How long can a kitten be left alone

[Sunshineshimmy]

Hi everyone

I have a 14 week old kitten (Kobe)
During lockdown I’ve obviously been home most of the time and as restrictions have been relaxing I’m naturally starting to spend more time out of the house. The house is “kitten safe” as much as it can be and he has plenty toys to keep him amused but I’ve not left him alone for more than a few hours yet
I’m just looking for some advice on how long its ok to leave him for?
My main concern is that I currently work from home but eventually will return to the office
Should I slowly build up my time out of the house? How long is too long?Or am i being a dramatic first time kitten owner?!

Mine was left all day from the beginning (about 8-9 hours).

How long would he enjoy shredding your curtains for?

...about that long!!

Get another kitten

We got a sibling pair as we both work full time (in the office, pre COVID). My husband arranged to work from home for the first couple of weeks, then we had someone popping in to see them in the middle of the day and give them lunch for a little while. But they seemed fine being left.

We've been working from home for the past 14 months and they spend most of the day asleep even when we are here, waking up to miaow at us for treats when we have lunch and to sense when we are on an important call so it must be time to walk across the desk. I don't think they will miss us hugely when we go back to the office!

I had my kitten at Christmas and now I am back in the office full time. I think you will find that your little kitten will sleep most of the time you are out. Just make sure you make a fuss of them when you come through your front door and give them a cuddle. The kitten will be fine.

Cleverpolly3 I’d love another but the cost of kittens at the moment is just crazy

cupsofcoffee Thats good to know, I’m going to assume they were absolutely fine

I’ve a feeling I’m worrying about nothing here as nobody else I know seems to have given this a second thought but he is my pride and joy! Before getting a kitten I did a fair bit of research and a lot of websites say to wait until he’s 6 months old before leaving kittens for the working day and I think that is what has stuck in my head and made me anxious….but this just feels excessive - how would anyone ever hold down a job or maintain a social life?

eurochick Unreasonabubble thank you both - I’m definitely worrying about nothing!

@Sunshineshimmy yes, no problems whatsoever!

We made sure she was left somewhere kitten-proof with access to food, water and her tray, as well as some toys and a scratch post. She was fine. We now have three cats and they're all left alone just fine :)

We got an 8 week old kitten in September and we were around for the first couple of weeks then we had to leave to go to work and he was absolutely fine. I was a crying mess everyday worrying about him but he was fine

this is the beauty of cats, they just sleep!

if you are worried, get another kitten! seriously!