Can I leave 12 week old kitten alone while at work??

[Scribbleonapage]

Hello! So we got a kitten a month ago when she was 8 weeks old. I took a week off to settle her in and then I worked from home for another week.

After this I got my sister to stop by for a few hours in the afternoon to play with the kitten on the days I was in the office. I work hybrid so I still work from home 2 or 3 days a week.

My sister was out of work so was able to do this, however she has now got a job and won't be able to come round anymore. I am worrying because I think it's too young to leave her even though it will only be a few days a week. The longest she has been left is 6 hours and she was absolutely fine, we got home and she was fast asleep!

I have another cat and my thinking was that they could keep each other company. However this can't happen yet because my cat hates the kitten so I have to separate them when I'm not around.

My commute is an hour each way so I will be gone for 10 hours 2 or 3 days a week. What should I do?

It is too long yes for 12 weeks.
When we had our last kittens I took annual leave to work half days so that I could gradually increase the time at home alone. We left ours all day (not every day) once they were about 4 months old and were with our other cats for company then.

If you can’t take more leave or WFH for part of the day you’ll need to pay a sitter.

@AlltheFs so as ours will be 4 months in 4 weeks do you think she will be able to be left all day then? She is already fine for 6 hours and it won't be every day. I have 4 days AL left which I can use as 8 half days for the rest of the month. I did already contact some cat sitters and they said they were very busy and could only pop in once a week for a quick 10 min visit which seems a bit pointless to me. I will see if there's any others around and contact them

Yes I think once a bit bigger should be fine as long as the area they are left in is safe. It’s not ideal but it’s not dreadful. Ours was anyway. Not every day but a couple of times a week. They are so much more robust by then, but ours was friends with the other cats by then and had the run of most of the house so I’d work on achieving that perhaps?

We are getting new kittens in the summer so got all this to come again, but fortunately DH now WFH permanently so there will always be someone here.

It's absolutely fine. Ours was home alone everyday from eight weeks 🤷‍♀️

I'm sure someone will be on in a minute to tell me that's cruel but she was absolutely fine.

How did you feed them? They are meant to be fed little and often at that age. Leaving alone for long periods at 8 weeks is really irresponsible sorry.

All of our cats had been left home alone for long periods by that age. Just make sure the area is safe and secure, with adequate water and food, and they will be fine.

Did you get it from a rescue? I am wondering if they are so desperate for space they down play the risks of mixing kittens and adult cats.They presumably knew you worked so if it takes months for the two to grow used to each other that's a lot of time in isolation for the kitten. Some are also really pushing homing kittens in pairs or with another cat which again invites conflict instead of the cat being a solo animal home alone.

@AlltheFs I knew someone would be along to tell me that 🙄

She got fed first thing at 6am, before I left at 9am, then when DH got home at 4pm, and again before bed at 10pm, with dry kitten food down all day.

She was absolutely fine and not remotely traumatised or neglected

Yes, exactly!

Kittens aren't puppies who need taking to the toilet etc. They're absolutely fine as long as they have access to food, water and litter trays.

Always left our kittens from eight weeks and never once had a problem 🤷‍♀️ I don't know a single person who works at home or part-time because they own a kitten!

So you think it is ok to take a kitten away from it’s mother at 8 weeks (recommendation is not before 10 wks BTW) and leave it on it’s own for 10hrs a day straightaway? That’s horrifying.

We didn’t work from home or part time for ages but we did make adjustments for the first 6 weeks. Because we are responsible people. Not dickheads.

She wasn't on her own for 10 hours - did you even read my response before jumping on to be rude for no reason?

She came to us at 8 weeks because her mum rejected her as the runt of the litter and her owners handed her into the vets.
She got four meals a day as recommended by our vet, as well as water, kitten milk and a supply of dry food.

And yes, she was left for seven hours a day because we both had to work and we never planned on getting a kitten at that point. She was (and is) absolutely fine. She now lives with two other cats and is very happy and healthy - she gets perfect reports at the vet every year (as do the others).

I'll be sure to let my vet know I horrify a stranger on the internet though