during the day and be with us at night (not sure how safe the area is of the house though) it just feels like along with the dogs this is going to be messy and stressful to take kitten and possibly unsafe

Would it be viable to leave the kitten behind in my house when we go? It has it's own empty room full of cat things so I would leave lots of food and water down as it eats when it's hungry so wouldn't gobble it all, or is leaving it a bad idea? I also have 2 guinea pigs I'd be leaving (in a different room) as I don't know anyone in the area (recently moved) who could look after them

Was originally going to be gone for a day but because I can stay in the relatives empty house it means I can stay for longer and see family properly who I haven't seen in 6 months

So what do you think is best to do with the kitten? I've never had a cat before so not sure if method 2 would work or if it is cruel, thanks for any advice

Hubblez, no. Suppose there were a snow storm or something that held you up from getting back to it. Ask a neighbour to come in. Children of about 7 years up love to get a bit of pocket money to look after kittens. Leave food, instructions, toys etc, so whoever comes, twice a day, gives it plenty of attention.

Our cat is eight and he is really good at finding food for himself (field mice, next door's cat food etc ) but I wouldn't leave him more than overnight without someone keeping an eye on him.

Also, when they're so very young, they get into mischief... imagine coming home to find he'd got stuck, or drowned or something!? :(

You make a choice once you become a parent of anything.

You can not leave this kitten for that long at all, so you either cancel going or take him with you and do not leave him locked in a carry case for all that time .

I really think you should have thought about what you were doing as you clearly have no idea.

If the kitten hasn't been introduced to dogs, and you have two, where is the poor kitten living? .

Also regarding guinea pigs they can stay with DP's parents but they also have a large dog and will no doubt be very drunk over the Xmas week so I do not trust them with a kitten

I've had the kitten since Saturday and when he's in his room he has toys, food, water, bed etc and he just sleeps until I bring him out, he must spend approx half a day out of the room though and could be out full time but as I said I have no clue how to introduce to dogs

If kitten comes with us he will have his own room again in the house we are staying at and will be similar to what I am doing with him now - except we will be out in the day so won't see him as much, if we took him to relatives houses with us and the dogs then that's when he would be on the cat carrier is what I meant - hence he'd be left in his room which I think is better?

You can't leave the Guinea Pigs either!

How are your dogs with cats generally? Have they lived with or met cats before?

(you could start a thread in the doghouse section, I'm sure people will have experience and advice on that!)

We recently got two 1 year old cats after having our previous cat for 18 years and I bought a cat book as it had been so long since I have a young cat. You seem to have just taken this one in without any thought at all. What you should have done is take it from your cruel "friend" and take it to an animal rescue place.

OP I think you need some advice from the doghouse threads on generally how to look after the kitten, introduce it to dogs etc.

For Xmas I agree a specialist kitten-sitter is your best bet, or take it with you. Are there threads on here that could help with that too? I'm afraid I wouldn't trust a child to look after a young kitten as has been suggested here.

But lay off, people! The OP doesn't want to be neglectful or cruel; she just doesn't know how to handle this as she hasn't had a cat before, so she's very sensibly asking for help. All the cats-bum-mouthing, 'what on earth were you thinking' comments and shocked faces are not constructive.

Oh no no no. Not a kitten. Please don't.

We have left our adult cat for one night, but that was only because we couldn't catch her to put her in the box, and she ran off into the garden. We left food and water all over the house, and litter trays everywhere as she is fastidious about using ones she has already been in.

Please don't leave a little kitten for that long. It's not ok.

One dog lived with cats until he was 4 months when I got him but I'm not sure to what extent he was around them. The other dog has never seen a cat, neither have seen one when walking etc. Dogs have had a sniff of kitten and licked him but then that needs to transition to putting him on the floor and them not chasing him, as even one accidental paw swipe could kill kitten I think as they're so big and he's so small. Though the dogs are well trained so I've had no issues when holding or walking with kitten when they've seen us - as opposed to them jumping up and barking or something.

Will post in doghouse section in a bit and try to get advice on letting them meet properly though, thanks

By the way, IME cats are far more "transportable" than their reputation suggests. Ours curls up in her travel box for long journeys and comes with us when we go to people's houses :)

Can DP's parents be trusted with the guinea pigs either?

Well done for taking on this kitten, who was going to be abandoned. Poor little mite has had a bad start in life, must feel insecure and really ought still be with mum, that's probably why he's a bit bitey and aggressive in play.

I think it would be an idea to start another thread asking for advice on his tendency to bite and scratch. I'm no expert with kittens but someone I know had this same problem recently with an abandoned kitten and she solved it by ceasing interaction at the first sign of biting and scratching. No shouting or telling off, just ceasing play. That takes the "reward" element away from the behaviour. At the moment, by offering him other toys as well as your hand, you're reinforcing it! There are other things you can do I think, like pointing them in the direction of the scratching post if they start up, but people here will have helpful advice, and there are lots of books on raising kittens which should deal with this sort of behaviour.

On your other question about play, try to avoid letting him play with your hand or foot ever - hands for stroking, string/paper for playing. Take hand away when he bites or claws. But also remember he's too young to retract his claws himself yet!

Could you put the dogs in the kennels and take the kitten with you ? Still need to sort the guinea pigs of course.

The guinea pigs did used to live at DP's parents for a few months before we moved out together so they should be ok there, they won't need as much attention as the kitten and are safe in their cage whereas kitten would be god knows where in their house

Thanks TheBuns, that makes a lot more sense about the scratching etc! I just didn't know if he would grow out of it or have to be trained out of it like a puppy, I do have a lot of dog experience and think I keep trying to use it on the cat which obviously won't work!

I think I will be taking kitten with us then when we are seeing my relatives, even if he is trapped in his room the majority of the day he will still get more time with us than he would with a cat sitter (and that's if I could manage to find one for the times needed which is looking unlikely) I was just worried about the initial travelling and dealing with dogs and a cat all in one but it will be manageable if I pre-plan a bit

There is a picture of the kitten on my profile (I think?!) if anyone wants to see him

Poshfrock I was going to kennel the dogs initially but one of them has an allergy atm and keeps itching and is wearing little doggy boots so he doesn't hurt himself more with his claws (has scratched so much that all his fur is coming out in certain areas and he's bleeding) so a kennel wouldn't be able to give him full supervision like I can, and both dogs are unsettled if not together so if I take one then I need to take both, they are used to travelling though and have been to the house before so shouldn't be a problem, will just have to split "attention giving time" as I do at home

I wouldn't leave an adult cat that long unattended. It's actually illegal not to check on animals every 24 hours, I believe.

I was shocked that you'd got a cat so close to Christmas without considering your plans, but I see you rescued it from someone else, which is admirable.

Esp as it's so young I would think it might take travelling in its stride. If you got a good sized carrier it would have plenty of room. Talk to your vet re possibly borrowing cat pen for when it's in people's houses? I'd worry about shutting it in a room in a strange house a) there's the risk of someone else opening the door b)the kitten might damage the room! Our vet offered to loan us one when we moved house. Most cats don't enjoy moving around (they're incredibly bonded to their territory), but there are exceptions. I had a cat who used to come on holiday with us several times a year! I don't know but I would have thought as a kitten it won't be set in its ways and might just accept it as normal without getting upset...

Alternatively google pet sitting agencies near you and ask vets for recommendations. Also ask vets directly as many vet nurses pet-sit in their spare time for extra cash and someone may be willing to do it. Given people often want to be at home over Xmas, and it's so tiny, I also wonder if people who are not willing to visit/live in your house at such short notice might be willing to look after it in their own home? It's commonly offered more for dogs than cats but might be a more viable option at this stage...?

Where do you live?

is it really illegal to leave animals for 24 hours? i do it all the time with my two? with food and lots of water down.

The vaccinations are for diseases that can be caught from other cats...there's no issue with a kitten being in your car or relatives' houses as long as there aren't unvaccinated cats there.

Both my cats were brought home as kittens to a house with a dog in it...as long as the dogs will obey leave or go lie down, they should be fine (going on what you've said about their reaction).

With mine, I made sure he didn't hassle them, that the kitten always had somewhere to escape to (the couch usually as my dogs aren't allowed up there) and what mostly happened for the first few days was that the kitten hissed and swiped the bemused dog, until it noticed that the dog had interesting looking food, a comfy bed and a tail that looked good for playing with and they both just decided the dog was ok/best thing ever (depending on the kitten).

Woozlebear there will be nobody at the house other than me, DP, kitten and dogs, so no chance of someone opening the door on it, I am hoping that it will fit into the (very large) dog cage by the time we are visiting so that it won't be able to sneak through the gaps and can stay in that when we're out rather than the room, but there is a room there that is empty except a bed so that would be ok to leave him in during the day

I will look into the cat pen - do you mean one like this? Catpen ? if so I already have one of those for the guinea pigs that I could use - that's a really good idea actually when visiting people why didn't I think of this before?!

Ooh I like the look of that cat pen.

Awww good on you for rescuing the kitten. Thank you X

That catpen is hilarious! I can imagine mine being deeply unimpressed by such a thing.

She just stays in whatever bedroom we're staying in when we go visiting. Occasionally she'll come out for a wander - mainly sits at the top of the stairs looking down at everyone, when there are no toddlers or dogs about.

I am currently fostering stray kittens who are about eight weeks of age.

At this age they need roughly four feeds every day, spaced about six hours apart.

Your kitten will only be a week older than this at Christmas! He or she is far far too young to be left alone. Please look into other alternatives; a pen is a good idea as mentioned above.