Would you leave them this long?

[SeaSnail]

We have two cats. They adore each other. One is a house cat by choice. The other goes out via the cat flap every now and then to watch the birds in the garden but is generally very lazy (he‘s never caught one, as far as we know!).

We are going away for two nights. We‘ll leave on Thursday at 1pm, and return on Saturday at 5pm.

All 3 of our usual cat sitters aren’t available.

DH thinks the cats will be fine- we‘ll leave out plenty of food and water, make sure they can’t get trapped anywhere, and leave out an extra litter tray (they already have two, one is an xxl one).

They are both chilled and generally just sleep a lot. They are both 8 and not at all playful anymore.

I‘m not so sure. Would you do it?

Absolutely. They'll be fine.

Absolutely not.

if you Google, both the cats protection and rspca advise not to leave them this long.

Yes I would

They will be absolutely fine.

Yes. I used to leave my cat for two nights. She was always fine.

I would also do this. However, I’d make sure I have neighbour’s contact details just in case there are any delays or problems.

Plenty of cats that have access to the outside go out for this length of time.

Cats Protection says "You shouldn’t be regularly leaving your cat alone for over 12 hours, but this is ok to do occasionally if needed."

So if its a one off, I wouldn't worry about it. I've left mine once for a weekend, she didn't bat an eyelid

This would be my absolute maximum, but yes, I would do. Plenty of dry food (if they eat it) but at least it is not summer so no food going off or lots of flies. Leave extra water. I spread the food around a bit - extra in other rooms they go in and leave some treats for them to find. I'm always aware that awful things could happen - but that could happen when we are just out for a couple of hours.

I wouldn’t - but I am an anxious person! We usually have MIL pop in twice a day if we are away, and if she wasn’t around I would chum up a neighbour or ask on the local FB page if there was a pet sitter who could help. In reality I am sure our cat would relish being home alone and in charge though.

Food will be fine if they’ll eat dry and you leave a small mountain of it plus multiple water bowls in case they knock one over, maybe also consider a water fountain so they have a fresh supply. They have each other for company so also fine there. If you had a litter robot and/or they toileted outdoors then also fine but I can’t get past 2 day old festering litter trays so in your circumstances I wouldn’t do it. Not only would the house likely stink when you get home but if they object to being left with dirty trays and start toileting elsewhere, which is a possibility, not only could they ruin carpets etc but the habit can then be very hard to break.

I wouldn’t, but I have an anxious little one , we did leave him overnight once and it stressed him out . He’s fine if we leave him for the day , but I guess he realised we should be home once it got dark . It took a few days before he went back to eating normally again .

I definitely wouldn’t leave the cat flap open though if you do as if your outside one did have a problem that’s a long time before you find out . Ours is accident prone as well though !

Is there not a friend or neighbour who could just pop in on the Friday and clean the litter trays , refresh the food and water .

If they are in good health then I think this is fine as an occasional thing although I'd be tempted to keep them shut in for peace of mind, it's only 48 hours (give or take). Ours would devour all the food in the first couple of hours so we got some timed bowls to solve that problem.

No.
Ask your vet if any of the vet nurses cat sit.

No, most definitely not. I say this as a cat sitter and cat owner.

They need fresh water, fresh food, clean litter and someone coming to check on them every 24 hours at a minimum.

Cats can get sick and go downhill very quickly. Please get someone to come and check on them once a day - for sanitary reasons as much as anything else.

Yes I would for two nights and for two cats. I wouldn't with just one cat as they'd get lonely. I think as long as the house is secure and they can't knock over their water bowl it will be fine. I second the idea of getting a neighbour's contact details if possible as a back up..

Just a thought but you could potentially find a cat sitter or someone to drop in to check on them via thr Rover website. It's not just for dogs.

I'd only leave mine one night without anyone coming in. But I'm a bit nervous about it - really I'm sure they'd be fine.

Have you tried asking on Facebook - there will almost certainly be a teenager close to you who is keen to earn a tenner by looking in on your cats and checking the water, cleaning the litter tray. For long term holiday I probably wouldn't get a teenager but for one visit I reckon it'd be worth the tenner for peace of mind.

I've done it occasionally - i would lock the cat flap though. Get a pet cam, they aren't expensive and it gives piece of mind

No.. not for me, not without someone to check up on them at least once a day. Catflap could fail, could get hurt, another cat or fox could get into the catflap (if not a chip based one). Knock water over, spoiled food or all food eaten too quickly.
Pet cam, at very least. We have a couple!

If they were outdoor cats I’d say but not indoor cats, it’s not fair to leave a litter tray dirty for that long and water bowls with stale water in them! Cats are very clean it’s mean to do this to them!

I'm another no. I know how much my cats litter trays needs emptied if I've had a day out. I dread to think what they'd be like for more than than. Plus my boy cat would eat all the food in one sitting!