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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Original poster

How long would you leave your cat on their own?

52 replies

FishfingerFlinger · 15/08/2021 19:13

We used to leave our cat alone for up to 2 nights, mainly because that was maximum number of meals his automated cat feeder catered for. We’ve now upgraded to a fancy new automated feeder that will dispense biscuits for up to a fortnight…which raises the question how long is too long for a cat to stay home alone?

OP posts:
Original poster
FishfingerFlinger · 16/08/2021 07:41

@Ibizafun

You can’t leave a cat alone for a week, it’s just downright cruel. Our water fountain is changed every day. Would you like to drink water a week old?
I mean I wouldn’t like to drink water from old puddles personally but that is his number one fave place to drink.

I’m not saying I would leave him for a week, but it has raised the question of what is reasonable.

OP posts:
54321nought · 16/08/2021 07:42

@CovidCorvid

I left the cat for a weekend once with an automatic feeder….came back to find she’d been shut in a wardrobe with no food or water the whole time! Never left her since.
when we leave, every door in the house is propped open or locked shut, so they can't get trapped anywhere
Chunkymenrock · 16/08/2021 07:45

It's not all about the food. What if he was hit by a car 2 hours after you left? Or brings a mouse in? Or eats something toxic? Or gets in a fight? Someone needs to visit daily.

kowari · 16/08/2021 07:47

Probably two nights. More than that and I'd want someone to check on and spend some time with the cat daily.

Dollywilde · 16/08/2021 07:51

I got rid of our automatic feeder after we went away for a long weekend in the height of summer and came back to maggots in one of the sections Envy (not envy)

We now do daily check ins, if it’s a long weekend we’ll get a neighbour or my sister to drop in daily. Longer we get a paid cat sitter to do a daily drop in.

dementedpixie · 16/08/2021 07:54

We went away for 2 weeks but had a cat sitter come in twice a day. Meant the house and the cats were being checked up on regularly

Original poster
FishfingerFlinger · 16/08/2021 07:58

@CovidCorvid

I left the cat for a weekend once with an automatic feeder….came back to find she’d been shut in a wardrobe with no food or water the whole time! Never left her since.
This whole thing has made me think about what I’m actually asking friends/neighbours to do when they cat sit for them.

My past experience of feeding neighbours cats was that I never saw them (they’re a little wary plus we popped in for 5 mins early on the way to work when they were probably out on a morning prowl). We knew food was being eaten, but as they had two cats we couldn’t even be certain both cats were eating.

No-one has ever asked us to physically check their cats or actually spend time keeping their cat company. Similarly we’ve only ever asked people to feed the cat, no other explicit instructions. Hmm

We can use our WiFi camera to periodically check he is coming in/out and eating food, and we have people locally with a key to our house who can come and check up if we had any concerns.

But still, it just doesn’t sit comfortably to just leave him for a week even though everything a friend/neighbour would generally do is fairly obsolete.

I don’t know, we aren’t going away any time soon so this is really just a general musing!

OP posts:
salooone · 16/08/2021 08:03

So he could be pretty self sufficient for at least a week - but it seems a bit wrong to just let him fend for himself that long!

That's because it is. What if he injured himself whilst you were gone or became unwell, or the feeder malfunctioned?
Be responsible and pay a cat sitter.

Caspianberg · 16/08/2021 08:11

We have automatic biscuit feeder that fits enough for a month I guess. Cat flap so it very rare litter tray used ( I think Han last when snowy)
But they get fed fresh wet food and water change daily.

We are away 2 weeks soon. I have just arranged 2 weeks full time live in cat sitters! I’m always worried they will be lonely or get injured

Kotatsu · 16/08/2021 08:12

I leave ours for a weekend (so 2 nights, 3 if we're going/coming late/early so it's not 4 full days and 3 nights), and if longer, someone comes in just to check their water (although like yours, they prefer rainwater from puddles and plant pots in my experience), and give them some wet food as a change (they normally have a wet breakfast, then all the dry pellets they want), and empty the litter trays if it's been raining (they prefer to go to the toilet indoors if it's wet outside)

I have a cat flap that keeps them in at night, and tells me when they go in and out (so I could see that boy cat stretches his coming in time to well after dark if I'm not in to make him come home!).

Last time we were away for a week my friend only saw girlcat (who even let her kids stroke her!), boy cat stayed away, but she could see he was around from the catflap logs.

They probably would be fine on their own for a week, but it's good to have an occasional visitor all round I think.

ParityJ · 16/08/2021 08:19

My cat is older and grumpy and doesn't much like fuss or being on laps and stuff. I don't know why she is that way, she looks at me like I'm foolish if I try to fuss her sometimes.

I wouldn't leave her alone for long tho. I've done 1 night where I've left at 8am Saturday and got home at 8pm Sunday. That was long enough for her to be on her own. If I wanted to go longer I'd look at a paid for visit service or a kitty hotel. 😄

VouisLuitton · 16/08/2021 08:22

It completely depends on the cat. Our old boy was so laid back we could leave him up to 2 nights with neighbours checking in twice per day but the cat we have now is very needy. We don’t even like leaving her during the day while we work so would never leave her overnight.

Echobelly · 16/08/2021 08:23

We've left cat for fortnight, but always with someone coming in to feed/water every day - she's never seemed the worst for it, but then while she's friendly, she's not a lap cat.

Coogee · 16/08/2021 08:42

I would leave mine one night but no more. He was abandoned as a very young kitten and seems to need the reassurance that we are still there. He lives mainly outside but comes in frequently to check where we are, then goes out again.

IveGotASongThatllGetOnYNerves · 16/08/2021 08:46

It really depends on the cat. Some wouldn't give a shit as long as they were warm, fed and watered.

My cat can't be left alone for more than a few hours. She has very bad anxiety and needs someone with her basically all the time.
I think most cats though (without past trauma like mine) would be happy as Larry for a weekend or so.
Might be a weekend before they even notice you're gone 🤣

ViceLikeBlip · 16/08/2021 08:55

I'm perfectly happy to leave mine for 3 nights (so there are only 2 days we don't see him at all). Any longer than that I would like to have someone pop in occasionally.

Babdoc · 16/08/2021 08:56

I have always taken mine to a cattery if I was away on holiday.
The only time she was left at home was when I was blue lighted to hospital with Covid, and a friend came round daily to leave food and water outside her cat flap for her. (The paramedics had locked the house when we left).

ViceLikeBlip · 16/08/2021 08:58

@Kotatsu

I leave ours for a weekend (so 2 nights, 3 if we're going/coming late/early so it's not 4 full days and 3 nights), and if longer, someone comes in just to check their water (although like yours, they prefer rainwater from puddles and plant pots in my experience), and give them some wet food as a change (they normally have a wet breakfast, then all the dry pellets they want), and empty the litter trays if it's been raining (they prefer to go to the toilet indoors if it's wet outside)

I have a cat flap that keeps them in at night, and tells me when they go in and out (so I could see that boy cat stretches his coming in time to well after dark if I'm not in to make him come home!).

Last time we were away for a week my friend only saw girlcat (who even let her kids stroke her!), boy cat stayed away, but she could see he was around from the catflap logs.

They probably would be fine on their own for a week, but it's good to have an occasional visitor all round I think.

That cat flap sounds amazing- do you have a link for it? (although at first I did think "cat flap logs" was some sort of 💩 euphemism)
MrsSkylerWhite · 16/08/2021 08:59

A lone cat, not more than 1 night.

whenwillthemadnessend · 16/08/2021 09:26

Two week but that's a friend popping in everyday. Only A few days with a feeder.

Judystilldreamsofhorses · 16/08/2021 19:03

We have MIL come in morning and evening for food/water/fussing. She doesn’t have a cat flap but prefers to toilet outside (we do have two trays, just in case) so that is an issue too. Our cat likes company though and prefers to be where people are.

icedcoffees · 16/08/2021 19:08

But still, it just doesn’t sit comfortably to just leave him for a week even though everything a friend/neighbour would generally do is fairly obsolete.

That's because it's not okay. Your cat is a domestic pet and relies on humans to keep him healthy and alive. If he gets sick or unwell, he needs someone to get him help.

BlueLobelia · 16/08/2021 19:12

TBH i would do maybe 1 night. Not 2 or more unless there was someone coming in every day. regardless of what a mechanised feeder promised. I'd just feel too worried that something would go wrong.

Woolver23 · 16/08/2021 19:19

I wouldn't feel happy leaving mine without someone sticking their head in once a day. I'm catastrophising but what if the feeder failed to pop open? Or if they brought in a live bird, or got themselves stuck somewhere?

loopylindi · 16/08/2021 19:27

@vicelikeblip
The cat flap opens in response to being programmed by your cat's microchip. I think it can be run by batteries as well as mains but its brill as it stops other cats coming in and stealing your cats' food.