Right so I might be going over my sister's for the Christmas weekend. I'll be taking my dog so she'll be fine but my cat will have to stay behind.

I'm just wondering if he would be OK just for three days?
This will be the first time since I got him 5 years ago that he'll be left on his own for even one night, let alone two.

My intention is to confine him to just three rooms. I'll of course leave the light on for him as well (so at night he isn't alone in the dark. )

And I've planned to leave a mass of dry food in his bowl. The food in question is one he is not that keen on, so I'm hoping he'll pace it a bit more then with something he loves. I'm also going to leave an open slit of a box of his favourite food so he has something to occupy himself as he tries to paw out some goodies. And of course a large bowl of water.
I will also move my hi fi into the rooms he has access so he has music. (If it works at all that is. Having turned it on in years)

The main issue besides loneliness is his toileting issues. So I intend to remove all fabrics such as clothes and towels out of his reach and away. All except a couple of old cloths and such I don't mind him using as he has always had an aversion to the littertray. Thanfkully I'm not house proud and have no carpets so can just wipe away any unfortunate messes I find.

The question is, have I forgotten anything important?

Do you have someone you could trust with a key just to pop in occasionally to make sure all is well?

Sorry but your plan sounds cruel - get someone to look after him or book him into a cattery.

Do you not have a cat flap so he can go out & do his business rather than just messing everywhere since he doesn't like a litter tray? Cats are very clean animals & they wouldn't like to be living amongst their mess for 3 days.

Have you not got a friend or neighbour who you could ask to pop in & give him a pouch of wet food etc?

I don't think leaving the cat for 3 days on it's own sounds like the best plan to be honest OP.

Cattery would be a better idea IMO

The other thing is, if you haven't ever left him alone before, will you be able to relax and enjoy yourself without worrying about him?

If you could get someone to pop in just to check he is okay that ought to set your mind at ease a bit.

Could you take him with you? When I went to stay at my parents I took my cats, they (cats and parents) enjoyed it. Although I guess it depends how your sister feels about cats and how far it is to travel.

Thanks for the replies.
I'll see if the neighbours can check on him. A cattery is out of the equation as I can't afford it. Otherwise I would pay for a cab and go home the very next day. And I did consider taking him but because of his toilet issues it wouldn't be wise. I don't have a cat flap he has access via a window but I'm not leaving my home with a wide open window and risk him getting hurt whilst I was away.

Having a pet is a responsibility - it means you can't just go out/away and do your own thing, you need to sort out the care of the pet too. Unlike dogs, cats aren't easily taken with you to friends/relatives. If you can't afford a cattery (about £8 per day) then you really do need to get someone to come in and feed your cat and empty the litter tray and if you can't do that then you need to come home. Your cat may be ok overnight but 3 days is rather a long time. He will be hungry, lonely and unhappy, not to mention distressed at having use a dirty litter tray.
Please sort something out for it - leaving the cat for that long alone with no-one popping in just isn't right

I wouldnt leave him at home at all for 3 days. Its not so much his food its fresh water he will need. I am even feeding feral cats over xmas as the feeders are going away and they dont want them too be left without food at all.
Whats the problem with his toilet issues. The other point is with it been winter you cant guarentee the weather what if you get snowed in where you going and you cant get back

i really dont think you should be worrying about music! dont you have a catflap the poor thing will probably want to get out of the house

I wouldn't (couldn't in fact) leave my cat alone for three days -- I'd be worried about him 24/7. YMMV.

I understand the financial situation re cattery though. Asking a friend or neighbour to call round would be the best of your options I guess?

This. Totally. I can't believe anyone would think it is okay to leave their cat for 3 days. It never fails to amaze me that people think all cats need is food and somewhere to poop and sleep without any human contact - and I don't just mean someone popping in for 5 minutes either.

I've always booked my cats into a cattery when I'm going to be away for more than one night. £8/day is only £24 for 3 days and well worth the expense for peace of mind. It's not really that much money even in the present times. Could you not borrow some money from family

I had to leave my Tabitha and Bernard for a weekend once when I needed to get away for a funeral at short notice (Irish funerals occur very quickly after a death) so couldn't get them to a cattery. My sister in law called into them daily to replenish their food and check they were okay. They had a cat flap so there was no litter tray to clean but I wouldn't have been happy leaving them alone for 3 days with no one popping in.

I hope you find a solution. It's also a bit odd about your cat's litter tray situation and why he won't use one. If I was popping into a friend to check on her cat (which I have done) I would not be happy to be faced with cat excrement to be cleaned up outside of a litter tray. My cats (past and present) all toilet outside but all will use a litter tray if desperate and unable to get out. A cat toileting outside a tray has a problem.....

I really, really would not advise you that it is ok to leave your cat alone for 3 days.

You say that it is food he isn't really keen on, so why should he have to eat that That would be cruel to him.

You also say he won't use a litter tray, so how confused is he going to be when the escape route out of the house, ie the window which he always uses is closed They are very, very clean animals so he would be very upset and stressed to have to do his business just on the floor. Cats do not just do that. That is not right.

Light and music is not the answer to your problems. Leaving him alone in the house for 3 days without his usual food, or usual access out of the house is wrong. He will be lonely and confused. God, I wouldn't even leave my cats for a day without my neighbour calling in several times a day to top up their food and check that they are ok.

I think you will have to really try hard to find some money for a cattery or go home earlier than you intended, which being a responsible pet owner you should do what is right for your pet not you. TBH I have an issue with him being shut in for 3 days when he is used to going outside. What could happen if you confine him indoors and get a neighbour to pop in, he may bolt out of the door and not return, which would be putting huge stress on your neighbour.


Please try to find another way in which you can still go to your sisters but your cat is still put first as well.

I think a cattery would be more stress than it's worth.

Cat should be fine for 48 hours?

We've not left Amber for longer than that but she's always been fine. We really would never leave her longer than that without someone popping in though (I suspect my Mum went round every day as opposed to every other day like I said when we were away in September LOL!)

Leave lots of dry food, lots of water and of course make sure puss cannot get locked in anywhere.

I've left mine overnight before but made sure they were in before I went out and left them with their supper and fresh water. I've made sure I'm back by 8.30 at the latest the following morning as I would worry about them.

If I'm away any longer my parents pop around to see to them or they go into the cattery. Please don't leave you poor cat on its own for that long, they do need a bit of company and affection.

you can't leave a cat alone for 3 days without someone popping round to feed him that is wrong, cats aren't like humans who think 'this food has to last' they see food and they will eat it and have none left over. Leave the cat alone by all means, we leave ours and we never use a cattery and she is fine, all our cats have been left on their own but have had people in twice a day to check up on them and feed them. We do however have someone (normally someone in my family who know the cat well) who comes over and feeds her in the morning and in the evening and they stay with her for a bit too. I would never leave a cat without someone popping in every day to feed them. Also let a neighbour know you are away what happens if there is a fire

[quote=CBFreak;55226321]Right so I might be going over my sister's for the Christmas weekend. I'll be taking my dog so she'll be fine but my cat will have to stay behind.

I'm just wondering if he would be OK just for three days?
This will be the first time since I got him 5 years ago that he'll be left on his own for even one night, let alone two.

My intention is to confine him to just three rooms. I'll of course leave the light on for him as well (so at night he isn't alone in the dark. )

And I've planned to leave a mass of dry food in his bowl. The food in question is one he is not that keen on, so I'm hoping he'll pace it a bit more then with something he loves. I'm also going to leave an open slit of a box of his favourite food so he has something to occupy himself as he tries to paw out some goodies. And of course a large bowl of water.
I will also move my hi fi into the rooms he has access so he has music. (If it works at all that is. Having turned it on in years)

The main issue besides loneliness is his toileting issues. So I intend to remove all fabrics such as clothes and towels out of his reach and away. All except a couple of old cloths and such I don't mind him using as he has always had an aversion to the littertray. Thanfkully I'm not house proud and have no carpets so can just wipe away any unfortunate messes I find.

The question is, have I forgotten anything important?[/QUOTE]

Yes, you've forgotten that you have a cat.

The maximum I have left mine was overnight, I left at 3pm one day and returned by lunchtime the next. I fed them befoire I elft, they had their water fountain and two bowls of biscuits and two of those mechanically timed feeding dishes. Also my neighbour popped in just to make sure that all was well late in the evening and to check the litter trays as mine hate using ones that are not clean enough.

Ok thanks.

Not that it will make much difference but when I say three days I meant I will probably leave on christmas Eve and return on boxing day. I wouldn't go if I literally left him for three days on the trot on his own. The issue is I don't drive and have to rely on the buses. So I'm at the mercy of christmas services.

I don't go anywhere normally because I do care about my pets. Last time I spent any more then 4 hours away from home (aprta from one time I was away for a day) was many many years ago.

Thank you for the replies. It's helped me realise I do need to do something more. I'll ask my sister if it's possible to bring him instead. But I just worry it would be more stressful for him to travel all that way to an unfamiliar place and then back again.

It is far more stressful to take cats anywhere for a short visit, if you cannot get a neighbour to pop in have you considered getting some timer food trays ?

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/c...eeders/feeders

http://www.amazon.co.uk/automatic-ca...feeders&page=1

I hope I didn't come across as too preachy before. I do just put myself in the cats head and try to think how they would feel.

I think your best bet would be to try and find a helpful neighbour who will kindly pop in a couple of times a day and top the food up, check the water and look at the litter tray. just so that your mind is at rest that he is ok. Otherwise I know you love him and it might ruin your Christmas by worrying about him.

Good luck.

I used to leave my cats for up to 2 days (Friday evening to Sunday lunch) which they preferred to going to the cattery.

I used a couple of cat feeders with timers to make sure their food was evenly spaced.

Same here. Mine gets really stressed going to the cattery, so I thought it wasn't worth it for a couple of nights.

Two huge bowls of dry food, an extra large bowl of water and two trays with fresh litter were left out.

When I got back she barely batted an eyelid.

I was once told that a good rule of thumb is not to leave them for more than 4 nights on their own, otherwise they will start to get stressed. Two or three nights though.. they'll just spend most of their time sleeping.

I've got some timed feeders which I used to use a lot when my Tabitha was young and I worked night shifts in a London hospital so would be away from home for up to 14 hours. However, they're very expensive (even back in the 90s), the cattery fee would probably be cheaper and they're not 100% reliable in opening. I'm not sure how you could make them work for 3 days, even with 2 double timers - that's only 4 meals and they don't normally go beyond 48 hours (mine are just 24 hours).

My cats have been used to catteries since a young age, even my 2 new cats have spent most of their lives in a rescue cattery, so they don't find it stressful to go there (it's certainly less stressful for me to know that my cats are safe and being cared for) - but I can understand why it would not be a pleasant experience for an older cat who's always been used to his home comforts. A friend or neighbour popping round would be ideal but then you have the dilemma of your cat not using a litter tray. I wouldn't expect anyone to clean up cat mess and it wouldn't be nice for your cat either. I would try to train him to use a litter tray between now and when you go away.