Leaving a cat for 2.5 weeks

[Frank7580]

Hi Folks,

I haven't posted for a LONG time and despite that I won't bore you with the particulars for now. Suffice it to say that six months ago my family and I relocated from central NC to Mexico City... quite a change.

While perusing the barber shop, Tim's post about the Siberian cats brought another question to mind. Our first trip back to the states will be over Christmas. During this time we'll be leaving our indoor cat in our Mexico apartment for 2.5 weeks. We've got a great next-door neighbor with a 19 year old daughter who has a cat and loves them. The daughter has agreed to feed our cat daily and check up on our apartment so I felt that this was as good of a situation that we could hope for.

However, never having left a pet for this amount of time I was wondering if there are other steps/precautions that we should take to minimize the effects on the animal and ensure that our apartment will be in the same condition upon our return as when we left.

Do you guys have any tips for leaving cats home alone for an extended period?

Thank you Gents

 

[chris456]

You may want to ask her to keep an eye on the litter as well, cats can be quite finicky when it comes to unkempt litter to the degree that they will sometimes urinate or defecate in a cleaner space i.e. floors, couches, beds.

 

[tsmba]

I have left my cats in a similar situation for over a week and they did just fine. A neighbor (who really doesn't like cats) came daily and fed them, watered them, and cleaned out the litter boxes. I think the cats were far more comfortable than if they had been boarded. It sounds like your caregiver likes cats, which can only make it even better!

 

[82R100]

That's about as good as it gets. If the neighbor girl wants to give the cat a little affectionate attention during each visit all the better, but the cat will be fine either way. Cats don't get as desperate for human attention as dogs do.

We end up kennelling our cats at the vets which is a far less ideal situation. Cats hate changes in their environment. That being said, as soon as we get them home again they're back in routine within 12-24 hours.

Your cat will be fine.

- Chris

 

[David in Boston]

...Do you guys have any tips for leaving cats home alone for an extended period?

If my cat could work out having her food and litter changed without me she would probably like living alone.

 

[Brodirt]

I have done it for longer with 2 cats. The cats don't suffer any noticeable problems, but then again we usually have someone come by who is willing to sit and give them some attention. The cats take it out on us though when we get home...the pull out fur and leave it on our bed, the ignore us, so on and so forth. I think you will be fine as long as your neighbor will give them a few minutes of attention every couple of days...and make sure to give them water, feeders sometimew forget that.

 

[Frank7580]

Thanks Guys. A lot of food affirmation mentioned above, (esp. regarding the cat's literary pursuits ).

 

[Swampfox]

In the past we have taken our cats with us...they like riding in the car, looking at other hoomans zooming by their moving rooms.

We will be going out of town for a few days October 1, and we are planning on leaving them to their own devices (with a little help from the Sister-in-law one day). I expect the house to be ransacked, furniture rearranged and all the food eaten.

 

[kongjie]

+1 on what Brodirt said--the cat is going to be snotty when you return but it will eventually forgive you.

 

[82R100]

We will be going out of town for a few days October 1, and we are planning on leaving them to their own devices (with a little help from the Sister-in-law one day). I expect the house to be ransacked, furniture rearranged and all the food eaten.

One summer I housesat for the people across the street, who had four cats and a golden retriever. The biggest problem was that if I left the cupboard open where the cat food cans were kept, by the time I returned all the cans would be on the kitchen floor.

- Chris

 

[Swampfox]

One summer I housesat for the people across the street, who had four cats and a golden retriever. The biggest problem was that if I left the cupboard open where the cat food cans were kept, by the time I returned all the cans would be on the kitchen floor.

- Chris

Our kitten keeps raiding the older cat's food. All you see is a butt and tail sticking up in the air! Both like to find objects they think look better on the floor than on a counter top or table.

 

[Edcculus]

I'm going to be in a similar situation next October for my wedding and honeymoon. Right now, I'm expecting to be gone for 2 weeks. I'll probably end up boarding. I know she will hate it, but I don't have any neighbors who could do a good job.

 

[_JP_]

I've been cat sitting for some friends of mine for several years now. The arrangement is that I basically live in their house while they are traveling. That way the four cats have human company and a sense that things are normal. It works out great for the cats...

Probably the best thing would be to make sure your cat is comfortable with the person who is going to watch it. And hopefully that person will spend time with the cat on a daily basis, rather than a quick check to make sure the food and water bowls are full.

 

[chipinque1]

Frank.

I hope you like Mexico City like I'm. I really don´t like to much the cats, but any pet is lovely, we had a rabbit for 9 years and was an other member of the family.

I guess your neigbor will take good care or your cat!.

Grettings.

Rodolfo.

 

[TimmyBoston]

I've never had a cat, but I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving my pet alone for this period of time. To consider it, I would have to have an tremendous amount of trust in the person who was feeding the animal.

 

[professorchaos]

I think it needs more than to be checked on. Even cats are social animals.

 

[tsmba]

I always feel guilty about boarding my cat. They like nothing better than maintaining their usual routine!
Great photos!

 

[stobes21]

If you are concerned about the litter box you can look into one of the automatic ones. I have the Scoopfree brand and it works fairly well. The litter is supposed to last 1 month for 1 cat, but our cat urinates so frequently we only get about 2 weeks between changings. There was a thread about them here a while back.

 

[Emmett]

A good petsitter is worth the investment.

 

[Frank7580]

Thanks for the continued advice.

While I appreciate the recommendations about needing an individual to stay in the house or hire a pet-sitter, we really don't have the connections already made for their to be a enough trust in this option.

The 19-year old next door we've have known for the previous four months. While not an enormous amount of time she's one of our longer Mexico contacts. I feel like this is the best option at hand.

Hi Rodolfo, how's living in Monterrey? The people in Mexico City have proven to be largely a nice group and great to interact with (as long as they are not driving their cars at the time ).

We'll be located here for at least the next 10-12 months (primarily for language study) and then may look to move to another smaller area. I didn't realize how many "country boy" tendencies I had prior to moving to such a sprawling metropolis....