Cat question re: leaving them alone (and our new Christmas plans)

Mrs. V. called home on Sunday as she usually does, and only her dad was home. They spoke for a little while and she asked him to have her mom call.

She talked to her mom yesterday, and her mom said that her dad told her one of her cousins from Georgia had called. :(

Her mom is getting more and more upset as her dad loses more and more of his short-term memory. Although she doesn't talk about it, I know Mrs. V. is beside herself with worry.

So on the 23rd, we're going to drive to Tennessee, and we'll drive back on the 26th. Mrs. V. is feeling the pressure on the eldest to care for her aging parents. We live 500 miles away. I don't know what I can do to help (besides drive, in this case).

Here's the immediate dilemma: money is very, very tight right now. I haven't been able to pay the Thanksgiving petsitter bill yet, and if I order their services I'll have to pay the bill first. I'm wondering if it's okay to leave the cats by themselves for 3-4 days (they'll see us Friday morning, then not again until Monday night).

What do you think?

morning, and was back Sunday night. My cat was fine. Leave two or three clean litter boxes, and a mountain of dry food, and several bowls of water. That is what I did.

I am leaning toward leaving them. (We have 8 indoors and up to 5 regulars outdoors)

You will need to leave TONS of food, water, and litter!

That's the outer limit, 4 days, but they've always been fine. :hi:

but expect them to be put-off a bit when you come back.

The most we have had is two cats, and they do fine with a mound of dry food and clean litter boxes. Also a can or two of their favorite wet food, which they scarf down in the first day or two. Don't forget lots of water!!!

If you are worried, do you have a friend or friends that can stop by and feed them? We have done that quite often, and it works pretty well.

:hi:

As long as they aren't prone to hogging food from eachother, and can manage themselves with a couple of huge bowls of dry food and lots and lots of water... you should be fine. Do you have any neighbors who could just peak in once in the middle?

I'm so sorry to hear about Mrs. V's dad. My father's wife was just diagnosed with Alzheimer's and he is going through very much the same thing. I'll be seeing them at Christmas.

:grouphug: for you and Mrs. V.

You can get one of those pet food and water dispensers and your cats will think they won the lottery with all that food! Be prepared to get some "catitude" when you get home, 'tho.

I don't think you should leave them alone that long. The peace of mind you will get from knowing someone is there looking after them for you, and to be ablet to talk to that person by phone, is worth every penny!

I still don't know what I'll do, but thanks, Bob.

DIG your sig image.

Litterboxs though can be a big headache. Do you know someone who can come in and clean them and make sure the cats aren't having parties?
We hired the neighbor kid to come in and take care of our cats when we went on vacation.
My wife paid him way too much, but that would be the thing to do, have someone pop in and clean up.

It isn't really a problem as long as you have more than one and the cats get along. Ours don't like one another very much right now, so when we went on vacation in August we had to hire a catsitter to come over every day so they didn't kill eachother while we were gone.

They will probably miss you while you are gone and act a little weird when you get back, but as long as you leave lots of food and water and multiple clean litterboxes before you go they'll probably be fine.

Gryphon and I leave our 3 cats alone for 3 days when we visit family in Canada. Lots of food and water, close off the rooms you don't want them to access and they're good.

Safe travels my friend.

:hug: for you and MrsV!

Couldn't you ask a neighbor or friend to feed them and make sure they have clean water for a few days? We've done it many times for our friends. It's always best to have someone who knows your pets take care of them.

I don't have any friends.

Seriously.

I have a few friends at work, but they don't live anywhere near me.

Mrs. V. has friends near us but I don't know what their relationships are like; I don't know if she'd feel comfortable asking them to come in and scoop out that many cat boxes, even once. I can ask her, of course.

We speak to our neighbors across the street when we both happen to be outside, and we wave at all of our other neighbors (or return their dogs to them). That's it.

This super-introvert, who came screaming out of the introvert's closet when she started singing w/ a community chorus 12 years ago, apparently went running back in when she moved away from family & friends five years ago.

There. I said it. I have no IRL friends.

I will be your IRL friend.

:hug:

This was way too whiney and I didn't mean it as a ploy for sympathy. "Woe is me, the friendless..." :eyes: You are very kind to me and I do consider you a friend, have for some time - and I look forward to meeting you. :)

Just want you to know... that even though we don't live near one another, and may never, and we've only met a couple of times... I absolutely consider you a friend IRL. Of course, I can't come over and clean out your cat boxes, or I surely would. :hug:

I can identify with you though, since I have moved four times in the past five years, and will be moving soon again. All of my friends are long-distance. I have recently rekindled some of those friendships as well, which I had neglected since I am not near them physically.

:loveya:

and as I said to Midlo, that's not how I meant it. It was more like, "Look, I appreciate everyone saying 'have a friend look in on them' but no one fits the bill right now!"

:loveya: glad to know i'm not the only one in this weird boat.

I know you don't fish for sympathy :) But I do wish I could come feed your cats. :D

He & Richard are the friendliest of the bunch. :7 :hug:

I have no IRL friends nearby, either (although my landlady is a sweetheart who would probably check on my cat if I asked her to.) I am shy, introverted, and have avoidant personality disorder.

But we are both good people. (Anybody a cat befriends gotta be good people. After all, who's pickier than a cat?)

I've left one or two cats alone for several days with, as others have said, plenty of water and dry food, and several clean litterboxes. And no more damage done, to my place or to the cats, than leaving them alone for the day while I go to work.

Some cats will act a bit put off after being left alone; my current baby is always glad to see me when I return, whether I've been gone for fifteen minutes or several days.

:hug:

My reply to you was way too whiney, and I apologize. I didn't mean to whine at you. See my replies to Midlo and MisU.

Thanks for the suggestions. :)

Not at all. There's nothing wrong with being introverted. I understand it completely. I know few of my neighbors. I can only tell you the names of 3 of them. I don't feel comfortable enough around people to talk to them. Nothing whiney about it.

She's 10 and THRILLED to be a pet sitter. Parent likes the idea and will be overseeing. They only live 3 doors down so its not inconvenient for them. Haven't negotiated a price yet but it won't be very much.

OTHERWISE, 3-4 days isn't too bad if you've got more than one cat--they do keep each other company to some extent you know. I just have one cat now and I can't leave her as long as I could when there were 2--she gets very discombobulated/ freaked out.

PS I dont have friends either... not those kinds of friends anyway, who I could ask to do such a thing. It seems as people get older they get more fiercely protective of their time--- I know I am-- so to ask someone to take an hr. out of their day to cat sit, I dunno... it seems a lot to ask. So I don't.

If you can't make arrangements with the petsitter I think hiring a neighbor kid or something should be fine.

It's a stretch, but they should be OK inside with enough food and water... provided none of them fight (one of our females is just nasty - we have to separate her, or board only her and then we can let the others hang out). The longest we've been gone is 5 days (including travel time). Kitties were pissed, and house was a bit trashed (just food everywhere, drapes pulled down... nothing permanent, though) but everyone was alive and well.

But what about the outdoor babies? Do they depend on you for regular food, and if so, how would you secure their kibbles while you were gone? You have wildlife around, so there is no guarantee a hungry raccoon or possum wouldn't eat everything in one night...

Just be sure the litter is extra clean when you leave and put out lots of food and water. They'll be all over you when you get home, but they'll be fine. I've done it many times. :)

Leave the TV on discovery channel or something, leave a couple bowls of fresh water, a bunch of food, and they will be just happy.

(If you want, for 20-30 bucks you can pick up one of those cool dishes that you set to rotate once or twice a day, and they will have new fresh(er) food.)