How long would you leave your cat home alone?

[MidnightMeltdown]

I'm wondering how long I can leave my cat home alone when I go holiday.

Would you leave your cat at home for a week? Or would you put them in a cattery?

I have a cat flap and my friend will pop in twice a day to provide food and water and clear up dead mice

My last cat found the cattery very stressful. You are removing them from their territory. We had a cat sitter coming in for one to two weeks, all food happily consumed. Food was left in the cattery due to stress. We also had cameras and could see the cat every day remotely.

We've left our's for up to two weeks before with someone coming in morning and evening to feed her and spend a bit of time with her. She'd hate a cattery and is far happier in her own surroundings.

Mine have a cat sitter twice a day who feeds them and gives them a little fuss. They have known her since they were kittens, so she's not a stranger to them. Mine also have each other for company. They would absolutely hate a cattery. They have a cat flap at home, spend most of the time outside, they'd hate being in a strange place unable to roam.

Up to 2 weeks with someone coming in would be fine assuming they will spend 20-30 mins with them daily.

My cat hates cages, she isn't a big fan of being fussed but she has been known to break into my neighbour's house (whonwss feeding her) when I have been away to protest that they haven't fed her...I wish to add that she set the security cameras off so had literally been fed 10 minutes previously.

More than acceptable!

I have 3. My mum lives round the corner and comes as many times as is required. One of my cats barely comes home full stop in the summer so there is no way he'd cope in a cattery! Now that would be cruel.

Always have a cat sitter for mine when i go on holiday no matter how long, she stays 45 mins ish, brushes the cat, fusses her, cleans her bowls and puts down fresh food as well as doing the litter tray, cat loves her.

The only problem with leaving mine at hone is that by the time I get back they've conned their victim sitter into feeding them so much they barely got through the cat door.

They groomed their fur off in protest in the cattery. Which had a better rating than our resort

We’ve left ours for a week, and pay a neighbour to come in, feed them, check them out and give them a bit of a fuss, twice a day. Never done longer but only because we got them just before Covid and haven’t been away that long.

They’re outdoor cats mainly, particularly in summer, and would hate it in a cattery. They have a tribe of feline and human friends in the village and if they need company they’ll go and sit on the pavement and chat to people.

I think it also makes a difference if the cat is an only cat. We had 2 cars & I would’ve left them up to a week with pets sitters going in but now 1 has passed away, I wouldn’t leave my remaining 1 on her own, she would be too sad! She literally follows me everywhere & howls if I am not up on time! But 2 cats would have each other!

We’ve left ours for 2 weeks with the neighbours popping in to feed them twice a day. They miss us and are moody with us for a few hours when we get back then they forgive us. They’d hate to go in a cattery and I feel much happier knowing they are at home.

2 days with someone coming in twice a day. Any longer than that and I get someone to stay at the house. Depends on the cat though. Mine is needy.

For those who say their cat would hate a cattery, we just picked ours up today after 10 days. I bet she doesn't like it either. But, for example, she brought me a "dead" bird onto my bed at 6am a few weeks ago. I put it in the garden and it wasn't there an hour later so maybe it was just playing dead. How can a neighbour who pops in to top up food/play a bit check if you haven't got a mouse behind the bedroom wardrobe (happened loads of times) or a half-dead bird flapping about and crapping in another room? I just don't want to risk that. How does that work for you?

We don't have a cat flap

I always used a local cattery with heated chalets and outdoor runs, which my cat tolerated.
But when I was rushed into hospital with Covid, the paramedics locked the door behind me, with the cat in the house.
My friend went round to the garden twice a day and left food and water outside the cat flap, which my cat went out and ate - she’s a keen mouser and likes to stalk in the fields, too, but sleeps indoors.
She was fine when I got home five days later, so she obviously coped, but I wouldn’t have done it from choice.

I have two cats and the longest I've Left is two weeks but that was unusual.

A week is fine. Mine don't seem at all bothered. They have a regular carer for hols so they know the person

We have left ours for a month at a time (he's 14). 14 years ago he was looked after by our neighbours, then some people up the road whose two cats had oretty much moved into ours to escape their children. In more recent times one of the vet nurses from the vet visits twice daily. We are out at work 12 hours a day so he's pretty independent albeit v v affectionate. I think it's far better than a cattery.

Why? Many cats are pretty independent and would be fine with this, providing that the person caring for them was responsible. Obviously wouldn't be suitable for a kitten, or a cat that was more 'high needs'.

We leave ours at home for a week at holidays. We have a mix of cat sitter visiting twice a day and my parents visit maybe twice in the week. They are fine. They are in their teens now though. And do not hunt. They dont even go outside anymore if the weather isnt purfect.

Oh cats will be fine. Theyll much prefer a human slave to pop in and feed them
tbh ,you could get away with once a day visit if theres no litter to change, and the cats a grazer.
id probably say a week, for us, but i only cos id worry myself for longer.
just make sure the microchip is up to date and any insurances/local vets.

10 days fine. Two weeks at the outside. Then I'd have to get someone to stay in the house or take him to DM. Grumpy non-people cat.

Re half dead birds, I'm not any more concerned about there being no one to put it out of its misery than I am about the cat slowly killing things at the end of the garden. It's horrible but it's animal on animal violence, I'm not getting involved

I'll happily leave ours for weeks as long as someone is checking on them twice a day.

The longest we've left them so far is ten days but as a cat sitter I've done visits for cats for 2-3 weeks straight in the past - it's really no big deal.

The cats are always fine and never seem bothered by their owners being gone!

We have left our cat for 2 weeks most summers with a petsitter. Unfortunately she's very timid and won't come out when the sitter was here. Luckily DD's friend and her Mum will pop in from time to time if they are free and the cat will come out to see thema s they make a fuss of her. I still think the cat prefers it to a cattery. I think catteries are only necessary if your cat needs medication or anything.

The longest we left hours was 16 days, with a sitter coming in twice a day to feed and groom him. But he's mates with next door's cats and apparently hung out in their living room most evenings because our neighbours are lovely, so he wasn't alone.

Ours are rescues and get really scared when we take them to the cattery. I've only done it twice (once for holiday and once when we moved) and the second time one of them came back incredibly thin and his hair fell out afterwards he was so stressed 😔

Luckily our lovely neighbours live cats so they pop in and feed and fuss them.

Unless you’ve got a clingy cat than a week will be fine

can you get a cheap nest camera or something similar? I use it to watch my cat if I'm out and about