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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

For how many hours do you leave your cat home alone?

77 replies

Clara9283 · 01/07/2023 13:05

A bit of background, I had a cat for more than 10 years, she was a very affectionate cat and loved to cuddle, but also was entirely ok on her own for some hours. That was more than 10 years ago and I consider getting a cat again. The first rescue I checked asked me whether the cat would be alone at home for 4 hours or more at any point at all...apparently this is one of their vetting criterias before they consider me to adapt any of their cats.

I wouldn't leave my cat on her own over night and I wouldn't adopt a cat if I was regularly out all day (I'm not, I WFH full time), but I probably wouldn't have thought twice about going out for an afternoon and leaving my cat at home for a few hours.

I'm happy to be told that I am wrong, it's been some time since I had a cat so I rather do some research and see what is considered the best thing to do now before getting a cat again. I wouldn't get one if I can't give it a good life.
How many hours on its own - occasionally, not regularly - would you consider ok for a cat?

OP posts:
FeigningConcern · 01/07/2023 18:54

That's weird. Cats are not dogs, the 4 hours sounds more like a rule for dog owners.

We leave our cat for full days and when we go on holiday (if for more than a couple if nights we have someone going in to feed and check on her). She is fine although if we go away for a week or so, she is cross when we get back 😀

She doesn't go out much any more as she is being terrorised by a neighbour's cat but when she did she'd disappear for many hours regularly. Her (late) brother used to disappear for days! Cats don't need constant company.

Shelters are weird with their random rules. We wanted to adopt kittens but they wouldn't accept us as there wasn't someone home all the time (even though I worked part time and my 18 year old DS was home most of the day (holidays)) during the time they needed very regular feeding.

We therefore had to buy them privately. They were of course fine and very well looked after!

Hollyhead · 01/07/2023 18:56

A bit strange, I leave mine for a fortnight to go on holiday with a neighbour popping in twice a day to sort out the food. She’s always pleased to see us but she’s fine.

Gettingbysomehow · 01/07/2023 18:59

I'm at work for 8 hours Mon to Fri. The old cat was getting a bit nervous so I got a kitten and they are really happy as a pair.
I occasionally come home at lunch and they are curled up together.
I find cats get used to a toutine pretty quickly.

nobodygoesdowninthejungle · 01/07/2023 19:01

Our cat is regularly home alone from 8am - 5pm. If we get home earlier than that, she looks most affronted and goes back to sleep.
We went away for the night the other day and left late enough that we could give her tea before we left so the neighbour just did breakfast. The cat actually got up from her nap to come & see if it was us and then stalked off in indignation and spent the day hiding from us. She eventually re-appeared at what she considered was a more suitable time for us to return.

motherofawhirlwind · 01/07/2023 19:08

4 days? Grin with automatic feeders

Day to day pre Covid - 9 hours whilst we were at work

They were always fine Smile

Capitulatingpanda · 01/07/2023 19:18

One day a week and when I come home he acts like I've been gone a year.

Luser · 01/07/2023 20:05

Unfortunately this rule was made for cats like mine! 🙈 He is a rescue and I adopted him 6 years ago as an indoor cat due to his various disabilities. He hates being left alone! Even when we stayed with relatives once, he used to cry at the door every time I left for work, despite having other people in the house, and always greets me like I've been gone for days. Yeah, he's a little clingy 😂 It's more like having a dog than a cat and he's ruined my social life, but I love the silly twit regardless!
Agree though that this isn't normal for most cats.

KnickerlessParsons · 01/07/2023 20:17

The first rescue I checked asked me whether the cat would be alone at home for 4 hours or more at any point at all...apparently this is one of their vetting criterias

Our DCat leaves us alone for longer than 4 hours, so I don't get the sense of that rule.

Icannot · 01/07/2023 20:22

I WFH but can leave her all day and have recently started leaving her overnight with a timed cat dish, I wouldn't do more than one night. Could they mean for the first few months until cat is settled?

Pleanut · 01/07/2023 23:15

Our cat came from a shelter. She's a very easy, confident and independent cat. I have left her with food and a cat flap for up to 6 days while away on holiday. I wouldn't do this in the winter. She has always been fine.

Pleanut · 01/07/2023 23:19

OP, I think you need to ask some questions about the cat. A cat which is traumatised, nervous etc may be difficult to leave. But if you are confident that there are no particular issues with the cat, then lie about the 4 hours thing (because as a general rule it's silly). Give the cat time to settle in before starting to spend longer away from them.

frazzledasarock · 01/07/2023 23:26

Usually when we’re around too much for our cats liking they tend to leave the house pretty much all day.

or they go off and commandeer a quiet people free room. Or they go find my DH and attempt to sit on him (all five at the same time).

our cats don’t seem to mind if we’re out, so long as they’re fed watered and have somewhere to sleep. They seem happy enough. They like sitting in windowsills people watching and sleeping.

Yetisrus · 02/07/2023 11:23

I've left them a week with someone popping in and feeding them twice a day. I was asked if I had any holidays booked when I adopted but that was just in the next few months whilst they settled in.

If no one could leave them for longer than a few hours there would be even more cats in rescue centres.

Judystilldreamsofhorses · 02/07/2023 12:48

We both work hybrid now, but pre Covid she was always on her own from about 8.30 - 5.30. Now she probably has one or two days a week like that and the others someone is around at least half the day.

We’re away Saturday and Sunday nights next week. MIL will come on Saturday and Sunday evening, and Sunday and Monday morning for her. We’re back Monday teatime and I am sure she will be delighted to have her slaves home - she’s a very people-y cat!

Tdcp · 02/07/2023 13:55

One of my cats is out from 8:30 - 4 every day, the other one is asleep on the sofa during that time. It's no different if we're in and the door is open all day...

Tdcp · 02/07/2023 13:55

*every week day

neilyoungismyhero · 02/07/2023 14:00

Many of my family/friends go on holiday leaving their puss at home with daily visits to ensure everything is OK and to do the litter tray/food if necessary. I'm often the once or twice a dayer looking after said moggies...they don't seem upset or traumatised or even bothered just happy to see their wet food being replenished. They always have kibble and water available.

EmpressSoleil · 02/07/2023 14:33

I have 2 house cats and they hate me going out tbh. I only got them around 5 months before covid hit and I was already wfh so they got used to me almost always being here.

One of them cries when I go out (I've been told by my DC who've been at home). They both frantically run to greet to me when I get home. One seems to sense when I'm prepping to go out and becomes clingy and whiny!

I have been on holiday a couple of times and adult DS has looked after them (he lives with me) and they're OK but they do go off their food and become a bit listless. They only really perk up again when I get back.

It's my own fault. I have overindulged them from day1. So my cats wouldn't like being left on a regular basis, no. But other cats will be different. They're all individuals.

LauraNicolaides · 02/07/2023 14:35

Regularly 12 hours, and sometimes all weekend.

icanflytoday · 02/07/2023 14:39

We just got back from a week away. Had someone come in to feed them morning and evening and leave a timed cat feeder each time for 6 hours later. They were fine. Far kinder to leave them in their own house than in a chattery.

I wfh but at weekends we'd think nothing of going out in the morning and coming back in the evening but we do leave a cat feeder out for their lunch!

skyeisthelimit · 02/07/2023 14:50

I work from home full time now, but pre covid, I used to be out from 9-5 regularly.

If I go on holiday, I leave the cat at home and a neighbour calls round twice a day to feed her.

GOODCAT · 02/07/2023 14:54

We were asked that by the place we got our cat from. We said 9 hours a day. That has now got longer. She sleeps in the morning but otherwise would want to be with us. I wfh occasionally and she then thinks it is Christmas and is a pest because she expects to be centre of attention and isn't while I am working.

I don't have a problem with leaving her for 10 hours at a time though as I think it would be hard for most people to offer a lifetime of guaranteed not leaving them for any more than four hours and it is better that she isn't in a cat centre or where she was before. That said it would be her preference that she wasn't left that long.

We don't go away much but then she has a cat sitter who pops in twice a day.

Notellinganyone · 02/07/2023 15:01

We’ve been away on holidays for two weeks and left cat. Neighbours came in to feed him and he’s free to come and go as he likes. Cats are fine alone.

Lucky91 · 04/07/2023 20:26

I’ve got 2 cats and we are usually out at least 7 hours a day with the kids at school and us at work. The cats are fine and usually spend most of their day snoozing, I think they are probably grateful of the peace. They are usually happy to see us when we get home but seem to cope fine in our absence as long as they have access to their litter tray, food and water. The only time mine seem to have gotten a bit stressed is when we went away for a few days and had a relative coming in to check on them.

HaveYouHeardOfARoadAtlas · 04/07/2023 20:36

One of my cats is quite clingy in some ways, so when I get home he runs to the front door to greet me. He does like snuggles on the sofa in the evening but if I’m busy around the house he ignores me and happily snoozes in a bed upstairs on his own. Other cat can barely stand the sight of me 🤷‍♀️

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